Two different versions of "big ideas" rooted content maps have recently been published for general chemistry. As embodied in the content outline from the College Board, one of these maps is designed to guide curriculum development and testing for advanced placement (AP) chemistry. The Anchoring Concepts Content Map for general chemistry…

In 2015, Fong, Finkelstein, Jaeger, Diaz, and Broek reported the findings from an independent evaluation of the Expository Reading and Writing Course (ERWC). The evaluation found positive and statistically significant effects of the ERWC on student achievement. Due to some concerns that the previously reported results in Fong et al. (2015) did not…

The AP Course Audit utilizes a criterion-based professional judgment method of analysis within a nested multi-step review process. The overall goal of the methodology is to yield a final judgment on each syllabus that is ultimately valid. While reviewer consistency is an important consideration, the most important goal is to reach a final judgment…

Advanced Placement serves the interests of three groups: (1) high school students capable of pursuing college-level studies, (2) secondary schools that desire to offer these students the opportunity of working at an advanced level, and (3) colleges that wish to encourage and recognize such achievement. Professional consensus on the form that these…

Two students describe their experience in an advanced placement (AP) American history course. (JDH)

The high academic quality of advanced placement courses is widely recognized; however, students still have the capacity to improve performance, as shown by an analysis of 1970 test answers. (JB)

Graduates of the Mesa Public Schools Advanced Placement (A/P) program were surveyed to determine: (1) their attitudes toward their experience in the program; (2) college credits received for their A/P classes; and (3) their suggestions for A/P program improvement. A/P courses, offered within the regular curriculum, have grown significantly since…

A study sought to find out how many skills which women learn through life experience can be transferred to selected postsecondary vocational education programs. Methodology included mailing sixteen sets of nine questionnaires to women in women's centers, displaced homemaker centers, and counseling centers in seven states. Questionnaires covered…

A college-level introductory psychology course was completed by gifted adolescents. Post-course and remote-post-course measures for the 100 participants and controls demonstrated that knowledge gain from course participation was substantial and long-lived, affecting the quality of the students' understanding, their ability to generalize and apply…

The Advanced Placement Program of the College Entrance Examination Board provides a practical way for schools and colleges to create and use common definitions of college level courses, which, when completed in secondary school, prepare students for advanced study at college. The examinations are graded according to the following scale: 5 -…