<p>"...The county school board recently set a goal that by 2011, 80 percent of all high school seniors would take at least one AP or honors course; all high school seniors enrolled in college preparatory courses would take an advanced placement exam and 75 percent of the seniors who take the exams would score a 3 or better, enough to earn college credit.</p>
<p>"Parents and students say Severna Park High has taken the district's push to an extreme. In the beginning of the year, AP students were asked to sign a contract of sorts that they intend to take exams at the end of the course that could yield college credit...</p>
<p>"The scandal should force school officials, parents and students to reassess the value they're all placing on taking as many AP courses as possible and scoring high, said Terra Ziporyn Snider, an active parent at Severna Park High.</p>
<p>" 'It's creating a very unhealthy environment where the courses are geared not toward maximizing learning but how to maximize test scores,' she said. 'The cheating on the AP history test was the apex, the breaking point of this building pressure. But it's pervasive. All the kids feel this pressure.' "</p>
<p>There is also clearly a problem of inadequate proctoring and staff indifference to reports of cheating -- but where does that come from? The same pressure to "excel"?</p>
<p>WHOA, this is absolutely right!!!
The truth is that these AP courses don't come close to being the rigor of a class in college. The college profs are noticing in math for instance, proofs are not being taught enough in calculus. They are teaching to the AP test for statistical purposes and not for higher education purposes.</p>
<p>That said, my D's both took many AP classes and it gave them some room for growth in college for exploring areas of interest they might not have been able to take.</p>
<p>I think the AP classes should try to mimic a college environment, but having heavy reading, papers etc. not just try to get them to pass an end of year test.</p>
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The college profs are noticing in math for instance, proofs are not being taught enough in calculus.
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<p>Tangential to the main point, but most calculus courses do not teach proofs. In fact, the MV calc and Linear Algebra classes S took at Harvard did not teach proofs; in S's words, they were plug and chug.</p>
<p>2 major university Honors math dept heads told me the very same things:
H.S. AP teachers should be using proofs ongoing and do not. SO, even students who make 5 on AP cal BC levels are not prepared for the next step.....as far as being able to incorporate proofs.</p>
<p>I am not a mathematician. BUT, my daughter is.....I want her prepared for college math classes not just for taking a multiple choice test. I thought it was interesting that these dept heads spoke the same words.</p>
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In fact, the MV calc and Linear Algebra classes S took at Harvard did not teach proofs; in S's words, they were plug and chug.
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<p>Extension school? I know that there are subsequent courses in Harvard that thoroughly cover proofs, but I'm surprised that the excellent Bretscher textbook (developed at Harvard for Harvard courses) wasn't applied to the linear algebra course in a way that practiced writing proofs. My son's linear algebra course, just wrapped up with the same textbook, had lots and lots of proofs for homework and for tests.</p>
<p>not sure this is so much related to AP -- Saverna admin doesn't appear to care about cheating at all levels -- it appears pervasive.</p>
<p>During AP testing at our school, students must bring IDs, and they must leave the test booklet with the proctor when they take a break. An admin stationed near the bathroom to minimize cross talk about the test. Stopping cheating is not rocket science -- just need a will to do it. Hand out a few F's and that will get the student's attention pretty quickly.</p>
<p>It has nothing to do with College vs. Extension School, except that, as a high schooler, S could not take the different MVCalc courses that were available at the College. The only MVCalc course offered at the Extension School was Math 21 a &b, which is the same as taught in the College.
The courses that introduce proof are Math 23 (not much) and, more extensively, Math 25. Math 55 assumes that students already can do proofs. Many colleges have courses specifically designed to teach proof and they are aimed at post-Calculus students. At Harvard, it's Math 101.</p>
<p>I raised the question about Extension school because at the beginning of the school year I did a Web search to look for syllabuses of various college courses that use the Bretscher textbook. Both the Harvard Extension School and Harvard FAS offer such a course, but the syllabuses are not identical as to assigned problems or testing procedures and the like. It appears that my son's course landed on more of the textbook problems that took the form "Prove . . . " and that is a strength of that textbook: it allows for a lot of flexibility in how the course is presented. </p>
<p>Maybe more emphasis on proofs (said tokenadult to return to the topic of the thread) means less emphasis on something else. The AP calculus syllabus takes a particular "reform" approach to calculus that is not especially proof-oriented, and my son reports that at least one topic on the BC calculus AP test he took the week before last was unfamiliar to him, even though he had a non-AP-designated calculus course that should have covered "all of the same topics." His university instructors think it is wholly unnecessary for the students in his class to take the AP calculus test, but I thought he should do that anyway just for the point of comparison between curricula. It'll be interesting to see his AP scores when they come out in July.</p>
<p>It really depends on the instructor as to which text and method is chosen. The year my S took MV Calc, the text was Stewart. That's the same text used in many AP-Calc classes. And it was also assigned to the regular College class that year. As you know, profs have different perspectives on calculus reform, and these differences can be found among the Harvard faculty.</p>
<p>S used DWFK for AP-Calc and did not encounter surprises at the exam.</p>
<p>I'm more surprised that the school mentioned in the article is in fact saying that 80% of it's seniors will be of the level to take honors or AP classes and therefore by virtue of that statement would be college bound. It must not have a very diverse student population.</p>
<p>Where my S attends students are placed into different Calc sequences based upon a placement test. The sequences provide the same credit, but are taught differently based on the student's background. There is a sequence that relies little on proofs, though they are introduced. The next sequence relies a great deal more on proofs, and the third is primarily proof based. For those who are interested in math and who place out of all three sequences, there are analysis and honors analysis courses that are entirely proof based. Similarly, the physics, chemistry, and o-chem courses rely a great deal on proofs. The logic inherent in doing proofs also extends to the type of analysis work done in the humanities and social sciences core courses as well. In short, having a background in proofs can be quite advantageous at some schools. S's HS AP courses did not make much use of proofs, so he studied it on his own some before beginning college. That is the one area he wished there was more of in his courses. </p>
<p>For my S and his HS classmates, I never got the impression that they found the the AP courses particularly stressful. The curriculum does often morph to meet the AP requirements. S2's language arts curriculum includes a systematic progression of writing exercises designed to produce good outcomes on the various AP exams where writing is essential. There is also a movement to include more proof-based work, but since it is not required for a 4 or 5, it has not received much attention.</p>
<p>I don't accept school culture as an excuse for cheating. These kids were quite smart and manipulative in what they did, certainly smart enough to know better. It's a shame the other kids have to retake their tests. The school should discipline the guilty parties and have it noted on their transcripts, and they should not be permitted a second try on the test.</p>
<p>My school district wants to have 100% of students take at least 1 AP class! And teachers (many of them have degree from National University) want to teach. They don't want kids take classes from colleges because they can teach everything the kids need!</p>