The College Board Advanced Placement Course Audit Details and Timelines

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The College Board Advanced Placement Course Audit
Details and Timelines

• Pinellas County Schools
• Revised 7/27/06 Key Revisions are in Purple
• You can find this presentation on the District
  For Staff websitehttp//www.pinellas.k12.fl.us/f
  orStaff/

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Why a Course Audit?

• Requested by College Board
• Member Institutions to
• Articulate clear guidelines on curricular and
  resource requirements that must be in place for
  AP courses
• Help colleges and universities better interpret
  secondary courses marked AP on student transcripts

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What will the Course Audit accomplish?

• Authorization to use the Advanced Placement
  (AP)_at_ course name
• Ensure consistency that AP represents college
  level course work yet,
• supports the principle that each school develops
  its own course curriculum

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Why is it important to me?

• Without authorization you will not be teaching AP
  courses
• Therefore you would lose the FDOE personal bonus
  for AP Exam performance (up to 2000)
• The district would lose FDOE funds to pay AP exam
  fees and provide AP enhancement funds to schools

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When is the Course Audit?

• The process has begun
• No restrictions on the use of the AP name for
  courses in 2006-2007
• Final deadline for submission of required
  documents is June1, 2007, but there are earlier
  Pinellas deadlines (details momentarily)
• Courses must be authorized to use the AP Course
  Name in 2007-2008

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What is required?

• Each AP Course and the teacher must be authorized
• For each course submit
• An AP Course Audit Form, signed by the teacher
  and principal
• A detailed Course Syllabus
• Originally more was required (teacher
  credentials, sample assignments, etc)
• PCS will also require a Cover Sheet for internal
  district accountability (details momentarily)

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What is on the Audit Form?

• The Audit Form requires the teacher and principal
  to verify by signature specific
• Curricular Requirements and,
• Resource Requirements
• The requirements for each course are found on the
  AP Central Course Audit Home Pagehttp//apcentral
  .collegeboard.com

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Sample Curricular and Resource Requirements

• AP CALCULUS AB
• Curricular Requirements
• The teacher has read the most recent AP Calculus
  Course Description, available as a free download
  on the AP Calculus AB Course Home Page.   AP
  Calculus AB Course Home Page
• The course teaches all topics associated with
  Functions, Graphs, and Limits Derivatives and
  Integrals as delineated in the Calculus AB Topic
  Outline in the AP Calculus Course Description.
• The course provides students with the opportunity
  to work with functions represented in a variety
  of ways -- graphically, numerically,
  analytically, and verbally -- and emphasizes the
  connections among these representations.
• The course teaches students how to communicate
  mathematics and explain solutions to problems
  both verbally and in written sentences.
• The course teaches students how to use graphing
  calculators to help solve problems, experiment,
  interpret results, and support conclusions.
• Resource Requirements
• The school ensures that each student has a
  college-level calculus textbook (supplemented
  when necessary to meet the curricular
  requirements) for individual use inside and
  outside of the classroom.
• The school ensures that each student has a
  graphing calculator for individual use inside and
  outside of the classroom, with all the required
  capabilities listed in the AP Calculus Course
  Description. (A list of approved graphing
  calculators is available on AP Central on the AP
  Calculus AB Course Home Page.)   AP Calculus AB
  Course Home Page

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What must the syllabus contain?

• Required elements include
• Course Name
• Course-long plan (by unit, month, week, or other
  organizing principle including
• Content (topics, themes, conceptual approaches,
  and/or skills
• Major assignments assessments

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Syllabus Contents (cont)

• Complete bibliographic citation for the textbook
• If applicable, describe the types and quantity of
  other instructional resources
• AP Science courses will need to include details
  on all lab investigations
• Additional details and sample syllabi for each
  course on AP Central including a soon to be
  released Syllabus Wizard

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How are these materials submitted?

• This is an electronic process!
• Syllabi must be submitted electronically
• Course Audit Forms may be printed and faxed or
  submitted electronically using electronic
  signatures
• Final submission instructions to be posted on AP
  Central in January 2007

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How often will I need to do this?

• Hopefully only once!
• Principals will request annual renewal as long as
  the teacher does not change and the College Board
  Course Description has not changed
• When teachers change, or new courses are added at
  a school, new audit documents will need to be
  submitted

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Course Audit Terminology

• AP Course Audit Form
• Course Syllabus
• Authorization
• Provisional Authorization (when a teacher has not
  yet been assigned). Details in January 2007
• Alternative Approach ( if you choose not to sign
  off on an audit form requirement) There is a
  process to document how your approach fulfills
  the general requirements of the corresponding
  college course)

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Course Audit Terminology (cont)

• Curricular Requirements
• Resource Requirements
• Ledger of Approved Courses
• AP Central

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Tips

• Start early
• Work collaboratively
• Use the AP Central Resources (e.g. Sample
  Syllabi) and Electronic Discussion Groups
• There is no indication that individual teacher
  syllabi need to be significantly different!

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Where do I get more information?

• AP Central http//apcentral.collegeboard.com
• Click on the Course Audit Information at the top
• You do need to register with a username and
  password (free)

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A quick tour of AP Central and the Course Audit
pages
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The Timeline and Pinellas Process(Handout)

• June - October 2006
• District other assistance
• AP Teacher develop/refine syllabi
• October December 2007
• College Board holds online training events
• College Board posts annotated syllabi,
  checklists, PowerPoint presentations, syllabus
  wizard, and other resources
• January 2007 College Board posts final forms
  and instructions

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• September 15, 2006 APCs submit list of courses
  to be authorized
• November 17, 2006 Deadline to submit copies of
  Audit Forms and Syllabi to district (last day
  before Thanksgiving break)
• Use the District Course Audit Cover Sheet
  (handout)

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• Jan Feb 2007 Documents returned to teachers
  for electronic submission to College Board.
• June 1, 2007 Final Deadline (College Board)

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• June Aug 2007 College Board notifies schools
  of authorization
• APCs submit copy of Authorization letters to
  district
• November 2007 Ledger distributed to colleges
  and universities

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District Contacts

• Bill Lawrence, APIP Project Manager
• lawrencew_at_pcsb.org
• 588.6480 or 588.6044
• Karalia Baldwin, Supervisor K-12 Guidance and
  College Board Liaison
• baldwink_at_pcsb.org
• 588.6053

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Questions?