College Board Starts Auditing "AP" Courses

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<p>I've seen some strange AP course offerings for distance learning, so it appears to be high time that the College Board regulates the use of the AP label for courses.</p>

<p>Excerpt: </p>

<p>"When Bruce Poch, the dean of admissions at Pomona College, sees a high school transcript listing courses in AP Philosophy or AP Middle Eastern History, he knows something is wrong. There is no such thing. Neither subject is among the 37 in the College Board’s Advanced Placement program. </p>

<p>“Schools just slap AP on courses to tag them as high-level, even when there’s no Advanced Placement exam in the subject,” Mr. Poch said. “It was getting to be like Kleenex or Xerox.”</p>

<p>But now, for the first time, the College Board is creating a list of classes each school is authorized to call AP and reviewing the syllabuses for those classes. The list, expected in November, is both an effort to protect the College Board brand and an attempt to ensure that Advanced Placement classes cover what college freshmen learn, so colleges can safely award credit to students who do well on AP exams. </p>

<p>“We’ve heard of schools that offered AP Botany, AP Astronomy, AP Ceramics, and one Wyoming school with AP Military History,” said Trevor Packer, director of the board’s Advanced Placement program. “We don’t have those subjects. One of the reasons colleges called for the audit was that they wanted to know better what it means when they see an AP on a transcript.”</p>

<p>Schools seeking approval for their Advanced Placement courses must submit their syllabuses. Those found lacking are returned, but schools have two more chances to revise them."
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/18/education/18ap.html?ref=education%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/18/education/18ap.html?ref=education&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>This is old news, teachers at my school were doing that this year. To keep the rigorous reputation of AP's up, teachers have to submit a syllabus for review (including textbook, homework, classwork, etc.) and the AP Board critiques it. Some schools can lose AP status in that course if the syllabus is a joke, otherwise they make suggestions and allow you to keep the AP name. I helped one of our less computer-savvy (and I really mean less, all it was was word processing) teachers make theirs. </p>

<p>That's stupid that schools are calling other courses AP. Why not just call them honors? Although that AP Philosophy made me think, I'm surprised College Board doesn't offer that.</p>

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<p>What's wrong with AP Ceramics? My school offers that course, it's the same as AP Studio Art 3D.</p>

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<p>Next year my school is going to start offering AP Lunch, but they're anxious that not many kids are up to the challenge.</p>

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<p>It's about time. No more people claiming to have taken AP Art History. Honestly, do they believe that such a niche subject has an AP exam for it?</p>

<p>Not to mention these AB and BC Calcuseless exams. They sound made up.</p>

<p>AP USH sounds made up as well. What the hell is "USH"?</p>

<p>What about AP Euro? How can you make an entire exam about a currency?</p>

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<p>Ap euro is european hsitory.. -_-x</p>

<p>and id be aweosme if they had ap astronomy.</p>

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<p>^ I'm starting to think it's impossible to make jokes on this forum, not because CC people don't have a sense of humor, but because they're so quick and eager to correct you for any mistake that you make that they just refuse to accept the sarcasm.</p>

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<p>sarcasm usually has some kind of bite or amusing aspect...that post had neither.</p>

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<p>LMAO @ Chris07!!!</p>

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<p>I'm sorry for the incorrect identification, sam. I'll be careful not to label things so haphazardly next time. I guess I just have this sixth sense, where I can tell between the people pretending to be stupid and the people who actually are. It comes in useful.</p>

<p>Seriously, on this whole forum I have the most respect for Jenz. From the few posts I've seen of hers, I can be sure that if anybody on here is not a freaking robot it's her. Thanks for keeping your humanity, Jenz :).</p>

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<p>thats why its always a good idea to show a sarcastic remark with a *. that way, no one is confused or offended</p>

<p>oh an afruff...loved the USH comment. hilarious</p>

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<p>You're just hilarious, chris. Aww, thanks for the compliment. I try. :D</p>

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<p>This reminds me of earlier this year when a friend of mine came up and said "Hey, did you know we offer AP Weight Lifting". I couldn't believe he actually thought that was an AP class and tried to explain to him that it was impossible and that there was some miscommunication. Since I was curious, I looked at my curriculum guide for that year and saw it was indeed AP, but my friend's friend missed the part where it said "Advanced Power Weightlifting" not "Advanced Placement Weightlifting" haha =).</p>

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<p>agreed--- my Rodney Dangerfield reference in another post ("I don't get know respect, etc.") was lost on someone who jumped all over me for not having a basic command of English grammar.....</p>

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<p>i want AP Sleeping !! that's be so cool.. or AP Naptime.</p>

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<p>i would totally rock at AP Coloring! my care bear coloring books look magnificent, if i may say so myself :) i stayed in the lines on every picture</p>

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<p>Haha.. My school is actually rather opposite. We only offer one AP and that is AP Calc AB. That's what it used to be called until this year when the school decided to call it Advanced Math Topics.</p>

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<p>Y'all are so silly!</p>

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<p>AP Sex!!! I'd totally get a 5 on that and i'd totally have to study that class with a few women if you know what I mean... ;)</p>

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<p>Rotfl. (10 char)</p>