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Register now to attend the largest gathering of AP® educators from across the United States and throughout the world. Participate in subject-specific workshops and learn about the latest tools and resources available to you, all while earning IACET Continuing Education Units.
AP Annual Conference 2009
will be held July 15–19, 2009,
in San Antonio, Texas. |
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College Board, California Latino
Legislative Caucus Hold
Education Policy Forum |
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The College Board, along with the California Latino Legislative Caucus, sponsored an education policy forum last month in Sacramento, Calif. The forum was part of a series of education policy events across the country designed to promote change in education policy to better serve all students by helping them prepare for success in college and beyond. Titled “The Importance of College Readiness in Today’s Economic Environment: What Policymakers Need to Know,” the event drew more than 100 educators and policymakers from across California, including district superintendents, higher education admissions and financial aid officers, community college administrators, school counselors, education association leaders and legislators.
Building programs that can prepare all students for college is more challenging in the current economy, but policies and programs that promote college readiness are critical to our economic vitality and competitiveness. More than 90 percent of the fastest-growing jobs in America require some postsecondary education, so creating an educated workforce is the best way to ensure that those jobs stay right here in the U.S. and restore our strong economy.
Presentations at the forum provided information about effective policies and programs; counseling for college readiness; how to define and measure college readiness; the vital role of community colleges in filling demand for a college-educated workforce; and the benefits of higher education to individuals and society. Susan Wilbur, director of undergraduate admissions for the University of California system, served as moderator for the program. Among the presenters were Joe Coto, assembly member and immediate past chair of the California Latino Caucus (23rd District); Brice Harris, chancellor of the Los Rios Community College District; David Conley, professor of EDLD and director of CEPR in the Department of Educational Leadership at the University of Oregon; Phyllis Hart, senior practice associate for the Education Trust-West; and College Board employees Al Mijares, vice president of the Western Region; Andrew Wiley, executive director of higher education research; and Kathleen Little, senior adviser for student aid policy.
Events such as this forum are a part of the
College Board’s ongoing efforts to serve as a major source of information and research in helping to shape policies and programs that will increase access to and success in college. |
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Also noteworthy is the fact that more African American, Latino and American Indian students are participating and experiencing success in AP. However, equity and excellence gaps persist. An equity and excellence gap appears when traditionally underserved students make up a smaller percentage of the group of students experiencing success in AP than the percentage these students represent in the overall graduating class. The report applauds 16 schools in eight states that lead the nation in helping African American or Latino students, or both, succeed in AP.
New research shows that AP continues to prepare students for college success in
many ways, including helping offset college costs. While the IPEDS database indicates that a majority of students entering college today fail to earn a bachelor’s degree on schedule in four years, a recent College Board report (“College Outcomes Comparisons by AP and Non-AP High School Experiences”) shows that AP students are much more likely to graduate within four years, saving the cost of additional tuition and preventing a delay of their entry into the workforce. An unpublished 2007 report from Crux Research found that AP participation and success also help students qualify for scholarships at 31 percent of U.S. colleges and universities. Recent College Board studies and two others from the National Center for Educational Accountability in Austin, Texas, and the Center for Studies in Higher Education at the University of California, Berkeley, continue to show that students scoring at least 3 on an AP Exam experience greater academic success in college and graduate from college at higher rates than their comparable non-AP peers.
The report uses a combination of state, national and AP Program data to provide each U.S. state with the context it can use to celebrate successes, understand unique challenges and set meaningful data-driven goals to prepare more students for college success. The national report and 50 individual state reports show that a greater proportion of students are taking AP courses and succeeding on AP Exams. The data presented also show the states with the greatest percentage of seniors succeeding on AP Exams and the states with the greatest expansion of AP scores of 3 or better since 2003. Offering state-by-state assessments demonstrates the improvement that occurs when state policymakers provide incentives that encourage schools to make AP part of their curriculum. |
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Massachusetts School Counseling
Forum Convenes at State House |
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More than 100 Massachusetts school counselors and other education leaders convened at the State House Feb. 4
for the state’s first Leadership Forum for School Counselors. Their purpose was to identify ways to promote school counseling as a critical component of college and career readiness, as several bills are working their way through the state legislature.
Rep. Cory Atkins (D-Concord) and Rep. Kevin Aguiar (D-New Bedford) spoke to those assembled, expressing their support for school counselors and their goals and offering practical advice for advancing their work at a time when many school districts are looking for ways to reduce their budgets. |
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Massachusetts also needs legislation to provide consistency across all counseling programs
in the state.
Andover High School counselor Peggy Cain, a former College Board Trustee, said that the "forum was held to advocate for counselors and increase awareness among legislators of what school counselors do, because the position has changed so much over the years." She said that Andover’s robust counseling program is due in large part to strong support from the administration, and it can be an example for other districts.
Speakers provided a variety of perspectives, offering a 360-degree view of the importance of coordinated school counseling programs. John Mahoney, director of undergraduate admissions at Boston College, said, “High school counselors are critical emissaries for young people navigating the college admissions process today. Any investment we make in counseling is an investment in the success of these young people.”
The Leadership Forum was organized by the College Board, the Massachusetts School Counseling Association, the National Association for College Admission Counseling and the New England Association for College Admission Counseling. Numerous other statewide organizations shared information about model school counseling practices. Research was presented that illustrated to students the benefits of having a school counselor, especially as they prepare to apply to college. |
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