Report Calls for Changes in Accelerated-Study Programs in Math and Science
By ALEX P. KELLOGG
Washington
High-school courses that let students pursue advanced study in mathematics and science should be more in-depth, and should also be made more widely available to poor and minority students, a report issued Thursday concludes.</p>
<p>The report, “Learning and Understanding: Improving Advanced Study of Mathematics and Science in U.S. High Schools,” was published by the National Research Council of the National Academies. It criticizes Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs, which offer college-level work primarily to high-school juniors and seniors. Among other things, the report’s authors argue, many of the accelerated-study courses in math and science in American high schools try to cover too much material and often emphasize rote memorization rather than a deeper grasp of the underlying concepts.</p>
<p>The report also argues that the courses should be made more widely available to students from low-income families and members of minority groups, who are now much less likely to take them. Advanced study at the high-school level is virtually compulsory for students hoping to attend a top college or university these days, yet the report’s authors note that the number of accelerated courses available at a high school tends to be inversely proportional to the number of low-income and minority students attending it.</p>
<p>“Simply exposing students to advanced material or duplicating college courses is not by itself a satisfactory goal,” said Jerry P. Gollub, co-chairman of the committee that wrote the report, and a professor of physics at Haverford College. “The primary aim of programs such as Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate should be to help students achieve deep understanding of the content and unifying ideas of a science or math discipline.”</p>
<p>Mr. Gollub and his fellow authors note that accelerated-study programs have helped increase the overall quality of mathematics and science education in the United States, but they recommend a number of concrete steps to improve both the content and availability of such courses.</p>
<p>Among the report’s recommendations are that the College Board and the International Baccalaureate Organization, which separately oversee the two accelerated-study programs, support more professional development for teachers, so that they are better trained and better prepared. The report’s authors also recommend that the College Board set more-rigorous standards for what constitutes an AP course, detailing the kind of student preparation expected and outlining strategies for ensuring equity in access. As academe has come to rely more heavily on AP courses to measure students’ preparedness for college, the authors contend, some schools that sponsor such courses have not provided adequate laboratories or other teaching and learning resources. Educational officials should also ensure that preparation for advanced study begins as early as middle school, the authors argue.</p>
<p>“The fact of the matter is we’re in agreement with many of the recommendations,” said Chiara Coletti, a spokeswoman for the College Board, “and we have been acting on some of these things before they ever became recommendations of the National Research Council.”</p>
<p>Ms. Coletti noted that, among other things, the College Board revamped its AP calculus test several years ago to emphasize depth over breadth, after getting advice from educational experts and mathematicians. She also noted that the organization began a push two and a half years ago to extend AP course offerings to more low-income and minority students, after Richard W. Riley, who was U.S. secretary of education at the time, made such a recommendation. Nearly 50,000 more low-income students took AP tests in 2001 than in 1992, according to College Board records, and the organization is in the midst of offering pre-Advanced Placement course work in mathematics and humanities in middle schools to increase overall preparedness for such courses in high school.