AP Course Development - Certified AP Teacher

[Sebastian (a lady)]

When I was at the Midwest Convention in Cincinnati, I heard the term Certified AP Teacher a couple of times.

 

One was from one of the speakers, a college prep coach who had a lot of good content but who frustrated me when she insisted that only juniors and seniors could take AP courses (evidently because that's what her local area principals tell her). She was listing the ways that a student could prep for the AP exam and listed a) self study, b) tutoring or class with a Certified AP Teacher, c) online class.

 

It came up again when I was speaking with the College Board reps who were there discussing the CLEP program. I ended up talking with them on a number of issues for about an hour. At one point, one of the reps mentioned the AP Teacher Certification as something that was required if a course was to be listed as an AP course on a transcript. His own kids were homeschooled and he said that some of his area's coops had invested the money in getting this certification for their teachers.

 

I can see that there might be both a professional and a marketing advantage to being able to say that a coop or cottage school course or online course was taught by a "Certified AP Teacher". But I cannot see much purpose to the process for an individual parent.

 

The College Board folks did admit that their expertise was with CLEP and that the company tended to have very separate departments for the different programs. But they also seemed to think that this was a requirement in addition to a course syllabus audit for citing a course as Advanced Placement (on the transcript, not citing something as with AP exam).

 

I thought I saw someone post a link in a recent thread that indicated the teacher certification was recommended but not required. Has anyone ever had College Board ask about this when submitting a syllabus for audit?

[angela in ohio]

According to the College Board site, "There are no rigidly defined selection criteria for who can serve as an AP teacher." I know homeschool moms IRL who have had a syllabus approved, and they aren't even certified teachers at all.

 

I would assume that they are confusing having a course syllabus approved and having the teacher somehow approved. There may also be some states who require something extra for teachers of AP, who knows?

 

I would be interested to know who the speaker was. :D

[Sebastian (a lady)]

According to the College Board site, "There are no rigidly defined selection criteria for who can serve as an AP teacher." I know homeschool moms IRL who have had a syllabus approved, and they aren't even certified teachers at all.

 

I would assume that they are confusing having a course syllabus approved and having the teacher somehow approved. There may also be some states who require something extra for teachers of AP, who knows?

 

I would be interested to know who the speaker was. :D

 

The speaker was Jean Burk of College Prep Genius. I thought that she did a good job of addressing how you could prep and package a student for college admissions.

 

But she was also quite insistent that only juniors and seniors could take AP courses. It was part of her overhead notes and also something she restated when I stayed to ask questions after the workshop. My best guess is that since she is not only speaking with homeschoolers but also contracting with schools that she is mixing together school or district requirements for enrolling in a course with College Board requirements.

 

As far as I can tell, College Board will take exam registration money from anyone. Districts can set their own rules about who may and may not register for the AP course offerings. That might be juniors and seniors (or exceptions for advanced standing) in some areas. In other areas it may get pushed down to freshmen (especially for some of the courses that might require less math or less fluent writing/analysis skills). I know some of the Virginia districts have freshmen taking courses like psychology, environmental science and human geography. (Whether this is a good use of a course slot or not is a different thread altogether.:D)

 

BTW: I did find that Ms. Burk was spot on with many of the things she said. For example, she was promoting the PSAT and making sure your student took it as a junior. She was big on taking the SAT well in advance of spring of senior year.

 

But I was also reminded that she was there to sell her services. I found myself wondering how many other categorical statements I would have issue with and how many I wouldn't notice and let slip past. YMMV.

[Supertechmom]

I didn't have any problem. I'm not a teacher on any level. When I applied to get approval for a syllabus just the other week, I submitted the syllabus under the homeschool_my state option. No one ever asked for credentials, there were never any spaces or lines asking for teaching credentials or anything of that sort. There is a workshop that i saw offered to teachers to learn the requirements for AP classes and how to teach the AP class and handle the labs better but I never saw anything that suggested it was a requirement. And I have had 2 syllabi approved in the last month or two.

 

If it is a requirement, I don't know about it and have never been asked to show proof of it. Maybe it is something that pertains strictly to regular classrooms???

[Jane Elliot]

I wonder if that term is referring to certifying teachers to administer the AP exams. I understood that our local school got one of their teachers certified to oversee AP exams just in case they ever decided to offer AP to their students. They still don't offer AP, but my homeschooled students have been able to take exams under his supervision, so I'm glad they made that decision. I could be totally mistaken, but this is how I understood it.

[Brigid in NC]

But she was also quite insistent that only juniors and seniors could take AP courses. It was part of her overhead notes and also something she restated when I stayed to ask questions after the workshop. My best guess is that since she is not only speaking with homeschoolers but also contracting with schools that she is mixing together school or district requirements for enrolling in a course with College Board requirements.

 

I heard the same presentation in Greenville, SC, and I was sad to hear this incorrect information shared with a standing-room-only crowd of homeschool moms who were trying to figure out everything they could about stewarding their students through the high school years. There may be schools and school systems that establish grade-level parameters, but the College Board does not mandate that AP courses and AP tests can only be taken in the junior and senior year. That is not correct.

 

Cheers! ~Brigid

Edited April 30, 2012 by Brigid in NC

[snowbeltmom]

At one point, one of the reps mentioned the AP Teacher Certification as something that was required if a course was to be listed as an AP course on a transcript.

 

I remember reading about this issue a few years ago. Some schools were using the AP designation on some of their course descriptions even though they were not legitimate College Board AP courses. In order to prohibit this practice, the CB required that courses be approved by the College Board. Initially, the CB approval critieria included that the instructor of the course had to be a certified teacher. The private school protested because many of their teachers do not hold a teaching certificate. As a result, the CB removed the teacher certification requirement.

 

Maybe this is what the speaker was refering to?

Edited April 30, 2012 by snowbeltmom

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I remember reading about this issue a few years ago. Some schools were using the AP designation on some of their course descriptions even though they were not legitimate College Board AP courses. In order to prohibit this practice, the CB required that courses be approved by the College Board. Initially, the CB approval critieria included that the instructor of the course had to be a certified teacher. The private school protested because many of their teachers do not hold a teaching certificate. As a result, the CB removed the teacher certification requirement.

 

Maybe this is what the speaker was refering to?

 

I'm pretty sure that the CB reps were referring to a College Board managed or approved certification, not just having a teaching credential.

 

But it also looks like this is a nice to have, not a requirement.

[Mom22ns]

My SIL who is a high school math teacher is going to a week long workshop this summer to get her "AP teacher certification", so she can teach their high school's AP Calc & Stats classes. I know it can't be required because of the homechool mom's that are getting classes approved, but I do know such a thing exists.

 

They are also planning to start offering a second year of Calc in 2013 because the kids that take Algebra in 7th grade need another math class for their senior year. (The few that actually make it through that is.)

[Sebastian (a lady)]

My SIL who is a high school math teacher is going to a week long workshop this summer to get her "AP teacher certification", so she can teach their high school's AP Calc & Stats classes. I know it can't be required because of the homechool mom's that are getting classes approved, but I do know such a thing exists.

 

They are also planning to start offering a second year of Calc in 2013 because the kids that take Algebra in 7th grade need another math class for their senior year. (The few that actually make it through that is.)

 

I'd actually be interested in what your SIL thinks of the workshop.

 

I do have an ed degree and it's occured to me that tutoring and coop classes might be an eventual job for me as a retired homeschooler. There seem to be folks in my area who teach for multiple coops and homeschooler enrichment centers.