Changes coming to AP Bio and US Hist

[OLG]

Interesting article! The skeptic in me thinks the revamping is more about the drop in the number of students getting 3's or better but paring down taht bio material is welcomed.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/education/edlife/09ap-t.html?_r=1&ref=edlife

[Teachin'Mine]

It sounds good to me! How can you possibly have any interesting discussions or more in depth research and all when you've got 1400 pages to cover? :tongue_smilie:

[Corraleno]

:hurray: Some highlights:

But many of the courses, particularly in the sciences and history, have also been criticized for overwhelming students with facts to memorize and then rushing through important topics. Students and educators alike say that biology, with 172,000 test-takers this year, is one of the worst offenders.

......

 

A preview of the changes shows that the board will slash the amount of material students need to know for the tests and provide, for the first time, a curriculum framework for what courses should look like. The goal is to clear students’ minds to focus on bigger concepts and stimulate more analytic thinking. In biology, a host of more creative, hands-on experiments are intended to help students think more like scientists.

......

 

The new approach is important because critical thinking skills are considered essential for advanced college courses and jobs in today’s information-based economy. College administrators and veteran A.P. teachers familiar with the new biology curriculum believe the changes could have significant reverberations for how science is taught in introductory college classes and even elementary school classrooms, and might bring some of the excitement back to science learning.

To be honest, I'm actually a bit shocked that common sense has prevailed! I'm looking forward to seeing the revised Bio program and lab suggestions. I still wish they'd divide US and World History into 2 exams each, though, like the CLEP tests do; one year is just not enough to cover all of world history, IMHO.

 

Jackie

[flyingiguana]

Based on our experience with the US History test, though, I suspect the college board never had expected kids to know all those nitpicky facts. They just hadn't been up front about it. This may be more about revising their image than a major revision of the test itself.

 

Or maybe the college board finally realized that many teachers are teaching to an imagined test that was more difficult than the actual test. And the question remains as to whether students who score well on the revised test will be any better prepared than those who have scored well in the past.

 

I can see that the college board has an interest in making the test look like it does more to prepare students for upper level courses, whether it does or not. Right now, a lot of schools are starting to question whether they should give any credit for AP, which makes fewer high school students take the tests, which means less money for the college board.

 

The prep books are a good source for seeing what is actually on the test. There are things that are more emphasized than others. You really don't have to know it all, even for the current tests.

 

This article seemed to be describing the test my daughter actually took, rather than the one it claims is the current version.

[MomsintheGarden]

I still wish they'd divide US and World History into 2 exams each, though, like the CLEP tests do; one year is just not enough to cover all of world history, IMHO.

:iagree: