Project 5: Advanced Placement Testing Coordination

Narrative

Originally, I had two separate project ideas relating to the AP Program at my school. One was discussing grading practices and scheduling of AP classes. The other was the actual process of administering the tests. I have decided to combine them into one project since a lot of the work was inter-related.

As a counselor and the Advanced Placement program coordinator at my school, my work is directly impacted by the decisions that are made in regards to the AP program. Those decisions ultimately lead to who is able to take AP classes and exams, how those classes are graded, and how many exams I end up ordering and proctoring.

Throughout the year, several issues came up that I wanted to bring back to the AP teachers along with administration for us to talk about. The first issue was in reference to how AP classes are graded. I brought this up because our administrative team encouraged all teachers to take a closer look at their grading practices, which I think was a great idea and yielded positive results. However, since before I started at my school, AP classes have been graded on a slightly different scale. I wanted teachers, especially the newer ones who were not part of the decision-making team to change that grading scale, to: reflect on grading practices, understand the bonus GPA point that is given to AP classes, and talk about any changes that might be needed. After a healthy conversation, AP teachers all agreed to keep the grading practices as they were. The second issue related to students who had asked about taking AP Exams even though they were not currently taking the corresponding AP class. Most of the students had unique circumstances and I did not want to make a decision on my own. Two students were not currently in AP Spanish Language, but wanted to take the exam without the class so that they could take more academic classes next year. After speaking to the teacher and then to the students, one opted to take the exam while the other did not. Two more students wanted to take AP Exams for classes that we did not offer and that I did not order exams for. One was a French Exam and the other was Physics. After speaking to the AP teachers, we decided that this might open the door to a lot of exams that we do not offer classes for, which would be a logistical problem on test day, in addition to being a risk to students because they were not preparing for them with a class. Both students decided to consider taking community college classes in those areas instead. Finally, three other students wanted to take an exam over again for a class that they took last year. They had financial reasons for wanting to do so, but after consulting with teachers and talking to the students, there was little evidence that one of them had been preparing for that exam, especially since she had attendance issues. We did not want to set a precedent for students to be able to take multiple exams over again if they are not preparing for them. The other students were actively preparing for the exam with current students in the class and were allowed to take them. The final issue we discussed over these meetings was how to encourage more students to sign up to take AP classes for next year and how we could support students who might be struggling. We agreed that we want to open the possibility of more students taking AP classes, and the conversation left off with one of our new AP teachers explaining a program that they did at her previous school in which they had a grant that helped pay AP teachers to rotate and spend extra time before and after school with AP students.

These conversations helped me to finalize how many AP Exams I would be ordering for this year. Once exams were ordered, I arranged for collection of payment and all logistical planning for the testing weeks. I organized the testing schedule, room usage, and proctors. This year was especially challenging because it was the first time that our school has ever offered the AP Studio Art class, which does not take an exam. Instead they submit a portfolio, which is more complicated.

A series of different things really complicated matters during testing week. To start, my grandmother passed away, so I had to prepare an administrator to proctor an exam and gather materials in my absence on the day of my grandmother's services. There was a minor testing incident which he was not sure how to report and I had to troubleshoot upon my return. Next, there was an issue with one of the extra exams that I was supposed to order. Somehow, in the confusion of which students would be allowed to test without being enrolled in the class, and which would not, I ended up being one exam short. I was very panicked and worried because it was an error on my part for a unique situation which we had previously discussed. Luckily, I spoke to the student whom this affected and she actually was worried about taking the exam after all. She was relieved that she would not be taking it, which relieved me, because it could have been a lot worse. She is a senior and this will not impact her college admissions decision. I spoke to her father and it all worked out, but I got lucky. Also, I had two issues with the AP Studio Art portfolios, which I anticipated, since it was our first time offering them. The original shipment that was sent to me was one short, so when I called to notify the collegeboard, I expected them to fulfill the order and send me another. I received another portfolio, but what they ended up doing was adding another one to my order, so the inventory was off. They had on record that they sent 32, when I only received 31. This made it extremely difficult to create packing lists and invoices, however after a couple of hours on the phone, we figure it out. Lastly, one student was not able to make it on the day of his originally scheduled exam because he had an appointment set to complete his Deferred Action process. I had to order him a make-up exam.

Reflections on Leadership

From the conversations with AP teachers about grading and policy on test-taking, I learned that in this type of meeting every person might have a different opinion on how things should be. That being said, I also learned that the most important thing is to do what is best for each student, even if it means not doing the same thing every time. Finally, I learned how tricky these sort of school policy discussions can be when you think about how decisions might be setting a precedent. These conversations are ongoing, so a lot still has yet to be decided. What I would do differently is take more copious notes. We had great conversations, but for one of the meetings I took notes, and for another my principal did. With better notes and a summary e-mail after each meeting, the conversation will be much easier to start up again the next time we have it.

As far as the administration and organization of AP Testing Week goes, I feel that I am getting more efficient every year, however, since this was the first time our student are creating AP Studio Art Portfolios, I realized that I could have done a better job of following a timeline to ensure the portfolios were all completed with more time to spare. Also, for whatever reason, this year was the most difficult of all of my years coordinating the exams. Some things were beyond my control, however the issue of allowing students to take the exams without having been on the original roster presented a problem because of how I order exams. I acknowledged that it was my error and I ended up being OK, however this makes it clear that we need to establish a better policy for next year and that if we do allow som unique students test, I need to be more organized in ordering those exams. Luckily, I was organized enough to be able to troubleshoot the problem with the inventory of AP Studio Art Portfolios. Only after checking back through all of my invoices for received AP materials was I able to completely explain to the Collegeboard representative what the error was. I tracked it back to the order confirmation receipt and the shipping receipt and noticed that the error was on their part. Either way, next year I will order all materials earlier and get the portfolio students set up sooner to start submitting their art work online and will be sure to keep records of everything I do.

CSPEL Standards

Standards 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 - The main goal of setting up these conversations in the first place was to ensure that we are offering AP opportunities in an equitable fashion at our school, but that our expectations remain high as evidenced in our grading practices. These conversations are helping to guide AP teachers in their classes. Finally, this conversation included not only new AP teachers to our school, but also teachers who have been teaching the classes for several years. They shared best practices with each other to become better AP teachers.

Standards 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 - I met these standards by coordinating and implementing the exams. The testing weeks are operational challenges as a group of students are taking an exam on campus, while the rest of the school is functioning as normal. I have created a system which helps me to order exams, track payments, proctor the exams, and ship them back. Finally, while I am doing all of this, I am making sure that I am following the strict guidelines from the Collegeboard's AP Program to protect the security of the exams.

Standards 5.1, 5.2 - I met this standard by ensuring that I secured all testing materials as directed by the AP Program and by ensuring that all test-takers followed rules. I helped to facilitate the discussions about our AP Program moving forward to ensure that we are able to plan for future AP students and respond to unique issues that come up with AP classes, such as the students wanting to taking exams for classes that they are not taking.

Standards 6.1, 6.2 - I interacted with various stakeholders to plan for future AP classes. In addition, I had to consult the Collegeboard for some guidance and ultimately follow their rules and regulations for AP Testing.

Supporting Documents

Here are some of the notes from the meetings with AP Teachers and administration.

This is the roster I generated and used to order all AP Exams and track payment information.

This letter is what I used to inform students and parents about the AP Tests and payment information.

This is the e-mail I sent teachers explaining to them the initial process for the year.

Here is the schedule for the AP testing days.

These are the AP Exam order receipts and packing lists.