The AP AUDIT

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The AP AUDIT Taking it to the Next
Level presented by Anne Arundel County Public
SchoolsAnnapolis, Maryland
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Welcome/Introduction

• Lynn Whittington
• Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum
  Instruction

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Purpose

• Inform you about the unexpected benefits and
  challenges from the district, mid-level and the
  classroom

• a first step in developing consistent high
  academic expectations for every student
• a standardized process for the alignment of AP
  curriculum, instruction and assessment
• an opportunity for AP teachers to collaborate and
  share classroom practices
• a common AP audit template
• district strategies and next steps

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System Demographics

• 41st largest school system in U.S.
• Located on 480 miles of Chesapeake Bay
  shoreline, within the Annapolis/Baltimore/Washin
  gton, D.C. triangle
• 5th largest school system in Maryland

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System Demographics

• 75,000 students
• 5,000 teachers
• 117 school sites
• 77 elementary 19 middle 12 high
• 2 Centers for Applied Technology
• 3 special education schools
• 1 Phoenix Center for the emotionally impaired
• 1 Learning Center for disruptive middle school
  students
• 1 alternative high school for disruptive high
  school students
• 1 Outdoor Education Center

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System Demographics

• 2.1 ESOL Students
• 14.1 Special Education
• 17.6 Free Reduced Meals (FARMS)

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High School Demographics

• African American 4,772 21.34
• American Indian 61 0.27
• Asian/Pacific Islander 777 3.48
• Hispanic 868 3.88
• White 15,880 71.03
• FARMS 3,093 13.1

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Students Taking AP Courses
5687
4965
5504
4805
2754
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AP Course Enrollment
10,821
10,208
9294
8241
3978
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AP Students Non-White
21.2
18.7
16.4
16.4
14.4
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Seniors Completing At Least One AP Course
48.6
41.4
SY 2003-04
SY 2006-07
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Number of AP Tests Taken
7663
5972
SY 2005-06
SY 2006-07
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Number of AP Test Scores of 3 and Higher
4456
3719
SY 2005-06
SY 2006-07
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Since AP Potential
7,551
100
6,500
6,000
90
5,500
80
5,000
70
4,500
72
4,000
60
61
59
3,500
3,519
50
3,000
49
47
40
2,500
41
2,000
30
1,500
20
1,000
10
500
0
0
2003-2004
2006-2007
Seniors Completed 1 AP Test
SRS scoring gt 3.0
All test taker scoring gt 3.0
Tests completed
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District AP Program Challenges

• Lack of consistency in
• High academic expectations for every student
• Expectations of student work
• Vertical and horizontal alignment of curriculum,
  instruction and assessment
• Grading practices, assignments and assessments
• Engaging instructional practices
• Parent and student understanding of the AP
  course outcomes

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Where do we go from here?

• Greg Pilewski
• Director of Curriculum

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AP Audit Challenges

• Resistance to the AP Audit requirement
• Resistance to mandatory AP Audit template
• Divided buy-in by central office and AP teachers
• Two days of required professional development
• Establishing the Timeline
• Monitoring implementation
• Sustaining professional development

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AACPS AP Audit Template

• Course Title
• Instructional Focus
• Essential Unit Questions
• Essential Content Topic/Domain
• Essential Unit Skills and Instructional Approach
• Class Activities
• Labs
• Major Assignments
• Major Assessment
• Grading Policy

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How Do We Make This Work?
Terry Poisson, Coordinator of Social
Studies Paula Schnabel, AP Teacher, Severna Park
HS
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Where to Start???Recognizing Where We Were

• 9 AP Social Studies Courses
• Approximately 75 teachers at 12 different high
  schools
• Lone Ranger mentality
• Accountability for student achievement was
  personal and/or school specific
• Setting the timeline for completion

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Getting StartedPreparing for What We Need to Do

• Creating the resources
• Laying the ground rules
• Dividing up responsibilities
• Creating the opportunity for meaningful
  discussion collaboration

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Back to the Drawing Board A Second Look at What
We Are Doing

• Peer review of
• the alignment of the essential questions
• the domain to be assessed
• the activities and assessments
• Achieving a collective understanding
• Coordinator review
• Increasing the rigor, relevancy, support

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Off to a Great StartPiloting Step One in an
On-Going Process

• Conversations, sharing of best practices
  creating community
• The community moves online
• Personalization process submission
• 100 Approval

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The Process Taking it to
the Classroom Level

• Fear factor of going it alone
• Process was easy to understand and execute
• Systemic support for approval process
• 100 Approval

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RESULTSEveryone Wins!

• Definitive AP curriculum
• Became a roadmap for how to organize and execute
  freshened approach to several units
• Use of essential questions to guide instruction
• A tool to improve organization and deliver
  instruction through the use of essential
  questions
• Developed a sense of AP community

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Next Steps.

• Continued growth in leadership
• Teacher initiated professional development
• Common formative assessments
• Common grading policy
• Increased collaboration
• Increased student achievement

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Thank You