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[Phys-L] The Role of Advanced Placement Courses



Over the past few years there has been considerable debate regarding
the role of AP classes in the U.S. high-school curriculum, see, e.g.,
"Learning and Understanding: Improving Advanced Study of Mathematics
and Science in U.S. High Schools" [NRC (2002)].

In an "Inside Higher Ed" article of 26 May 2005 titled "The New AP,"
David Epstein (2005a) wrote [bracketed by lines "EEEEEEEE. . . ". my
CAPS]:

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
The College Board will soon begin research in an effort to make
Advanced Placement courses and exams more closely resemble the best
first-year college courses.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Robert Schaeffer, public education director for FairTest: The
National Center for Fair and Open Testing . . . .
[<http://www.fairtest.org/>]. . . ., said that in the last two years
he has noticed a recurring theme on an e-mail list of college
admissions officers. "Because of their test driven nature, AP courses
have become a mile wide and an inch deep," he said. "WHAT COLLEGES
ARE LOOKING FOR ARE PEOPLE WHO CAN DO ANALYSIS, THINK IN-DEPTH,
PROBLEM SOLVE, NOT JUST MEMORIZATION OR REGURGITATION OF MEMORIZED
FACTS."

Schaeffer added that the essay response sections of AP exams are
better, but that the multiple choice sections encourage rote
memorization. . . .[Not necessarily - see e.g., Wilson & Bertenthal
(2005) and the research-based multiple-choice diagnostic tests listed
at FLAG (2005) and NCSU (2005)]. . . . "In that way, the multiple
choice could be analogous to some large survey courses in college,
but that's not necessarily what colleges want."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rather than resembling a large lecture course, the College Board
wants the new courses to look like the best first-year courses. David
Conley, a University of Oregon professor, will lead a team from the
university's Center for Education Policy Research in hopes of finding
ideal first-year courses to serve as "best practices" models for AP
classes.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

In his search for ideal first-year university physics courses, I hope
David Conley will walk across his own campus to observe in action the
University of Oregon's David Sokoloff [Thornton & Sokoloff (1990,
1998)].


In a related story "Earning the AP Name," Epstein (2005b) wrote:

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
The College Board will soon require teachers to submit course
materials before they can call their classes "Advanced Placement."

Up until now, the College Board has allowed teachers more freedom to
design what are supposed to be among the most rigorous high school
courses. But in recent years, some colleges have questioned whether
AP classes, which can be a big help to an applicant, should really
entitle students to either an admissions boost or college credit. The
board said that the new "audit" process
<http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/article/0,3045,151-165-0-46361,00.html>
will make sure that schools offering AP courses cannot toss the AP
designation around lightly.

More than 15,000 high schools offer AP courses, an increase of 36
percent in the last decade.

Beginning in June 2006, each year, TEACHERS WILL HAVE TO SUBMIT
SAMPLE TESTS AND ASSIGNMENTS, AS WELL AS A COURSE SYLLABUS. TEXTBOOKS
WILL HAVE TO BE CHOSEN FROM A LIST APPROVED BY THE COLLEGE BOARD.
Some courses will be chosen at random to have a College Board
observer sit in. "We're trying to inform schools everywhere about
what it takes to give a college level experience," said Ayeola
Boothe, director of equity and access initiatives for the AP program.
"We want to give students what they signed up for."
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Some interesting reader feedback on AP courses appears under the
reports by Epstein (2005a,b).


Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
24245 Hatteras Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
<rrhake@earthlink.net>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi>


REFERENCES
Epstein, L. 2005a. "The New AP," Inside Higher Ed, 26 May; online at
<http://insidehighered.com/news/2005/05/26/ap>

Epstein, L. 2005b. "Earning the AP Name," Inside Higher Ed, 15
August; online at <http://insidehighered.com/news/2005/08/15/ap>.

FLAG. 2005. "Field-tested Learning Assessment Guide; online at
<http://www.flaguide.org/>: ". . . offers broadly applicable,
self-contained modular classroom assessment techniques (CAT's) and
discipline-specific tools for STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Mathematics] instructors interested in new approaches to
evaluating student learning, attitudes and performance. Each has been
developed, tested, and refined in real colleges and universities
classrooms." Assessment tools for physics and astronomy (and other
disciplines) are at <http://www.flaguide.org/tools/tools.php>.

Halloun, I., R.R. Hake, E.P Mosca, D. Hestenes. 1995. "Force Concept
Inventory" (Revised, 1995); online (password protected) at
<http://modeling.asu.edu/R&E/Research.html>. Available in English,
Spanish, German, Malaysian, Chinese, Finnish, and Russian.

Hestenes, D., M. Wells, & G. Swackhamer, 1992. "Force Concept
Inventory." Phys. Teach. 30: 141-158; online (except for the test
itself) at <http://modeling.asu.edu/R&E/Research.html>. For the
slightly revised 1995 version see Halloun et al. (1995).

Meltzer, D. 2005. "Ongoing Project #3," online at
<http://www.physics.iastate.edu/per/current/index.html> or download
directly by clicking on
<http://www.physics.iastate.edu/per/current/PER_articles_in_AJP_1972-2005.pdf>
(532 kB). Meltzer lists Physics Education Research papers published
in the American Journal of Physics since 1972.

NCSU. 2005. "Assessment Instrument Information Page," Physics
Education R & D Group, North Carolina State University; online at
<http://www.ncsu.edu/per/TestInfo.html>.

NRC. 2002. "Learning and Understanding: Improving Advanced Study of
Mathematics and Science in U.S. High Schools," American Academy
Press; online at <http://books.nap.edu/catalog/10129.html>: "This
book takes a fresh look at programs for advanced studies for high
school students in the United States, with a particular focus on the
Advanced Placement and the International Baccalaureate programs, and
asks how advanced studies can be significantly improved in general.
It also examines two of the core issues surrounding these programs:
they can have a profound impact on other components of the education
system and participation in the programs has become key to admission
at selective institutions of higher education. By looking at what
could enhance the quality of high school advanced study programs as
well as what precedes and comes after these programs, this report
provides teachers, parents, curriculum developers, administrators,
college science and mathematics faculty, and the educational research
community with a detailed assessment that can be used to guide change
within advanced study programs."

Thornton, R.K. & D. R. Sokoloff. 1990. Learning motion concepts using
real-time microcomputer-based laboratory tools. Am. J. Phys. 58(9):
858-867. For an abstract see Meltzer (2005).

Thornton, R.K. & D. R. Sokoloff. 1998. Assessing student learning of
Newton's laws: The Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation and the
evaluation of active learning laboratory and lecture curricula. Am.
J. Phys. 66(4): 338-351. For an abstract see Meltzer (2005).

Wilson, M.R. & M.W. Bertenthal, eds. 2005. "Systems for State Science
Assessment," Nat. Acad. Press; online at
<http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11312>. They write:
"Performance assessment is an approach that offers great potential
for assessing complex thinking and learning abilities, but multiple
choice items also have their strengths. For example, although many
people recognize that multiple-choice items are an efficient and
effective way of determining how well students have acquired basic
content knowledge, MANY DO NOT RECOGNIZE THAT THEY CAN ALSO BE USED
TO MEASURE COMPLEX COGNITIVE PROCESSES. For example, THE FORCE
CONCEPT INVENTORY (Hestenes, Wells, and Swackhamer, 1992) IS AN
ASSESSMENT THAT USES MULTIPLE-CHOICE ITEMS TO TAP INTO HIGHER LEVEL
COGNITIVE PROCESSES.