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Elgin Advanced Placement
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1. Student Performance - What do the AP data tell us about student performance?
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Where are our relative strengths? Consider the average scores.Where are our relative weaknesses? Consider the average scores.
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BAsed on average AP scores, we are strong in the following AP offerings: AP Biology, AP Art History, AP Euro, AP Human Geo, AP Macro, AP Psych, AP Spanish Lang, AP Spanish Lit, AP Stats, AP World HistoryBased on average AP scores, the following AP offerings are areas of need: AP Calc, AP Chem, AP Eng Lang, AP Eng Lit, AP Gov, APUSH
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2. Student Opportunity - What do the AP data tell us about the amount of students who took the test?
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What do we notice about the % of students that tested?What is our take away regarding the % of students that tested?
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In general, students enrolled in an AP Social Studies class is much more likely to sit for the AP exam than a student enrolled in a Science class. While 44% of students enrolled in AP Lang will sit for the exam, only 15% do so for AP lit. Clearly our participation numbers are low for science and math.We have room for growth in terms of having students take the AP exams. Students who do well in certain classes should be encouraged to take the exam because the data shows that they are very likely to pass the exam if they earn an A in that class.
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3. Analysis of Grade Level and Teacher Data
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Within a course, what is the % of students who tested? What does the data tell us?Within a course, what is the % of students who passed? What does the data tell us?
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The percentage of students testing varies by subject. As stated above, classes in the humanities tend to have higher participation rates than those in the sciences. There can be a number of reasons why this is, but it is probably safe to say that our instruction in both AP Calc (newer teacher) and Physics (new teacher) can be improved.Once again, passing rates are similar to test administration rates. We think that the same applies.
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4. Analysis of Grades
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What is the relationship between the AP average score data and the classroom grades?What else do we notice within the data?
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There is no consistent relationship between classroom grades and average AP scores. In some classes there appears to be a close correlation between an A and passing the AP exam, while in others there is either too low of a test participation or passing rates are lower.There's not enough data to make a generalized statement. It is clear that there are some classes that seem to have inflated grades.
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5. Reflection - Contributing factors on student outcomes
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What are the external factors that may have contributed to these results?What are the internal factors that may have contributed to these results?
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There are several external factors that contribute to these results, the main one being finances. In addition to the cost, many students are very deliberate about which AP exams to take and which ones will count for the school they are attending. Many of our students are very good consumers when it comes to choosing which exam will benefit them. In addition, several of the AP courses were recently redesigned and this was the first time students were taking the new test. Our instructors are new to these redesigned courses.Internally, we have several new teachers teaching AP courses. We are also encouraging more students to take AP and the exams who in the past would not have. There is definitely a need for more support for our AP students outside of the classroom.
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6. Reflection - Philosophy Statement: Purpose of Advanced Placement in our students' academic career
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What do we want to accomplish as it pertains to our students who take the Advanced Placement classes?
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Our goals are twofold: (1.) to increase access to these courses of study and (2.) to improve student success in these courses of study (as evidenced by AP Exam scores) through skill-building in the written, verbal, and meta-cognitive domains.
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7. Plan and Methods of Implementation
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What changes do we believe we need to make?How will we go about making those changes?
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We have to better align our "feeder" courses to make sure that our students are prepared for AP classes. We also have to provide more instructional support for students and teachers. With the focus on increasing the number of students taking AP courses, we are looking to increase the number of qualified teachers who are able and willing to teach either honors and/or AP
All honors/AP teachers will attend training (five-day APSI or AP Summer Institute) provided by the College Board. Ideally, this training will be provided prior to a teacher’s first year with one of these classes. Teachers already in place will be provided training at least once every five years per District protocol (Best Practices).
Identify skills necessary for success on the various AP exams. Analysis of AP exams will guide this practice. Create a document listing critical skills by grade level/semester. Create a document that serves to outline -- like a scope and sequence-- each semester's curricular trajectory for each of the courses. The document will be divided into weekly increments to demonstrate the weekly focus for the class as well as ongoing assignments. Create a digital collection of resources and instructional methods appropriate to each course and grade level for each skill identified. Teachers will keep evidence of skills to facilitate collection/review of data.
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