States that high school teachers can handle rigorous advanced placement courses in world history or world civilizations if they (1) have access to good teaching materials and (2) have been provided with the proper training. Address both issues, listing reading materials and describing the aspects involved in training teachers. (CMK)

Advanced placement (AP) tests in the United States are one of the best examples of home-grown high standards, but only a few students participate in them. Increasing student access to AP examinations offers a ready-made approach to high standards that can be expanded easily. (SLD)

Dual-credit programs allow students to enroll in college courses for credit while still in high school. These programs significantly reduce the time required to achieve an associate or baccalaureate degree, thereby reducing the cost both to the student and to the state. Many states are providing legislative support for program expansion. (Contains…

This chapter explores how multiple approaches including data mining can help examine how the lengths of student enrollment are associated with varying numbers of advanced placement units. (Contains 3 tables and 5 figures.)

In this article, the author introduces Birka, a strategic trading game for high school economics students in either regular or advanced placement classes. For the game, students assume the role of Vikings who have returned to the medieval outpost of Birka to trade the loot from villages they have plundered. Playing cards represent the loot:…

It has been suggested that the International Baccalaureate Organization could be expected to "influence" as many as 100 million people in the foreseeable future. This article focuses on some of the cultural dissonances that may be produced from attempts to "clone" on to non-Eurocentric models, educational systems and methodologies designed to…

This article compares the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IBPYP) as implemented at three schools in the USA. The author hypothesizes that the schools each offer a unique form of the program based on the respective context and capacity to implement the IBPYP. The author found consistency among the faculties in their explanation…

Advanced Placement Human Geography (APHG) has grown steadily from 3,272 tests at the first test administration in 2001 to 14,139 tests in 2005. This paper examines the dynamics of growth throughout the United States through numbers of students and numbers of high schools involved in the program. APHG is discussed relative to the establishment of…

When students already are achieving at high levels, it can be easy for teachers to become complacent. However, Mountain Brook Schools in suburban Birmingham, Alabama, has developed a culture committed to continuous improvement that has resulted in an excellent system becoming outstanding. The key is professional development. Professional learning…

The New Mexico Public Education Department 2010 Annual Report was created as a way to reflect on the accomplishments in education that occurred under Governor Bill Richardson's administration from 2002-2010. In 2003, the Governor outlined a reform agenda and pledged his commitment to improve education in New Mexico. In the fall of 2003, Governor…

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) "Special Education at a Glance." which includes a copy of the "Guide to Planning and Assessing School-Based Special Education Programs." provides in a single document, information about the special education population at each Montgomery County (Maryland) public school, including…

The State of Florida Department of Education provides pre-and-post-graduation data for public high school graduates throughout Florida. These data were used for the present report to produce data sets for all M-DCPS regular high schools and charter high schools graduating students in 2008 and 2009. Summary data for the district are also provided.…

The Abell Foundation commissioned this study to examine the potential of dual college enrollment and similar learning options for students enrolled in Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS) high schools. What is the potential of dual enrollment as a strategy to improve high school completion rates, ease the transition to college for…

This document looks at the academic reasons why states should take seriously the use of Web-based courses provided by state virtual schools to improve student access to quality teachers and quality courses. State virtual schools are not about technology, but rather about using today's technology to meet the tremendous academic needs of middle…

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…