Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: AP Students



In his 4/21/01 Phys-L post "Re: AP Students," Jack Uretsky writes:

"I am still awaiting data supporting the view that a high mark on the
fci is a predictor of some worthwhile trait after graduation."

In turn, I am still awaiting data supporting the view that there is
any data whatsoever that can serve as a predictor of some worthwhile
trait after graduation.

Whether or not the FCI score is a predictor of some worthwhile trait
after graduation is, IMHO, totally irrelevant. The point is that if
graduates of high-school AP physics classes achieve relatively low
average normalized gains <g> on the FCI (1), then one may fairly
conclude that such classes do little to enhance students'
understanding of the basic concepts of Newtonian mechanics.


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

REFERENCES
1. R.R. Hake, "Interactive-engagement methods in introductory
mechanics courses," on the Web at
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi/> and
submitted on 6/19/98 to the "Physics Education Research Supplement to
AJP"(PERS); Table Ia for high-school courses, AZ-AP, N = 33, <g> =
0.27.