More and more learners are getting Advance Placement courses. Most of them are unable to pass the tests. Is that progress? Should more New Haven children get the opportunity to be a part of the college-going track? At the invites of New Haven’s educational institutions superintendent, high school students on the citywide student council are trying to answer those questions. They are getting a wide look at Advance Placement courses, courses for which learners can get college credit if they score at least a 3 out of 5 on a standardized end-of-year examination.
Students first came to Superintendent Garth Harries with an issue that the region would quit spending for the AP tests. Harries pushed them to analyze larger concerns, including: How are children recognized for AP classes? Do all learners have an equivalent probability to take them? And what is the part of advanced placement courses in placing children on a successful college-going track? Harries said he is also meeting with instructors and other employees to talk about how the school district markets sources between AP and non-AP courses, such as the class size and the quality and seniority of the instructors. The evaluation occurs as some teachers are rethinking the part of AP programs in high schools. School district employees shared some early results in a meeting with the citywide student council at Cooperative Arts and Humanities Magnet High School on College Street.
More and more town children are taking AP tests. The number of New Haven public students who took AP tests increased from 415 in 2006 to 724 in 2013, according to the district. The number of examinations taken has nearly more than doubled, to 1,208, during that same time frame. In New Haven, every student who takes an AP class has to sign an agreement accepting to take the examination.