The Broad Foundation Releases Guide to Expanding AP® Access

Feb. 2010

Programs and Services

In January the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation released a new guide to help superintendents, charter school leaders and their staffs establish expanded Advanced Placement® programs that can serve many more students, particularly low-income and minority youth. Expanding Advanced Placement (AP) Access: A Guide to Increasing AP Participation and Success as a Means for Improving College Readiness describes a step-by-step process for adopting, implementing and evaluating AP programs. It draws on the experiences of 10 urban school districts, including finalists for the Broad Prize for Urban Education, as well as a number of nonprofit organizations, and includes practical examples that may be useful as district and charter school leaders expand AP access.

One goal of the guide is to assist districts and states in their efforts to attain federal ARRA funds, including Race to the Top, School Improvement Grants and the Investing in Innovation Fund. One of the approved uses of these new funds is the expansion of AP programs, which the Broad Foundation describes as “research-based, proven strategies that districts can use to help raise student achievement, reduce achievement gaps and increase college readiness.”

Expanding Advanced Placement Access includes:

• A description of the link between AP success and college readiness.
• A step-by-step process outlining various strategies district leaders can use to expand AP access to many more low-income and minority students across the district.
• Expected resources and timeline required to implement an AP expansion program.
• Tools to build school and central office infrastructures necessary to support AP expansion.
• Suggestions to engage parents, teachers and community members in the expansion effort.
• Tools to identify new prospective AP students and prepare them early for rigorous AP course work.
• Examples of incentives that can be used to encourage students and teachers to participate in the expansion effort.
• Suggestions for funding sources that can be used to fuel AP expansion.

Expanding Advanced Placement Access is available, along with other toolkits and guides for education leaders, on the Broad Foundation website by clicking on the “Resourses for Districts” tab. You can also view or download it directly at http://www.broadeducation.org/asset/1344-ap%20toolkit.pdf.

“It is our hope that these materials will help superintendents, charter school leadership and their staff — and ultimately students, families and communities — as they move forward in their efforts to provide a quality education to all children,” said Dan Katzir, managing director of the Broad Foundation.