Rethinking Advance Placement

[dougskiles]

An interesting article from the New York Times about the upcoming revisions to the Advanced Placement program:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/education/edlife/09ap-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&hpw

A few highlights

As A.P. has proliferated, spreading to more than 30 subjects with 1.8 million students taking 3.2 million tests, the program has won praise for giving students an early chance at more challenging work. But many of the courses, particularly in the sciences and history, have also been criticized for overwhelming students with facts to memorize and then rushing through important topics.

A preview of the changes shows that the board will slash the amount of material students need to know for the tests and provide, for the first time, a curriculum framework for what courses should look like. The goal is to clear students’ minds to focus on bigger concepts and stimulate more analytic thinking. In biology, a host of more creative, hands-on experiments are intended to help students think more like scientists.

The new approach is important because critical thinking skills are considered essential for advanced college courses and jobs in today’s information-based economy. College administrators and veteran A.P. teachers familiar with the new biology curriculum believe the changes could have significant reverberations for how science is taught in introductory college classes and even elementary school classrooms, and might bring some of the excitement back to science learning.

Another concern is how well teachers â€" across the full range of A.P. subjects â€" will adjust to an approach that will require them to give up some control and let the students dictate more about where the class discussions go. Mr. Packer says the College Board is investing substantial resources in creating professional-development programs and online tools to help teachers make that transition.

I like the direction they are heading with this.

[Singejoufflue]

I'm with you, Doug.  I hope we move to a less fact-based education system and one that develops critical thinkers who can reason, not just regurgitate.