Unlocking Success: Edmentum Resources for IOAPA Students

The Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) is an initiative that bridges geographical and resource-related gaps to provide Iowa students with access to over 30 advanced online courses. Developed through a partnership between the Belin-Blank Center and the State of Iowa, IOAPA empowers students to explore challenging subjects, expand their knowledge, and prepare for future academic endeavors. At the heart of this program lies Edmentum, our trusted course provider. Let’s delve into several of the resources Edmentum offers to IOAPA students.

1. Informational Videos

To support IOAPA students, they’ve curated a playlist of YouTube videos. These videos provide step-by-step instructions for completing various tasks within the courses. Whether it’s mastering a complex concept or navigating the course interface, these videos serve as valuable companions on the learning journey.

2. Student Resources Page

The Student Resources page is a treasure trove for IOAPA students. Here, you’ll find a comprehensive collection of course materials, including study guides, and supplementary readings/activities. Additionally, the discussion boards foster collaboration among students.

3. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Navigating an online course can sometimes feel like exploring uncharted territory. Edmentum’s FAQ page is your compass. It provides answers to common queries related to course completion. From technical troubleshooting to understanding assessment formats, this resource ensures that no question goes unanswered.

4. Live Help Function

Imagine having a virtual mentor at your fingertips. Edmentum’s Live Help function makes it possible. Need clarification on a math problem? Struggling with a historical context? Simply access Live Help, and you’ll be connected with an experienced educator who specializes in the subject you’re working on. It’s like having a personal tutor available whenever you need assistance.

5. Student Success Zone

The Student Success Zone is your hub for orientation and course completion guidance. Whether you’re a first-time IOAPA student or a seasoned participant, this page provides essential information. From time management tips to study strategies, it’s designed to enhance your overall learning experience.

6. The Teacher Connection

While Edmentum’s resources are invaluable, don’t forget about your most powerful resource: your teacher. They understand the curriculum intricacies, tailor instruction to your needs, and provide personalized feedback. Whenever you have curriculum-specific questions, reach out to your teacher—they’re there to support your academic journey. Their email contacts can be found on the student resources page under their course subject.

For any additional questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to us at ioapa@belinblank.org. We’re here to champion your educational aspirations.

IOAPA AP® Exam Scholarship Winners

The Belin-Blank Center is thrilled to announce the recipients of this year’s Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) AP® Exam Scholarships. These scholarships provide financial support for AP® exams to IOAPA students with demonstrated financial need. As part of our commitment to fostering educational equity, we extend this opportunity to low-income students in rural schools across Iowa. As funding allows we also extend this opportunity to other IOAPA students. This year, we proudly awarded over 30 scholarships!

Acknowledging Our School Champions

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the dedicated school staff who advocated for their students by applying for these scholarships:

1. Malinda Brechwald – Estherville Lincoln Central
2. Paulina Rodenburg – Glenwood Community High School
3. Tiffany Weller – Lenox High School
4. Taryn Mottet – Ottumwa High School
5. Hollie Weber – Central Lee High School
6. Helen Stout – Eddyville Blakesburg Fremont Jr/Sr High
7. Lynne Zoulek – Regina High School
8. Jill Janes – Boone High School

Additional Funding Opportunity!

Funding is also currently available for 7th-9th grade IOAPA students to take the ACT for above-level testing. More information about this program and registration can be found here. Please reach out to us at assessment@belinblank.org for more information about funding opportunities.

The Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) is a collaborative effort between the Belin-Blank Center and the State of Iowa. Our mission is to break down barriers to advanced education by providing free access to over 30 online courses for Iowa students. These courses, which include both Advanced Placement® (AP) classes for high school students and high school-level courses for eligible middle school students, are not always readily available in local school districts. IOAPA bridges geographical gaps and ensures that talented students throughout Iowa can access challenging coursework. By removing resource-related obstacles, we empower students to reach their full potential. Registration for Fall 2024 opens on April 8th! As funds allow, we will continue to offer AP exam scholarships, supporting academic excellence and opening doors to higher education. Have questions about IOAPA or the scholarship program? Feel free to reach out to us at ioapa@belinblank.org. We’re here to help!

Let’s celebrate the achievements of our IOAPA students and wish them the best of luck on their AP® exams and beyond!

IOAPA Fall Registration opens soon!

Fall 2024 registration for Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) opens April 8th! Do you have Iowa students in 6th grade or above? Exciting news awaits! IOAPA is here to empower you with free access to asynchronous advanced courses. The aim of this program is to bridge the gap, ensuring that every student has the opportunity to explore challenging subjects.

Why IOAPA?

• Access for All: IOAPA opens doors that might otherwise remain closed. We believe that every student deserves a chance to excel, regardless of their school district’s offerings.
• Empowering Rural Schools: By providing advanced courses online, IOAPA lightens the load for rural schools. No more limitations due to classroom availability or staffing constraints.
• Support: IOAPA staff and our course vendors are here to help you every step of the way, from planning to deciding how best to document your students grade. Also, visit our website, you can find a wealth of information, including our course catalog, important dates, registration, and information about getting started, along with support materials designed to help you and your students make decisions about course selections.

Explore Our Course Catalog:

High School Students (16 AP Courses):

• AP Biology
• AP Calculus AB
• AP Chemistry
• AP Computer Science A (Java)
• AP Computer Science Principles
• AP English Language and Composition
• AP English Literature and Composition
• AP Environmental Science

• AP French Language and Culture
• AP Macroeconomics
• AP Microeconomics
• AP Psychology
• AP Spanish
• AP Statistics
• AP U.S. Government
• AP U.S. History

Middle School Students (15 Advanced Courses):

• Algebra I
• Algebra II
• Biology
• Computer Science Python Fundamentals
• Creative Writing
• Environmental Science
• Geometry

• Physical Science
• Precalculus
• Probability and Statistics
• Psychology
• Spanish I
• U.S. History since the Civil War
• U.S. History to the Civil War

Ready to Register? Follow These Steps:

Step-by-Step Registration:

1. Visit Our Website:
   • Head to belinblank.org/ioapa.
   • Review the Getting Started information.
2. Register Your School:
   • Principals, take the lead! Register your school by clicking “Register” here.
   • Assign the two on-site roles (can be held by the same person):
     • Site Coordinator: Oversees IOAPA activities at your school.
     • Mentor: A certified teacher who guides students through the program.
3. Nominate Students:
   • After registration, you’ll receive an automated email with a link to nominate students.
   • Identify the students who will participate in IOAPA courses.
4. Student Self-Enrollment:
   • Nominated students receive an email inviting them to enroll in their chosen courses.
   • Remind them to check their junk mail folders—important emails sometimes end up there!
   • Students complete the enrollment process and click “Submit.”
5. College Board Requirements:
   • Register your school with the College Board.
   • Complete the AP Course Audit process for Online/Distance Learning courses by the end of January. This allows you to label courses as “AP” on students’ transcripts. Detailed instructions for Project STEM courses can be found on our website.
6. AP Exam Ordering:
   • Encourage high school students to take the AP exam.
   • Order all AP exams by the College Board’s deadline.
   • Keep an eye out for emails about applying for our IOAPA AP exam scholarships.

As always, please feel free to reach out to us at ioapa@belinblank.org with any questions or concerns.

Tips and Resources for Online Foreign Language Learning

Learning a foreign language online can be both exciting and challenging. Traditionally students in our IOAPA foreign language courses have had more difficulty adjusting to the demands of online learning. This is likely because language learning requires a level of immersion that is difficult to find outside of a classroom and without shared class time with peers. Here are some practical tips to help you succeed in your language course: 

1. Consistent Study Habits: 
   • Study every day. Language learning is cumulative, so avoid cramming. If possible, allocate 1-2 hours of study per day if you aim to get an A or B grade. 
   • Focus on different tasks during each study session: vocabulary, grammar, etc. 
2. Class Participation: 
   • Attend and actively participate in every class, even if you’re not fully prepared. 
   • Class time is your best opportunity to practice speaking and listening. 
   • Learn grammar and vocabulary outside of class to maximize in-class learning. 
3. Grammar Mastery: 
   • Learn grammar thoroughly. It’s the backbone of language. 
   • Over-learn by studying beyond recognition to achieve mastery. 
4. Positive Attitude: 
   • Have a clear personal reason for taking the course. 
   • Set realistic and specific learning goals. 
   • Embrace mistakes as part of the learning process. 
5. Reading and Writing Skills: 
   • Train yourself to notice details like accents and gender agreement. 
   • Practice reading comprehension and writing regularly. 
6. Language Immersion: 
   • Speak, read, or watch content in the language before each class to warm up. 
   • If possible, get to know your classmates; a supportive environment helps. 
7. Seek Help When Needed: 
   • Reach out to your teacher for additional help and to discuss goals and fears. 
   • Utilize tutoring services such as Edmentum’s live help feature when needed. 

Below is a curated list of free online resources to help you on your language-learning journey. Here are some excellent options: 

1. Apps: There are excellent, free apps to help you along the way. They both also have great websites. Here are some popular language-learning apps that I recommend: 
   • Duolingo: a free, fun language app that gamifies language learning 
   • Memrise: another great language app with a free version.
2. News: 
   • Paperboy: newspapers from around the world. Be sure to click the arrow button to follow the link to the newspaper’s website.
   • Google News under settings, you can change the target language and country
3. Language Guides: Sometimes, just one or two words in a sentence are difficult to understand, even when using context clues. Language guides can help you understand and pronounce these words.
   • Google Translate: a great language dictionary with increasing functionality daily.
   • Forvo: has an excellent pronunciation guide and can read new words aloud.
4. Videos: YouTube can also be a great resource for language learning. Language learning channels can help you learn concepts and hear pronunciations.
   • Spanish
     • Butterfly Spanish: a native speaker who shares free lessons
     • The Spanish Dude: An English speaker fluent in Spanish who provides excellent explanations of Spanish language concepts
     • Easy Spanish: a mixture of real-world conversations and language lessons, including some in “slow spanish”
   • French
     • French Pod 101: lessons and website with a variety of additional resources
     • Learn French with Alexa: a fun language learning channel
     • Easy French: a mixture of real-world conversations and lessons, including some in “slow french”

Remember, consistency and practice are key. Learning a language takes time, but with dedication and the right approach, you’ll make progress! Happy language learning! 🌐🗣️ 

Please note: the Belin-Blank Center is not sponsored by any of the services above. The information contained in this blog post is for general information purposes only. The Belin-Blank Center assumes no responsibility for the contents of the services mentioned above. Full Disclaimer can be found here.

Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) is a partnership between the Belin-Blank Center and the State of Iowa to provide free access to 30 advanced online courses for Iowa students. This program is for Iowa students who would otherwise be unable to find these courses offered in their school district and, therefore, reduces geographic and resource-related barriers to success. IOAPA classes include Advanced Placement® courses for high school students as well as high school-level courses for eligible middle school students.

As always, please feel free to reach out to us at ioapa@belinblank.org with any questions.

Spring Term IOAPA AP Exam Scholarships

We recognize the importance of providing equitable opportunities for all students. To ensure that every eligible student has access to AP exams, The Belin Blank Center’s IOAPA program is pleased to announce our Spring AP Exam Scholarships for the 2023-2024 school year. The Advanced Placement (AP) program offers rigorous courses that can significantly impact a student’s academic journey by improving college outcomes. Additionally, we want to remind you of some important upcoming deadlines.

Important Dates and Deadlines

1. Order Deadline for AP Exams: March 15, 2024
   • If you have students enrolled in one-term, spring semester courses, please remember to place your order by this date.
2. Scholarship Application Deadline: March 8, 2024
   • We encourage all eligible students to apply for our AP exam scholarships. These scholarships are specifically designed for low-income students who meet the criteria outlined below.

Eligibility Requirements

Our scholarship program prioritizes students who demonstrate financial need. Here’s what you need to know:

1. Free/Reduced-Cost Lunch Program Qualification (Preference)
   • Students who qualify for the free/reduced-cost lunch program will receive preference in scholarship selection.
   • However, even if a student doesn’t meet the specific Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL) guidelines, they will still be considered if funding remains available.
2. Attendance at a rural school
   • Students from rural schools will also receive preference in applicant selection.
   • We will also extend our scholarship opportunity to low-income students attending non-rural schools if funding permits.
3. Enrollment in IOAPA Advanced Placement Courses
   • To qualify, students must be enrolled in an IOAPA Advanced Placement course during the 2023-2024 school year.
   • The scholarship is intended to support the AP exam associated with the IOAPA course the student is currently taking and cannot be used for any other AP exams students may be taking.

Scholarship Process

1. Per-Exam Cost
   • The per-exam cost for the 2023-24 school year is $62 for students eligible for free/reduced cost lunch.
   • Schools should plan to pay this fee directly to the College Board with reimbursement being provided after an invoice is received.
2. Invoice Submission
   • After students have taken their AP exams, schools should submit an invoice to the Belin-Blank Center.
   • Include documentation showing that the College Board fees have been paid for these students.
   • Please note that there will be no reimbursement if a student does not take the exam.
3. One AP Exam per Student
   • Funding is limited to only one AP exam per eligible student.
   • We want to maximize the impact of these scholarships across a broad range of students.
4. Purpose and Focus
   • The primary purpose of this funding is to increase AP exam participation among students from rural schools in Iowa.
   • If your school is already covering AP exam costs, we encourage you to prioritize students who haven’t received funding elsewhere.

Take Action

• If you have eligible students, apply for the scholarship by the deadline of March 8, 2024.
• Access the online application here.

Let’s empower our students to excel academically and open doors to their future success. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at ioapa@belinblank.org. Together, we can make a difference!

The impact of 1 AP exam

There are many reasons to encourage high school students to complete advanced coursework and several options for how to do so. College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) exams are one popular option. But, how many AP courses is enough?

A recent research summary put out by the College Board sheds some light on the most impactful number of courses for a student to take. ¹ According to the associated research study based a sample of 400,000 college transcripts, increasing AP participation from zero to one AP exam and from one to two AP exams showed the biggest predicted boost in first-year grades and on-time bachelor’s degree attainment.² Said another way, encouraging a student to take just one exam had a significant connection with their freshman grades and finishing college in 4 years. This held for moving a student from taking one exams to two and two to three.

Interestingly it also should be noted that taking and performing well on more than four AP exams did not markedly alter predicted first-year college grades and on-time bachelor’s degree attainment rates.² So depending on the student’s goals more AP courses might not necessarily be better. This may be helpful for showing which students might receive the most impact from counseling related to coursework decisions. One might would imagine that a student that takes 4 or more AP courses probably did not need much outside coaxing to do so. However, for a student who is on the fence about taking their first AP course are likely to benefit from this experience.

In conclusion, taking one or two AP exams can provide a significant boost in first-year grades and on-time bachelor’s degree attainment rates. Iowa school professionals looking to expand the options available to their students may consider Iowa Online AP® Academy (IOAPA) provides free access to nearly 30 online advanced courses for Iowa students who would not otherwise have access to these courses in their schools. Keep an eye out for our upcoming announcements related to AP exam scholarships and Fall 2024 registration.

If you have any questions about your Iowa school’s eligibility for IOAPA courses, email us at ioapa@belinblank.org. 

Source(s)

1. Summarizing Research on the Relationships Between the Number of APs,

AP Performance, and College Outcomes

2. Studying the Relationships Between the Number of APs, AP Performance, and College Outcomes

AP Exam Scholarships for IOAPA students

The Belin-Blank Center is pleased to continue offering AP exam scholarships for low-income and rural students participating in Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA). We are now accepting applications for AP exam scholarships for IOAPA students! IOAPA principals, site coordinators, and mentors can apply for this funding opportunity until December 1, 2023! 

Image by jcomp on Freepik

The purpose of this funding is to increase the number of students taking AP exams from rural schools in Iowa. If schools are already paying for AP exams, they should not request this funding. Funding for this application is only available for students who are taking IOAPA Advanced Placement (AP) courses in the 2023-24 school year. Funding is limited to only one AP exam per student.

Eligibility

• Students who qualify for the free/reduced-cost lunch program will receive preference. Low-income students not meeting FRL guidelines will also be considered based on available funding.
• Low-income students in non-rural schools may be considered if funding is available.
• Students must be enrolled in an IOAPA Advanced Placement course during the 2023-2024 school year.
• Funding is to be used for the exam associated with the current IOAPA course the student is taking during the 2023-2024 school year, not a different exam.

To complete the application, click here.

The per-exam cost for the 2023-24 school year is $62 for students eligible for free/reduced cost lunch. Schools that receive funding should plan to pay the $62 per student to the College Board. These schools will then need to submit an invoice to the Belin-Blank Center after students have taken the AP exams along with documentation showing they have paid the College Board for these students’ exams. There will be no reimbursement if a student does not take the exam. More information about this will be provided in the acceptance letters that are sent to site staff. Awards will be announced by December 1, 2023.

Image by jcomp on Freepik

Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) is a partnership between the Belin-Blank Center and the State of Iowa to provide free access to over 30 advanced online courses for Iowa students. This program is for Iowa students who would otherwise be unable to find these courses offered in their school district and therefore reduces geographic and resource-related barriers to success. IOAPA classes include Advanced Placement® courses for high school students as well as high school-level courses for eligible middle school students.

Please email us at ioapa@belinblank.org with any questions!

Helping when gifted students fall behind

Working with gifted/talented students who are not accustomed to being challenged by coursework can be a challenge for teachers and mentors. These issues can be compounded if challenging coursework is also presented on a self-paced platform, such as in IOAPA courses. Educators will want to help students shift their mindsets surrounding the amount of time homework for an advanced course might actually take. Previously, they may have been able to put off homework until the last minute and still complete it on time because the material was less challenging. Now, they need to allocate extra time to work through difficult assignments. Additionally, with the self-paced component, students must adjust to a new level of responsibility by providing their own reminders to stay on track as opposed to being reminded by their teacher of upcoming due dates at the end of each class.

What are some ways we can help students develop these important and transferable skills?

If these are new skills, sometimes even the brightest students need some scaffolding for how to tackle these problems.

One easily explainable and structured way to do this is learning to set SMART goals.

SMART goals, while not a new concept, may be new to students and can be used in a variety of contexts. The SMART goals process provides some guidelines for setting goals that are attainable and have a built-in timepoint for follow-up, so they can be adjusted as needed. The acronym stands for:

• Specific – make the goal as clear as possible
• Measurable – think of how you would know that you have reached it
• Attainable – make sure goals are realistic (this may need to be adjusted when put to the test)
• Relevant – in this context relevance might be built in, but it never hurts to stop and think about why it is important to them
• Time-bound – decide when it should be completed

This page describes this concept in more detail and provides questions that can help students with goal generation.

Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) is a partnership between the Belin-Blank Center and the State of Iowa to provide free access to 30 advanced online courses for Iowa students. This program is for Iowa students who would otherwise be unable to find these courses offered in their school district and therefore reduces geographic and resource-related barriers to success. IOAPA classes include Advanced Placement® courses for high school students as well as high school-level courses for eligible middle school students.

As always, please feel free to reach out to us at ioapa@belinblank.org with any questions.

Fall Registration is open for IOAPA courses!

Fall 2023 registration for Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) is now open! IOAPA provides free access to asynchronous advanced courses for Iowa students in 6th grade and above. A primary aim of this program is to provide access to students who would otherwise be unable to find these courses offered in their school district.

On our website, you can find a wealth of information, including our course catalog, important dates, registration, and information about getting started, along with support materials designed to help you and your students make decisions about course selections.

COURSES OFFERED

• 16 AP courses are available to high school students. This now includes the new course offering of AP French Language and Culture! See our course catalog for more information.
• 15 advanced courses are available to middle school students. These above-level courses are designed for high school students and made available to students in grades 6-8. We also now offer U.S. History since the Civil War in addition to our other course options.

Course descriptions and syllabi for all courses can be located by clicking “Learn More” on the course’s entry in our Course Catalog.

REGISTRATION DETAILS

To begin, visit our website (belinblank.org/ioapa) and review the Getting Started information. When you are ready to register, navigate back to the registration section of our website and click Register.

Step-by-step course registration instructions are included below:

1. Register your school and assign a site coordinator and mentor. The first step is for principals to register their schools. They can do that on our website (belinblank.org/ioapa) by clicking on Register. As part of this step, schools assign a site coordinator and a mentor. They can be the same person or different people; however, the mentor needs to be a certified teacher.
2. Nominate the student(s) taking the IOAPA course(s). Completing the school registration page sends the principal or other administrator an automated email with a link to nominate the student.
3. Confirm that the student has self-enrolled in the course. Once the student has been nominated, an email will be automatically sent to the student to enroll themselves in the actual course. Be sure to have students check their junk mail folders, as automated emails sometimes get filtered there. Students should complete this process and be sure to click submit when they’re done.

After registering, be sure to complete any College Board requirements for offering AP courses:

• Register your school with the College Board.
• Complete the AP Course Audit process for Online/Distance Learning courses by the end of January in order to be able to label courses as “AP” on students’ transcripts. Instructions for completing this for Project STEM courses can be found here.
• Encourage high school students to take the AP exam and order all AP exams by the College Board’s deadline. Also, as mentioned above, be on the lookout for emails about applying for our IOAPA AP exam scholarships.

As always, please feel free to reach out to us at ioapa@belinblank.org with any questions or concerns.

Resources for IOAPA Computer Science courses

Mentors of Iowa Online AP Academy’s (IOAPA) computer science (CS) courses have slightly different tasks than those required for mentoring other courses. This is due to Project STEM being a curriculum provider as opposed to an online school. More information about our CS courses and the role of mentors in Project STEM can be found here. However, Project STEM provides a wealth of resources to students and mentors that are helpful for navigating this role.

Getting Started

• Project STEM offers a set of onboarding videos to help mentors get started.

• At the beginning of the year, you will receive an email from a member of the IOAPA team with specifics for mentoring Project STEM courses. This will include information such as a suggested timeline of due dates, the opportunity to set up an orientation, and reminders of points of contact.

• You should also receive an email from the support team at Project STEM with a specific list of resources at the start of the year.

During the Semester

• Student and Teacher forums provide access to a team of teaching assistants available 7 days a week to provide students a space to ask questions about coursework and answer mentor’s questions about facilitating courses.

• Project STEM’s Help Center page provides a wealth of detailed guides for most tasks that students and mentors will run into, including (but not limited to): account setup, accessing the forums, and completing the AP Course Audit.

• The Teacher Resource Sidebar within Canvas provides mentors with information such as syllabi, pacing guides (anticipated time need to complete assignments), and explanations for the few scored tasks in AP CS Principles.

Technical Support & Administrative Support

• support@projectstem.org is available for technical support. The initial email from Project STEM sent at the beginning of the year also includes the direct contact person at Project STEM for IOAPA mentors.

• Additionally, feel free to reach out to us at ioapa@belinblank.org with any other questions that may arise.

Looking to go a step further?

• IOAPA mentors also have access to Project STEM’s Professional Development Courses. In addition to information about using Canvas, they also provide training for mentors who might be interested in learning more about the curriculum and teaching computer science courses.

Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) is a partnership between the Belin-Blank Center and the State of Iowa to provide free access to 30 advanced online courses for Iowa students. This program is for Iowa students who would otherwise be unable to find these courses offered in their school district and therefore reduces geographic and resource-related barriers to success. IOAPA classes include Advanced Placement® courses for high school students as well as high school-level courses for eligible middle school students. Keep an eye out for our next blog post for more information about fall enrollment.

As always, please feel free to reach out to us at ioapa@belinblank.org with any questions.

Introduction to IOAPA Computer Science courses

Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) offers three online computer science (CS) courses for Iowa students who don’t have access to these courses within their school district. These courses are offered through the curriculum provider Project STEM. Current computer science course offerings include:

High School

• AP Computer Science A (Java): This course introduces students to the Java programming language while emphasizing universal language techniques like syntax, semantics, and readability. This allows the student to understand and master important concepts that will apply to programming problems in many additional languages.
• AP Computer Science Principles: This is an introductory college-level computing curriculum that introduces students to the breadth of the field of computer science. The major areas of study in the curriculum are organized around big ideas that encompass ideas foundational to studying computer science.

Middle School

• Computer Science Python Fundamentals: An introductory course for students brand new to programming that teaches the foundations of computer science. This course prepares students for AP Computer Science A and AP Computer Science Principles, as well as helps build problem-solving skills.

More information about these courses can be found in our course catalog. Additionally, Fall 2023 enrollment for these courses is now open!

Mentors do not need to have any previous CS teaching experience or knowledge to facilitate a course within Project STEM. The curriculum and lessons for these courses are already prepared. However, mentoring these courses differs from others offered by IOAPA in that there is no teacher provided by Project STEM to facilitate the course. This makes the role of mentors slightly different for Project STEM courses. The majority of assignments are assigned grades automatically as your students submit them. This is particularly true in the CS Python Fundamentals and AP Computer Science A courses.

The AP Computer Science Principles course requires the most mentor involvement, as has always been the case. This course requires students to submit some essay questions that need to be graded by mentors. However, these assignments have a rubric in the Teacher Resource Sidebar, which gives mentors all of the information they will need to accurately grade the essays. Additionally, mentors and students can ask Project STEM’s Teacher Assistant team questions in their forums at any time. While teacher assistants cannot make grading decisions, they can provide guidance and answer specific questions mentors may have about the content.

Additionally, as there are no built-in teachers for Project STEM courses, AP Computer Science mentors will need to be listed as the teacher of record on the AP course audit. However, College Board does not allow the teacher of record and AP coordinator to be the same person. So, although our policies do not require that the two roles be filled by separate people, this will be necessary for the two Project STEM AP courses. Therefore, schools where the same person usually fills the AP Coordinator and mentor roles will need to consider alternatives. Step-by-step instructions for completing these course audits can be found at the following links for AP Computer Science A and AP Computer Science Principles.

Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) is a partnership between the Belin-Blank Center and the State of Iowa to provide free access to 30 advanced online courses for Iowa students. This program is for Iowa students who would otherwise be unable to find these courses offered in their school district and therefore reduces geographic and resource-related barriers to success. IOAPA classes include Advanced Placement® courses for high school students as well as high school-level courses for eligible middle school students. Keep an eye out for our next blog post, which will talk more about Project STEM resources available to students and mentors.

As always, please feel free to reach out to us at ioapa@belinblank.org with any questions.

IOAPA Spring AP Exam Scholarships

IOAPA offers AP exam scholarships for low-income students completing courses through our program. Applications for this opportunity are currently open, and we want to encourage you to apply if you have eligible students. The application deadline for this funding is March 17, 2023. Please click here for access to this online application.

Eligibility

• Students who qualify for the free/reduced-cost lunch program will receive preference. Low-income students not meeting FRL guidelines will be considered if funding is still available.
• Low-income students in non-rural schools will be considered if funding is available.
• Students must be enrolled in an IOAPA Advanced Placement course during the 2022-2023 school year. Preference will be given to students in AP courses that start in the spring semester. Students taking academic year courses will be considered if funding is still available.
• Funding must be used for the exam associated with the IOAPA course the student is taking during the 2022-2023 school year, not a different exam.
• Funding is limited. Not all eligible students may receive funding.

Process

1. The per-exam cost for the 2022-23 school year is $62 for students eligible for free/reduced-cost lunch. Schools should plan to pay the $62 per student to the College Board. Schools with students who receive this scholarship should plan to submit an invoice to the Belin-Blank Center after students have taken the AP exams, along with documentation showing they have paid the College Board for these students’ exams by June 1st, 2023. There will be no reimbursement if a student does not take the exam.
2. Funding is limited to only one AP exam per student.
3. The purpose of this funding is to increase the number of students taking AP exams from rural schools in Iowa. If schools are already paying for AP exams, they should not request this funding.
4. The deadline for submitting applications is March 17, 2023.
5. Awards will be announced by March 24, 2023.

Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) is a partnership between the Belin-Blank Center and the State of Iowa to provide free access to 30 advanced online courses for Iowa students. This program is for Iowa students who would otherwise be unable to find these courses offered in their school district and therefore reduces geographic and resource-related barriers to success. IOAPA classes include Advanced Placement® courses for high school students as well as high school-level courses for eligible middle school students. Keep an eye out for information about our upcoming fall enrollment period.

As always, please feel free to reach out to us at ioapa@belinblank.org with any questions.

Ordering AP Exams for Spring only courses

As you may know, an important deadline is approaching if your students are taking Spring semester-only AP courses. AP exams for your students enrolled in one-term, spring semester courses must be ordered by March 15, 2023. Courses that began after November 15 are included in this deadline. This is also the deadline to make changes to existing orders (click here for instructions and check here for additional deadlines). Unfortunately, even if your students are taking their AP course(s) through IOAPA, our team cannot place these orders for your school. Each school must order its own exams.

More information about this can be found on page 64 of the AP Coordinator Manual Part I. Here’s an excerpt for your convenience:

For Students Taking Courses That Begin After November 15
There’s not an option for a second-semester exam only section. You may have students from another school—for instance, a virtual school—who are taking an exam at your school but at the school they attend they’re taking a corresponding course that begins after the November 15 final ordering deadline. You may need to submit the exam order for these students after November 15.

In this case, the student should be enrolled in both:

• The second-semester class section for the subject at the school they attend.
  The student’s Order Exam? status should be No for this class section.

AND

• The exam only section for the subject at your school. The student’s Order Exam?
  status should be Yes for this exam only section.

By being enrolled in both the exam only section and the second-semester class section for the subject, the late order fee isn’t applied if you submit the exam order for this student after November 15.

BEST PRACTICE: Make sure the student is enrolled in both the second-semester class section at the school they attend and the exam only section for your school before you submit the student’s exam order.

Following these instructions should ensure that schools are not charged fees for late ordering. However, to be safe you might reach out to Edmentum to ensure that your students are enrolled in MyAP on their end to fulfill College Board’s requirements. Note: It is also Edmentum’s MyAP sections that allow students to access the resources available there for their course.

Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) is a partnership between the Belin-Blank Center and the State of Iowa to provide free access to 30 advanced online courses for Iowa students. This program is for Iowa students who would otherwise be unable to find these courses offered in their school district and therefore reduces geographic and resource-related barriers to success. IOAPA classes include Advanced Placement® courses for high school students as well as high school-level courses for eligible middle school students.

We also offer AP exam scholarships for IOAPA students! Keep an eye out for more information on the spring application process in the coming weeks.

As always, please feel free to reach out to us at ioapa@belinblank.org with any questions.

Advanced Placement Opens Doors

Photo by Nicole Berro on Pexels.com

The Belin-Blank Center has provided challenging programs for decades. Research suggests that when bright students’ readiness is matched with curriculum and instruction, they are more engaged at school. Advanced Placement^® classes are just one vehicle we use to bring out the best in students.  

Advanced Placement (AP)^® is a program created by the College Board College in the United States and Canada. AP^® offers a college-level curriculum to students while in high school. The AP^® curriculum for various subjects is created for the College Board by a panel (including college-level educators) with expertise in a specific field. Many colleges and universities grant placement and/or credit students based on AP^® exam scores. For a high school course to have the designation, it must be audited by the College Board. 

There are several benefits of taking Advanced Placement^® classes. AP^® classes serve as excellent preparation for college. Their content aligns with introductory college courses. AP^® classes on a transcript communicate to college admissions that a student is motivated and ready for college’s rigors, especially at selective colleges and universities. AP^® classes bolster the strength of an application and could help raise it to the top of the pile of applicants. The content and instructional strategies in AP^® classes foster engagement, which is especially important for students tackling rigorous coursework. Finally, students can often translate a good score on the end-of-term AP^® Exam into tuition savings, as many colleges will count such scores towards a student’s general education requirements. Research has found that students who take at least one AP^® class are more likely to perform better in their first year in college than peers who did not take one (regardless of whether they took an AP^® exam or not).  

Please visit the Advanced Placement^® link of the UI Admission website for more information on Advanced Placement^® and the University of Iowa. 

Iowa Online AP Academy

Geography can seriously impact the availability of advanced coursework. Offering AP® courses in rural schools is often difficult due to small class sizes and a lack of resources. The Belin-Blank Center’s Iowa Online AP® Academy (IOAPA) partners with the State of Iowa to provide free access to various online advanced courses for Iowa students who do not have access to these courses in their schools. IOAPA offers fifteen different AP^® classes (e.g., Biology, Chemistry, Statistics, US History, and English Literature) to almost 100 Iowa schools this semester. Registration for the Spring 2023 semester is open now. Please visit the IOAPA website for more information. 

Check Out IOAPA

The Belin-Blank Center is also proud to be the only approved AP® training site in the state. Each summer, we offer Advanced Placement® Summer Institute (APSI) for teachers to acquire AP® preparation from expert consultants and network with like-minded educators. In Summer 2023, we will offer three weeks of APSI (two on-campus and one online). Like the philosophy of access to AP® for students through IOAPA, the Center commits to providing an online APSI option, so teachers seeking training can attend regardless of location. The APSI offerings for Summer 2023 include Biology, Calculus AB, Chemistry, Computer Science & Principles, English Language, English Literature, Government & Politics, Macroeconomics, Psychology, Spanish Language & Culture, Statistics, US History, and World History. Please visit the APSI website for more information, including requirements for the Iowa teacher grant that covers most of the APSI registration fee.  

Learn About AP Summer Institute

Fall 22 AP® Exam Scholarship Winners!

Congratulations to our AP Scholarship Exam recipients! This fall, we were able to award more than 25 scholarships to students participating in the Belin Blank Center’s Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA). The purpose of this funding is to increase the number of students taking AP exams from rural schools in Iowa by working to reduce financial barriers for these students.

AP® Exam Scholarship Winners!

The Belin-Blank Center offered scholarships for AP® Exams with priority given to rural students with financial needs. We are pleased to announce the Mentors and Site coordinators that are awarded scholarships for their students!:

• Susan Fritzell, Marshalltown High School
• Jadyn Schutjer, Emmetsburg High School
• Joan Enockson, Estherville Lincoln Central High School
• Laurie Eyre, Maharishi School
• Paulina Rodenburg, Glenwood High School

As funds permit, we will continue to offer these AP® exam scholarships. Keep an eye out early in the spring semester for more information on the application process of IOAPA students taking spring courses. Additionally, Spring enrollment is still open for IOAPA’s spring semester courses until December 16, 2022. As always, feel free to reach to us at ioapa@belinblank.org with any questions.

IOAPA Spring enrollment is now open!

Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) registration for Spring 2023 classes is now open! The primary aim of this program is to provide access to Iowa students who would otherwise be unable to find these courses offered in their school district. In addition to courses that run for the full academic year, IOAPA also provides free access to asynchronous, one-semester, advanced courses for Iowa students in 6th grade and above. These courses can be perfect options for students needing more advanced coursework during the school year or who would like to add an additional AP course to their transcript. Additionally, AP exam scholarships are also available to eligible IOAPA students taking spring semester courses.

On our website, you can find a wealth of information, including our course catalog, important dates, registration, and information about getting started, along with support materials designed to help you and your students make decisions about course selections.

ONE-SEMESTER COURSES OFFERED

• 4 AP courses are available to high school students.
  • AP Macroeconomics
  • AP Microeconomics
  • AP Psychology
  • AP U.S. Government
• 4 advanced courses are available to middle school students. These courses are designed for high school students and made available to advanced students in grades 6-8.
  • Creative Writing
  • Psychology
  • U.S. History to the Civil War
  • CS Python Fundamentals (formerly Intro to Computer Science)

Course descriptions and syllabi for each course can be located by clicking “Learn More” on the course’s entry in our Course Catalog.

REGISTRATION DETAILS

To begin, visit our website (belinblank.org/ioapa) and review the Getting Started information. When you are ready to register, navigate back to the registration section of our website and click Register.

Students who are taking year-long courses do not need to re-enroll; they will be automatically enrolled in the spring semester of their course unless we receive notification from site staff that they would prefer to do otherwise.

If your school has already registered with us this year (i.e., if you currently have IOAPA students), then you will be automatically redirected to the appropriate step in the registration process (nominating the student; see below for details). 

Step-by-step course registration instructions are included below:

1. Register your school and assign a site coordinator and mentor. The first step is for principals to register their schools. They can do that on our website by clicking on Register. As part of this step, schools assign a site coordinator and a mentor. They can be the same person or different people; however, the mentor needs to be a certified teacher at the school. For spring semester courses, when schools have already registered during the current academic year: During spring semester registration, site coordinators are able to skip step 1, since the school is already registered for this academic year. You should still start by clicking Register on our website. You will then be redirected to step 2 (student nomination). 
2. Nominate the student(s) taking the IOAPA course(s). Completing the school registration page sends the principal an automated email with a link to nominate the student. The principal either needs to complete the nomination or forward the link to the site coordinator or mentor to complete.
3. Confirm that the student has self-enrolled in the course. Once the student has been nominated, an email will be automatically sent to the student to enroll themselves in the actual course. Be sure to have students check their junk mail folders, as automated emails sometimes get filtered there. Students should complete this process and be sure to click submit when they’re done.

After registering, be sure to complete any College Board requirements for offering AP courses:

• Register your school with the College Board.
• Complete the AP Course Audit process for Online/Distance Learning courses by the end of January in order to be able to label courses as “AP” on students’ transcripts.
• Encourage high school students to take the AP exam and order all AP exams by the College Board’s deadline. Also, as mentioned above, be on the lookout for emails about applying for our IOAPA AP exam scholarships.

Be on the lookout for information about Fall enrollment for the 2023-2024 academic year during the spring semester. More information about our program, academic year courses, and important dates can be found here.

As always, please feel free to reach out to us at ioapa@belinblank.org with any questions or concerns.

Advanced Coursework Opportunities Free for Iowa’s Rural Schools

The College Board’s Advanced Placement® (AP) program allows high school students to complete college-level coursework. Additionally, success on the associated AP exams can translate into college credit. In fact, AP credit is accepted or recognized by the three public universities in Iowa, as well as many colleges and universities throughout the country. This gives students the opportunity to earn college credit at a greatly reduced cost while still in high school. However, despite these benefits, rural schools still fall behind urban and suburban schools in their AP course offerings. 

Providing the appropriate level of challenge to gifted and talented students is not always easy for rural schools. Offering AP courses requires additional resources such as teachers and training, and sometimes it is simply not possible to offer an AP course for only one or two students. The Iowa Online AP® Academy (IOAPA) provides free access to nearly 30 online advanced courses for Iowa students who would not otherwise have access to these courses in their schools. IOAPA classes include Advanced Placement® courses for high school students as well as high school-level courses for eligible middle school students. Unlike courses offered by community colleges, IOAPA’s AP courses are designed for bright high schoolers. They introduce college-level material in a way that is approachable for a high school student. IOAPA also offers AP exam scholarships to IOAPA high school students, with preference given to students from rural schools, so cost is no longer a barrier to taking an AP exam.  

The IOAPA team also publishes the Iowa AP Index, another way to provide recognition to Iowa schools. The Iowa AP Index recognizes the Top 50 Iowa accredited public and nonpublic high schools for providing Advanced Placement opportunities to Iowa’s high school students. Every public and nonpublic high school in Iowa accredited by the state Department of Education and that administered AP exams the prior year is invited to participate. The Iowa AP Index for a given high school is the ratio of AP exams taken by its students (any grade) divided by the number of its graduating seniors. This means that smaller schools still have similar opportunities to be recognized for providing their students with advanced coursework. 

The Belin-Blank Center will begin registration for spring semester IOAPA courses on November 7^th. If you have any questions about your Iowa school’s eligibility for IOAPA courses, email us at ioapa@belinblank.org.  

Learn More

There’s room for your students in IOAPA!

Funding is still available through Iowa Online Advanced Placement Academy (IOAPA) for Iowa students in 6^th-12^th grade! IOAPA provides Iowa students free access to high-quality, online, advanced course offerings not currently available within their school districts. These courses are offered asynchronously so they can fit into any schedule. We also offer scholarships to cover the cost of AP exams for some low-income students participating in an IOAPA course. Additionally, our team is available to support students and mentors every step of the way.

Our current course offerings include the 13 advanced courses for middle school students and 15 for high school students listed below.

Middle School

• Algebra I (Honors)
• Algebra II (Honors)
• Biology (Honors)
• Computer Science Python Fundamentals
• Creative Writing
• Environmental Science
• Geometry (Honors)
• Physical Science
• Precalculus (Honors)
• Probability and Statistics
• Psychology
• Spanish I
• U.S. History to the Civil War

High School

• AP Biology
• AP Calculus AB
• AP Chemistry
• AP Computer Science A
• AP Computer Science Principles
• AP English Language & Composition
• AP English Literature & Composition
• AP Environmental Science
• AP Macroeconomics
• AP Microeconomics
• AP Psychology
• AP Spanish Language & Culture
• AP Statistics
• AP U.S. Government & Politics
• AP U.S. History

More information about this program is on our website. There you can find course descriptions, information about getting started, and support materials. You can also find more information about School Eligibility and Requirements here. If you are ready to register students, contact us at ioapa@belinblank.org by September 2nd.

AP Summer Institute – Online!

Advanced Placement (AP) coursework is one of the most recognized forms of acceleration. There are many benefits to taking an AP course, including providing the appropriate level of challenge for talented students.

Advanced Placement classes help develop college-level academic skills. The classes are made up of students and educators with a strong commitment to excellence in learning and problem-solving. These are all qualities necessary in college. Many students who enter college are shocked at the amount of work and study time involved. Taking AP classes in high school will better prepare them for challenging college classes.

The Belin-Blank Center is proud to be an approved site to provide AP summer training for teachers. To accommodate as many teachers as possible, we are offering an online session (August 1-5, 2022). The seven AP trainings offered online are Computer Science & Principles, English Language & Composition, English Literature & Composition, Physics I, Psychology, Spanish Language & Culture, and Statistics.

We would love to work with you this summer! Learn more and sign up here.

Join us!

IOAPA Fall enrollment is now open!

Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) registration for Fall 2022 classes is now open! IOAPA provides free access to asynchronous advanced courses for Iowa students in 6th grade and above. A primary aim of this program is to provide access to students who would otherwise be unable to find these courses offered in their school district. To aid in this goal, the Belin-Blank Center also provides AP exam scholarships to eligible IOAPA students each semester in an effort to increase the number of students taking AP exams from rural schools in Iowa.

On our website, you can find a wealth of information, including our course catalog, important dates, registration, and information about getting started, along with support materials designed to help you and your students make decisions about course selections.

COURSES OFFERED

• 15 AP courses are available to high school students. Note: Beginning Fall 2022, the drop deadline and fee will also apply to AP computer science courses.
• 13 advanced courses are available to middle school students. These courses are designed for high school students and made available to students in grades 6-8. Note: Beginning in Fall 2022, we will require above-level testing for middle school students. More information about this can be found here. When in doubt, you can also review our guidelines.

Course descriptions and syllabi for each course can be located by clicking “Learn More” on the course’s entry in our Course Catalog.

REGISTRATION DETAILS

To begin, visit our website (belinblank.org/ioapa) and review the Getting Started information. When you are ready to register, navigate back to the registration section of our website and click Register.

Step-by-step course registration instructions are included below:

1. Register your school and assign a site coordinator and mentor. The first step is for principals to register their schools. They can do that on our website (belinblank.org/ioapa) by clicking on Register. As part of this step, schools assign a site coordinator and a mentor. They can be the same person or different people; however, the mentor needs to be a certified teacher.
2. Nominate the student(s) taking the IOAPA course(s). Completing the school registration page sends the principal an automated email with a link to nominate the student. The principal either needs to complete the nomination or forward the link to the site coordinator or mentor to complete.
3. Confirm that the student has self-enrolled in the course. Once the student has been nominated, an email will be automatically sent to the student to enroll themselves in the actual course. Be sure to have students check their junk mail folders, as the automated emails sometimes get filtered there. Students should complete this process and be sure to click submit when they’re done.

After registering, be sure to complete any College Board requirements for offering AP courses:

• Register your school with the College Board.
• Complete the AP Course Audit process for Online/Distance Learning courses by the end of January in order to be able to label courses as “AP” on students’ transcripts.
• Encourage high school students to take the AP exam and order all AP exams by the College Board’s deadline. Also, as mentioned above, be on the lookout for emails about applying for our IOAPA AP exam scholarships.

As always, please feel free to reach out to us at ioapa@belinblank.org with any questions or concerns.

Guide for IOAPA High School Courses

We are excited to share the IOAPA High School Course infographic! This infographic uses data from 2020-2021 IOAPA students and may be helpful for upcoming fall enrollment decisions. This infographic, our middle school infographic, and other useful information can be found here on our website. On this page, you can also find our course catalog and more information about policies and individual course options.

IOAPA AP® exam scholarship winners

This year, the Belin-Blank Center was pleased to continue receiving funding to offer scholarships for AP® Exams for IOAPA students with financial needs. IOAPA mentors were able to submit applications to receive this funding. The purpose of these scholarships is to pay for the cost of AP® exams for low-income students in rural schools who are currently participating in IOAPA courses. We typically offer these scholarships once in the fall and again in the spring to extend this opportunity to students in both full-year and one-semester courses.

This year we have been able to award over 50 scholarships! We are pleased to congratulate the following school staff who applied for these scholarships for their students!

• Jadyn Schutjer, Emmetsburg High School
• Joan Enockson, Estherville Lincoln-Central High school
• Molly Sterner, Oskaloosa High School
• Laurie Eyre, Maharishi School
• Paulina Rodenburg, Glenwood Community High School
• Jill Janes, Boone High School
• Patti Kuennen, Oelwein High School
• Taryn Mottet, Ottumwa High School
• Hollie Weber, Central Lee High School

Congratulations to all the IOAPA students who received AP® exam scholarships this year! We wish them the best of luck on their AP® exams and other academic endeavors. As funds permit, we will continue to offer these AP exam scholarships. Be on the lookout next year for more information about the application process.

AP Exam Scholarships for IOAPA students

The Belin-Blank Center is pleased to continue offering AP exam scholarships for low-income current IOAPA students from rural schools.

We are now accepting applications for AP exam scholarships for IOAPA students! IOAPA principals, site coordinators, and mentors can apply for this funding opportunity until March 17, 2022! 

To complete the application, click here.

The purpose of this funding is to increase the number of students taking AP exams from rural schools in Iowa. If schools are already paying for AP exams, they should not request this funding. Funding for this application is only available for students who are taking IOAPA Advanced Placement (AP) courses in the 2021-22 school year. Funding is limited to only one AP exam per student.

Eligibility

• Students who qualify for the free/reduced-cost lunch program will receive preference. Low-income students not meeting FRL guidelines will be considered, if funding is still available.
• Low-income students in non-rural schools will be considered, if funding is available.
• Students must be enrolled in an IOAPA Advanced Placement course during the 2021-2022 school year. Priority will be given to students taking one-semester spring courses.
• Funding is to be used for the exam associated with the IOAPA course the student is taking during the 2021-2022 school year, not a different exam.

Funding is limited. Not all eligible students may receive funding.

The per-exam cost for the 2021-22 school year is $62 for students eligible for free/reduced cost lunch. Schools that receive funding should plan to pay the $62 per student to the College Board. These schools will then need to submit an invoice to the Belin-Blank Center after students have taken the AP exams along with documentation showing they have paid the College Board for these students’ exams. There will be no reimbursement if a student does not take the exam. More information about this will be provided in the acceptance letters that are sent to site staff.

Awards will be announced by March 24, 2022. Also as a reminder, the deadline to order all one-term, spring semester AP exams is March 15, 2022.

Please email us at ioapa@belinblank.org with any questions!

Using BESTS for IOAPA Decisions

As you may know, the Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) and the Belin-Blank Exceptional Student Talent Search (BESTS) team up to provide identification and programming services to help Iowa teachers discover talented students and develop their abilities. For more on how BESTS and IOAPA work together, check out our IOAPA-BESTS blog roundup. Starting in the 2022-2023 school year, IOAPA will require 6^th or 7^th grade students to have taken I-Excel in order to be eligible for IOAPA courses. We highly recommend using the ACT to inform eligibility for older students to take IOAPA courses. Testing is not required for students registering for Spring 2022 courses, although it is recommended.

In order to use this year’s above-level testing scores to inform eligibility for next spring’s IOAPA courses, now is the time to begin the above-level testing process. (Spring registration opens November 8, and we expect seats to fill quickly.) You may also use above-level test results from this academic year to decide which students you will register for fall 2022 classes, when that registration is available. There are four basic steps for participation in BESTS.

1. Find the students who are ready for additional challenge; these are the students who will be recommended for participation in BESTS. Typically, students who have earned scores at or above the 90^th percentile on grade-level standardized tests, such as the Iowa Assessments, are strong candidates for above-level testing.
2. Notify the students identified in Step 1 and their families about the opportunity to participate in BESTS.
3. Contact assessment@belinblank.org as soon as possible to set up testing. We have two options for testing, one for 7^th-9^th graders, and one for 4^th-6^th graders.
4. 7^th-9^th graders take the ACT. Due to the pandemic, ACT has been prioritizing testing 11^th and 12^th graders. We plan to offer above-level testing for our 7^th-9^th grade students later this academic year. If you would like to be notified when testing is available for 7^th-9^th graders, visit belinblank.org/talent-search for specific information and email assessment@belinblank.org to be added to the notification list. ACT testing is not required, but it is highly recommended.
5. 4^th-6^th graders take I-Excel. I-Excel testing sessions for current 4^th-6^th graders are flexible to schedule. However, it’s still important to reach out soon to ensure that the process can be completed in time for your desired test date(s) and IOAPA spring registration. Please allow approximately 6 weeks from the time of registration to having the assessment results in hand. I-Excel testing will be required for students interested in taking 6^th-7^th grade courses next school year, so we highly recommend testing eligible 5^th and 6^th graders this year.
6. Inform students and parents about test results and the recommended course of action following testing.

Costs

• The cost for ACT registration will be announced at a later time. Students testing through the Belin-Blank Center will receive access to individualized reports explaining their test results and comparing them to other talented students in the same grade.
• The cost for I-Excel is $45 per student when groups of 4 or more students are testing.  Iowa schools using I-Excel for the first time in the past 3 years can request up to 20 free student test registrations to try out I-Excel with their students. Schools receive group results as well as individual student reports following I-Excel testing. Families also receive the individualized report.
• For both I-Excel and ACT, fee reductions are available for students eligible for the free/reduced cost lunch program.

For more information, see:

What’s the Best-Kept Secret in Gifted Education? Above-Level Testing — This post offers an overview of the theory and research behind above-level testing.

An Easy Way to Learn More About Your Students’ Needs— Specific steps for setting up I-Excel are included in this post.

Have Your 7th-9th Graders Registered to Take the ACT? — This post includes useful information about using the ACT as an above-level test for 7th through 9th grade students. Current information about fees, test session dates, and registration deadlines can be found at www.belinblank.org/talent-search.

Update on IOAPA’s Computer Science Courses

This year, there are some changes with IOAPA’s computer science (CS) courses. Our curriculum for these courses is now provided by a non-profit organization called ProjectSTEM.

So, what will this transition look like for IOAPA students and mentors?  Much of the experience will be the same as before. The course material is the same, but there are some slight differences within the platform. You can find helpful information for navigating ProjectSTEM’s website on their help center or reach their support team at info@projectstem.org.

Below are some helpful notes about this transition:

• Be sure to keep an eye out for emails from Project STEM. This includes adding emails from the projectstem.org domain to your safe sender list.   

• Our middle school course formerly called Introduction to Computer Science is now called CS Python Fundamentals.  

• The CS Python Fundamentals course is only offered as a full year course. A one-semester option is not available.

A common question about our CS courses is what does “more mentor involvement” look like? Mentors do not need to have any previous CS teaching experience or knowledge to facilitate a course within ProjectSTEM. The curriculum and lessons for these courses are already prepared. Additionally, the majority of assignments are assigned grades automatically as your students submit them. This is particularly true in the CS Python Fundamentals and AP Computer Science A courses.

The AP Computer Science Principles course requires the most mentor involvement, as has always been the case. This course requires students to submit some essay questions that need to be graded by mentors. However, these assignments have a rubric in the Teacher Resource Sidebar, which gives mentors the information they will need to accurately grade the essays. Additionally, mentors and students can ask ProjectSTEM’s Teacher Assistant team questions in their forums. While teacher assistants cannot make grading decisions, they can provide guidance and answer specific questions mentors may have about the content.

For more information about ProjectSTEM, visit their help center. If you have more specific questions, contact their support team at info@projectstem.org. And as always, please feel free to reach out to the IOAPA team with any questions or concerns at ioapa@belinblank.org. 

Registration Open for AP® Summer Institute

Registration is now open for the University of Iowa’s AP® Summer Institute (APSI), hosted by the Belin-Blank Center! APSI will take place online from June 28 – July 2, 2021.

“Even if you are not going to teach an AP® class, the content and methods from the APSI at the Belin-Blank Center open up a myriad of teaching possibilities. I admit it—I was so energized about content after attending APSI!!”

-Jill Schany, APSI participant from Emmetsburg High School

APSI workshops offer online professional learning for these AP® courses:

• Calculus AB
• Computer Science Principles
• English Language and Composition
• English Literature and Composition
• Human Geography
• Physics 1
• Psychology
• Spanish Language
• Statistics
• US Government & Politics
• US History
• World History

Photo by Katerina Holmes on Pexels.com

AP® courses introduce high school students to academically challenging material and offer a chance to earn college credit by taking AP® exams. APSI prepares teachers to develop and teach an AP® course.

College Board-endorsed AP® consultants instruct each workshop. APSI participants will discuss questions about AP® subject-area content and receive an overview of the Advanced Placement program®. They will also learn how to complete the College Board’s required AP® Course Audit. 

Participants can also earn academic credit (with a 50% scholarship!) or Iowa Licensure Renewal Units for successful completion of an APSI workshop. Grants of $450 are available to Iowa teachers through the Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA).  

Click below to learn more or register today!

Learn More

Register

College Board Scholarships for AP Summer Institute

This summer, the University of Iowa’s Belin-Blank Center will be hosting an online Advanced Placement^® Summer Institute (APSI). (formerly known as the AP Teacher Training Institute or APTTI). APSI is designed for teachers who want to learn to teach AP^® courses, current AP^® teachers, and educators who wish to strengthen their school’s core curriculum. The event will take place June 28 – July 2, 2021, and all courses will be offered fully online. Check out our website for more information and registration details.

The College Board offers the following two scholarships that support teachers in attending an APSI. Both applications are open now and are due February 17, 2021: 

• AP^® Fellows Program: For teachers at schools serving majority underrepresented minority and/or low-income students 
  • Scholarship Amount: $1,000 – for cost of tuition and lab fees (when applicable) 
• AP^® Rural Fellows Program: For teachers at schools serving rural areas
  • Scholarship Amount: $1,500 – for cost of tuition and lab fees (when applicable) 

Another funding opportunity is the AP^® Summer Institution Grant, offered by the Belin-Blank Center’s Iowa Online AP^® Academy. More information and a link to the application can be found here, under the heading “Financial Aid”. The deadline to complete this grant application is June 1, 2021. 

• AP^® Summer Institution Grant: For Iowa-licensed middle school or high school teachers  
  • Award Amount: $450 – for cost of tuition plus funding for materials (when applicable) 

AP® Exam Scholarship Winners!

Congratulations to our AP Scholarship Exam recipients! The purpose of this funding is to increase the number of students taking AP exams from rural schools in Iowa. Funding is still available for Fall and Spring IOAPA AP students! If you have students that are eligible, please apply for this funding by the final deadline of February 26, 2021. Please click here for access to this online application.

AP Summer Institute: Online!

Belin-Blank Center staff members are making plans to host a summer program to prepare teachers to teach Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Those of you who have been following the Belin-Blank Center for some time will remember the professional development program was known as the AP Teacher Training Institute (APTTI). This year, we have a new name! The program is now called the University of Iowa AP Summer Institute, or APSI for short.

The Belin-Blank Center will host our APSI from June 28– July 2, 2021 (Monday through Friday). Classes will meet during the day. All courses will be taught online. Courses will include:

• Calculus AB
• Computer Science Principles
• English Language and Composition
• English Literature and Composition
• Human Geography
• Physics 1
• Psychology
• Spanish Language
• Statistics
• US Government & Politics
• US History
• World History

We are excited to offer APSI online for summer 2021. We look forward to including people from all over the nation in our courses, which will be taught by content experts endorsed by the College Board.

More information can be found here. The new information for 2021 will be updated on the website in the coming weeks.

IOAPA Classes 2020-2021

Welcome to the fall semester for IOAPA courses! During this busy time of year, we don’t want you to forget about some important information related to your IOAPA courses. Here are a few upcoming items for IOAPA.

• If your students decide the class is not for them, not a problem! Just make sure to drop the course before September 14th to prevent the $350 drop fee. For more information about our drop policies, check out the IOAPA handbook on our website.
• Check your email for messages from ioapa@belinblank.org. These emails contain important information and deadlines about the upcoming year. If you did not receive these emails, make sure to check your spam / junk folder.
• Don’t forget: AP Coordinators need to order AP Exams by November 15, 2020! (Click here for instructions and check here for additional deadlines).
• November 1, 2020: IOAPA spring registration opens. Keep this date in mind, we expect spring enrollment to fill quickly!
• December 11, 2020: IOAPA fall classes end.

Helpful Tips to Start the Semester

Textbooks: Recommended textbooks for courses on APEX can be found by clicking “Learn more” on the relevant course(s) from the IOAPA course catalog. Edhesive courses do not require textbooks.

Online Support: APEX and Edhesive offer support guides and videos on their websites! Reach out to their customer service with technical questions.

2020 APTTI Cancellation

Due to the concerns of the COIVID-19 pandemic and in cooperation with the University of Iowa and College of Education leadership, the 2020 APTTI (planned for June 29 – July 2) is canceled. We were very much looking forward to this professional development event, but we hope to see everyone next year for the 2021 APTTI. 

To assist in finding other professional development opportunities appropriate for AP teachers, below are some options for online courses and online APSI programs. 

University of Iowa Online Courses

The University of Iowa offers many online classes for teacher professional development, Iowa License Renewal Units (ILRUs), and continuing education. Please see below for various online courses, and see here for a complete course catalog. 

To participate in online classes: If you are a non-degree seeking student, you must register with Distance and Online Education. To receive the State of Iowa Endorsement in Talented and Gifted Education, you may register as either a graduate or undergraduate student, regardless of your professional status.  Once you have your HawkID and password, you can follow the directions to register for the courses here.  

1. Introduction to Educating Gifted Students (RCE:4137:0EXW – 3 semester hours), June 8 – July 27 (Dr. Susannah Wood)
2. Special Topics: Understanding and Addressing the Unique Needs of Gifted LGBTQ Students (EDTL:4096:0WKA – 1 semester hour), June 8 – 26 (Dr. Haley Wikoff)
3. Current Readings and Research (EDTL:4085:0WKA – 1 semester hour), June 15 – July 6 (Dr. Laurie Croft)
4. Cognitive and Affective Needs of the Gifted (PSQF:4125:0WKA – 1 semester hour), June 29 – July 17 (Dr. Megan Foley Nicpon).
5. Teaching and Learning for Global Perspective (EDTL:4093:0EXW – 3 semester hours), June 15 – August 6 (Dr. Kathryn Kauper)
6. Special Topics: Field Geology of the Midwest (EDTL:4096:0EXW – 4 semester hours), June 29 – Aug 6 (Dr. Ted Neal)
7. Differentiation at the Secondary Level (EDTL:4976:0WKA – 1 semester hour), July 8 – 28 (Dr. Kristine Milburn)
8. Special Topics: Giftedness 101 (EDTL:4076:0WKA – 1 semester hour), July 15 – August 4 (Anna Payne)   
9. Special Topics: Personalized Education and Plans for Gifted (EDTL:4096:0WKB – 1 semester hour), July 6 – July 24 (Lori Duffy-Danker)

Online APSIs

There are some AP Summer Institutes (APSI) that are now providing online workshops. If you are interested in attending an online APSI, please check this College Board website, and make sure to check “filter for online workshops.”  The College Board also offers AP Online Professional Development options. 

We were anticipating a great week with you, but we will look forward to next year! Please email us at aptti@belinblank.org with any questions.

IOAPA & COVID-19: Updated Information about AP Exams

In regards to the COVID-19 public health emergency, we hope you are all doing well. We recognize this is a stressful time for everyone. We have created a number of blog posts regarding IOAPA and COVID-19. This one provides updated and key information on how the College Board is navigating the 2020 AP exams. Another blog post provides resources for navigating your online courses through APEX and Edhesive.  This blog post provides internet access and educational/learning resources.

As a reminder, the College Board is providing free, remote learning resources and a new at-home testing option for this year’s AP Exams. Also, see Trevor Packer’s presentation regarding the 2020 AP Exam updates and for rationale behind the exam content. Please see below for more details. 

Exam Dates

The College Board surveyed many AP teachers and students, and a majority preferred to test earlier, while the content is still fresh.

• Exams will be given from May 11–22.
• Makeup test dates will be available for each subject from June 1–5.
• Students can take exams at home or in schools, if they reopen.
• Each subject’s exam will be taken on the same day at the same time, worldwide.
• View the full testing schedule.

We encourage you to remind your students about exam dates for their courses.

Exam Format

Most exams will have one or two free-response questions, and each question will be timed separately. Students will need to write and submit their responses within the allotted time for each question.

• Students will be able to take exams on any device they have access to—computer, tablet, or smartphone. They’ll be able to type and upload their responses or write responses by hand and submit a photo via their cell phones.
• For most subjects, the exams will be 45 minutes long, plus an additional 5 minutes for uploading. Students will need to access the online testing system 30 minutes early to get set up.
• Certain courses—Art and Design: 2D; Art and Design: 3D; Computer Science Principles; Drawing; Research; and Seminar—will use portfolio submissions and will not have a separate online exam. All deadlines for these submissions have been extended to May 26, 2020, 11:59 p.m. ET. Teachers and students may receive separate course-specific communications.
• Students taking world language and culture exams will complete two spoken tasks consistent with free-response questions 3 and 4 on the current AP Exam. Written responses will not be required. The College Board will provide additional details in the coming weeks to help students prepare.

Tips for testing on specific devices will be available in late April.

Confronting the Digital Divide

The College Board recognizes that the digital divide could prevent some low-income and rural students from participating. Working with partners, the College Board is investing so these students have the tools and connectivity they need to review AP content online and take the exam. If your students need mobile tools or connectivity, you can contact the College Board directly to let them know by April 24.

Exam Scores and College Credit

As usual, students’ work will be scored by our network of college faculty and AP teachers, and will be reported on a 1–5 scale. The College Board anticipates releasing scores as close to the usual July timeframe as possible.

The College Board is confident that the vast majority of higher ed institutions will award college credit as they have in the past. The College Board has spoken with hundreds of institutions across the country that support our solution for this year’s AP Exams.

Special Benefit for Teachers

To help support teachers and schools that are struggling to collect and score student work for course grades, the College Board will provide every AP teacher with their students’ responses from the online exams by May 26. Administrators and teachers can individually determine whether they’d like to use these results locally as part of a course grade or as a final exam.

Exam Security

Like many college-level exams, this year’s AP Exams will be open book/open note. The exam format and questions are being designed specifically for an at-home administration, so points will not be earned from content that can be found in textbooks or online. However, students taking the exams may not consult with any other individuals during the testing period. The College Board will take the necessary steps to protect the integrity of each exam administration, as they do every year.

The College Board is confident that the vast majority of AP students will follow the rules for taking the exams. For the small number of students who may try to gain an unfair advantage, the College Board have a comprehensive and strict set of protocols in place to prevent and detect cheating. While some of these practices are confidential to maximize their effectiveness, students and education professionals can learn more about our security measures.

At a minimum, test takers should understand that those attempting to gain an unfair advantage will either be blocked from testing or their AP scores will be canceled, and their high school will be notified as will colleges or other organizations to which the student has already sent any College Board scores (including SAT® scores). And they may be prohibited from taking a future Advanced Placement® Exam as well as the SAT, SAT Subject Tests™, or CLEP® assessments.

Remote Instruction and Practice

On March 25, the College Board began offering free live AP review courses, delivered by AP teachers from across the country. The courses have been viewed more than 3.2 million times since they became available. On-demand lessons are now available for Art and Design, AP Capstone™, and Computer Science Principles.

In addition to sharing information about these classes with students, teachers who are providing remote instruction can use AP Classroom for most subjects. The College Board has now unlocked secure free-response questions in AP Classroom so teachers can digitally assign relevant practice questions students can take at home. Additional tips for helping your students practice are available.

Professional Development Opportunities

The College Board will be providing webinars, videos, and other resources to help AP teachers and coordinators leading up to exam day. Coordinators can register for live training on April 10 to learn more about exams.

Additional Information

The College Board has added frequently asked questions to the site so you can find answers to important topics, including information for students with accommodations, details about exam fees and cancellations, credit and placement, calculator policies, and more. The College Board will continue to make updates on the site and share them with you through email, online educator communities, and social media.

Your support is critical to ensuring students have the opportunity to earn college credit and placement. Thank you for all you’re doing during this unprecedented time.

We are already thinking of how this situation may affect the fall semester, and we are working on being as flexible as possible. Be on the lookout for future blog posts and emails that will provide information on next steps. Our goal is to determine how we can best support our IOAPA community! As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns at ioapa@belinblank.org

IOAPA & COVID-19: Internet & Educational Resources

In regards to the COVID-19 public health emergency, we hope you are all doing well. We recognize this is a stressful time for everyone. We have created a few blog posts regarding IOAPA and COVID-19, and we will continue to provide updates and new resources. This blog post provides internet access and educational/learning resources. This blog post will provide resources for navigating your online courses through APEX and Edhesive. Another blog post will discuss how the College Board is navigating COVID-19 with AP exams.

Internet Resources

We acknowledge the digital divide could prevent some students from continuing with their online IOAPA courses. We want to provide you with a few resources to combat this barrier:

1. The College Board is attempting to navigate this situation for students enrolled in AP courses. Please fill out this survey for the College Board to provide mobile tools or connectivity.
2. The University of Iowa is providing free drive-up wireless service to allow students, faculty, and staff who need high-speed internet Review the Drive-up Wifi Locations page for additional on-campus and off-campus locations, maps, and instructions on connecting.
3. Many internet providers are announcing various packages to help those who don’t have internet or have slow internet at home during the COVID-19 outbreak. Below is a partial list of what is offered. Please note: This list is rapidly changing. Please check with your the provider for the most recent updates and offers:

• FCC agreement stating providers will waive late fees, not cutoff service for lack of payment, and open hot-spots.
• AT&T COVID-19 response: Offers open hot-spots, unlimited data to existing customers, and $10/month plans to low-income families.
• CenturyLink COVID-19 response: Follows FCC agreement, will waive late fees due to financial circumstances associated with COVID-19, and will suspend data usage limits for consumer customers for 60 days.
• Charter Free Internet offer for 2 months.
• Comcast COVID-19 response: Offers free WiFi for 2 months to low-income families plus all Xfinity hot-spots are free to the public during this time.
• Mediacom COVID-19 response: Follows FCC agreement, offering complimentary access to all Mediacom Xtream Wi-Fi Hotspots for 60 days, and extending the pricing of Mediacom’s Access Internet 60 broadband service to new customers at $19.99 per month for the next 12 months. 
• Sprint COVID-19 response: Follows FCC agreement, provides unlimited data to existing customers, and, starting Tuesday, 3/17/2020, will allow all handsets to enable hot-spots for 60 days at no extra charge.
• T-Mobile COVID-19 response: Follows FCC agreement, plus unlimited data to existing customers, and, coming soon, will allow all handsets to enable hot-spots for 60 days at no extra charge.
• Verizon COVID-19 response: Follows FCC agreement, plus giving all mobile customers 15GB of extra data from March 25th through April 30th.
• US Cellular: Follows FCC agreement.

Educational Resources

1. Amazon Future Engineer and Edhesive have collaborated to offer free access to additional Edhesive computer science courses or professional development through August 31, 2020. See this page for more information.
2. Check out this list of education companies that are offering free subscriptions due to school closings. It is frequently updated so make sure to bookmark it!

We are continuing to think of how this situation may affect the fall semester, and we are working on being as flexible as possible. Be on the lookout for a future blog posts and emails that will provide information on our next steps. Our goal is to determine how we can best support our IOAPA community! As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns at ioapa@belinblank.org

IOAPA & COVID-19: Resources

In regards to the COVID-19 public health emergency, we hope you are all doing well. We recognize this is a stressful time for everyone and we want to check in on a few things. We have created a few blog posts regarding IOAPA and COVID-19. This one will provide resources for navigating your online courses through APEX and Edhesive. This blog post provides internet access and educational/learning resources. Another blog post will discuss how the College Board is navigating COVID-19 with AP exams.

APEX Resources

Apex has suggestions for proctoring exams, and Apex also offered a ‘course-pause’ option for students that lose access to courses. If your courses are set up to be proctored by a mentor, you can:

1. Have students take exams upon their return.  Per Apex’s standard policy, students will not be penalized for late work.
2. Work with parents to proctor students taking exams. Mentors can unlock tests remotely.  

You can also request a course-pause for your entire program, or just for students that may lack access. Apex will leave the courses ‘paused’ until you confirm they should be re-opened.  Please reach out to our student services team (alvs.support@apexlearning.com; 855-550-2457) to initiate this option.

Edhesive Resources

Edhesive has created a guide on how to continue courses with remote learning. This guide includes tips to support teachers, students, and parents. Edhesive is currently working with their partners at Amazon to support students who may lack equipment and internet access. Support and online teaching assistants will continue to be available to support students and teachers via online forums. 

We are already thinking of how this situation may affect the fall semester, and we are working on being as flexible as possible. Be on the lookout for a future blog post and email that will provide information on our next steps. Our goal is to determine how we can best support our IOAPA community! As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns at ioapa@belinblank.org

IOAPA & COVID-19: AP Exams

In regards to the COVID-19 public health emergency, we hope you are all doing well. We recognize this is a stressful time for everyone and we want to check in on a few things. We have created a few blog posts regarding IOAPA and COVID-19. This one will provide information on how the College Board is navigating COVID-19 with AP exams. Another blog post will provide resources for navigating your online courses through APEX and Edhesive.  This blog post provides internet access and educational/learning resources.

The College Board is supporting AP students by offering free, optional remote learning and at-home AP testing. These resources are offered in order to allow students to still earn the college credit and placement that they have been working toward all year. 

• For the 2019-20 exam administration, students can take a 45-minute online exam at home. The College Board development committees are currently creating these exam questions.
  • Students are able to take these exams on any device – computer, tablet, or smartphone. Taking a photo of handwritten work will also be an option.
  • The College Board recognizes the digital divide for low-income and rural students. If students need mobile tools or connectivity, please reach out to the College Board.
• Each AP exam will only include topics and skills most AP teachers and students have already covered in class by early March. This will account for the students who may have lost more instructional time than others. 
• Some students may want to take the exam sooner rather than later, while the content is still fresh. Other students may want more time to practice. For each AP subject there will be two different testing dates. Specific test dates will be posted by April 3. 
• Colleges support this solution and are committed to ensuring that AP students receive the credit they’ve worked hard to earn. 
• Any student already registered for an exam can choose to cancel at no charge. 
• Beginning March 25, students and schools will have access to free, live AP review lessons,delivered by AP teachers from across the nation. 
• For more information, check with the College Board’s websiteand their AP updates for schools impacted by COVID-19. 

We are already thinking of how this situation may affect the fall semester, and we are working on being as flexible as possible. Be on the lookout for a future blog post and email that will provide information on our next steps. Our goal is to determine how we can best support our IOAPA community! As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns at ioapa@belinblank.org

Spring Term AP® Exam Scholarship Winners!

The Belin-Blank Center received funding in 2018 to offer scholarships for AP® Exams for students with financial need. This cycle of applications were for students enrolled in one-term, spring semester AP® IOAPA courses. Mentors, site coordinators, or principals were to submit an application to receive this funding. We are pleased to announce the teachers that are awarded these scholarships for their students! Congratulations to the following teachers:

Donna Bohlmann, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont Junior/Senior High School

Shawna Goemaat, North Mahaska Community School District

Patrick Trewin, Decorah High School

The purpose of these scholarships is to pay for the cost of AP® exams for low-income students in rural schools who are currently participating in IOAPA courses. We want to thank these teachers for their dedication to providing resources and opportunities to their students!

As funds permit, we will continue to offer AP® exam scholarships. Make sure to watch for the AP® exam scholarship application this fall, 2020!

AP Summer Institute Registration is Open Now!

AP Teacher Training Institute 

It is that time of year to plan for summer events, including summer professional development! Make sure to save the date for the 2020 AP Teacher Training Institute (APTTI). This will take place at the University of Iowa campus on June 29 – July 2, 2020. Registration is now open! 

We will be offering workshops in the following courses: AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP English Language & Composition, AP English Literature & Composition, AP US Government, and AP US History.

APTTI is a College Board-approved AP Summer Institute (APSI). AP Summer Institutes provide subject-specific training for teachers who are interested in teaching an AP course. Summer Institutes can also benefit current teachers already teaching AP courses to develop their skills, or gain familiarity with the course. Teachers who attended our institute in 2019 shared some of their valued experiences:

“Great instructor! Provided us with many valuable resources. This depth of knowledge was impressive, interesting, and captivating.”

“I learned so much! Great presenter with excellent ideas and information. I’m feeling much more equipped to teach AP [course] now!”

Funding

The Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) offers the AP Institution Grant, a grant to support Iowa teachers in attending APTTI (participation in IOAPA not required.) This grant will cover $450 of the $600 registration fee.  Click Financial Aid to learn more and to access the grant application. This application is due June 1st, 2020. 

Professional Development Credit

We offer two credit options (3 semester hours total) for those who attend APTTI. Participants who enroll receive an automatic 50% tuition scholarship applied to the cost of graduate credit ($560). 

EDTL:5080:0WKA (2 semester hours): These credits are earned through participation in APTTI, plus any additional follow-up assignments from the College Board consultants. 

EDTL:4976:0WKA (1 semester hour): To extend the learning experience at APTTI, participants can earn credit by enrolling in this course, Differentiation at the Secondary Level. This course is completed online once you have completed APTTI.

State of Iowa Talented and Gifted Endorsement

The Belin-Blank Center offers classes across the required strands that allow for a TAG endorsement to be earned in one summer! Attending APTTI contributes to up to 3 of the 12 required credits (see above). For more information, click here to view all 12 credit options.

IOAPA: Funding for Spring Course AP Exams

The Belin-Blank Center is pleased to continue offering scholarships to pay for the cost of Advanced Placement exams for low-income students in rural schools who are currently participating in IOAPA courses.

We are now accepting applications for AP exam scholarships for students enrolled in one-term, spring semester courses! As a reminder, the deadline to order all one-term, spring semester AP exams in March 13, 2020.

IOAPA principals, site coordinators, and mentors can apply for this funding opportunity by February 21, 2020! For more information and for access to the application, click here.

The purpose of this funding is to increase the number of students taking AP exams from rural schools in Iowa. If schools are already paying for AP exams, they should not request this funding. Funding for this application is only available for students who are taking a one-term, spring semester IOAPA Advanced Placement (AP) course in the 2019-20 school year.

The per-exam cost for the 2019-20 school year is $64 for students eligible for free/reduced cost lunch. Schools should pay the $64 per student to the College Board. Schools should submit an invoice to the Belin-Blank Center after students have taken the AP exams along with documentation showing they have paid the College Board for these students’ exams. There will be no reimbursement if a student does not take the exam.

Awards will be announced by March 1, 2020.

As a reminder, the College Board’s new deadline to order one-term, spring semester AP exams is March 13, 2020.

Please email us at ioapa@belinblank.org with any questions!

AP® vs. Concurrent Enrollment

Finding advanced coursework for gifted and high-achieving students is important. You may find yourself questioning where to begin and also wondering what is most beneficial for your student. This post helps to explain the similarities and differences between Advanced Placement® (AP®) and Concurrent / Dual Enrollment.

What is Advanced Placement® and Dual Enrollment?

• Advanced Placement®  (AP®) is a nationally standardized program administered by the College Board. Students have the option to enroll in a wide range of different courses and take an exam in May. In Iowa, schools also have the opportunity to participate in the Iowa Online AP® Academy, which allows high school students to enroll in online AP® coursework for courses their school may not offer.
• Concurrent Enrollment is an initiative offered by the state of Iowa that allows high school students to enroll in community college courses while still in high school.

How do credits transfer?

• Advanced Placement®: Passing an AP® exam with a score of 3 or higher generally allows students to earn either advanced standing or course credit for entry-level college courses, depending on the university’s requirements. That is, students may obtain required elective credits or course credits (as if the student had taken and passed the course at the university) for entry-level college courses. For example, at the University of Iowa, receiving a 4 or higher on the AP® Biology exam gives you credit for a specific entry-level biology course (BIOL:1140 Human Biology) that might apply towards your degree.
• Concurrent Enrollment: Generally, if students pass their class with a C- or higher, they receive college credit. However, this credit may or may not transfer to their post-secondary institution of choice. For example, per University of Iowa policy: Course work earned at a two-year college may be applied toward up to one-half the credits required for a bachelor’s degree. Excess credit and grades will be used in computing your grade-point average (GPA) and may be used to satisfy course requirements, but they will not count toward the total hours needed for graduation from the university.

What does the research say?

A body of research has consistently demonstrated that taking AP® exams and achieving at least a 3 or higher is correlated with greater success in various ways in college. Specifically, a recent study (Wyatt, Patterson, & Giacomo, 2015) found that AP® students who scored a 3 or higher on at least one AP® exam had more positive college outcomes than dual enrollment students affiliated with a 2- or 4-year institution.

There is also much research suggesting that participation in AP® courses alone, without taking/passing AP® exams, is still beneficial for students attending college. This speaks to the concept of “college prep” and coincides with anecdotal responses from Iowa teachers that students were prepared for college courses and the students felt that college expectations were below the expectations for AP® courses!

For more information about the history of AP® and future initiatives, check out this podcast.

What does the Iowa Online AP® Academy offer?

The IOAPA framework works with your high school curriculum so that you can take advanced classes (i.e. Advanced Placement® courses) that are of interest to you. In addition, AP® courses are nationally recognized as a way to earn college course credit at many colleges and universities across the nation. Finally, as an online program, IOAPA also offers flexibility that traditional courses may not in terms of scheduling, as well as practice with online course formats.

Will Iowa Online AP® Academy courses prepare students in the same ways as traditional AP® courses?

IOAPA students who take the AP® exam generally perform just as well as, if not better than, students who participate in traditional AP® courses.  Students who enroll in IOAPA courses also tend to successfully complete them—during the 2018-2019 school year, the completion rate for IOAPA high school courses was 93.3%, and of those students, 89.5% successfully passed their course.

How can I learn more?

You can learn more about IOAPA by visiting our website. The University of Iowa’s AP® credit policy is here, or you can visit the College Board’s AP® Credit Policy database for the policies of other colleges and universities. You can also read about the state of Iowa’s Senior Year Plus initiative for more specifics on earning college credit in high school.

AP® Exam Scholarship Winners!

The Belin-Blank Center received funding in 2018 to offer scholarships for AP® Exams for students with financial need. IOAPA mentors were to submit an application to receive this funding. We are pleased to announce the teachers that are awarded these scholarships for their students! Congratulations to the following teachers:

Hollie Weber, Central Lee High School

DeAnn Scearce, Mount Vernon High School

Chris Rogne, Crestwood High School

Leanne Bender, Hillcrest Academy

Susan Fritzell, Marshalltown High School

Ken Baker, Forest City High School

The purpose of these scholarships is to pay for the cost of AP® exams for low-income students in rural schools who are currently participating in IOAPA courses. We want to thank these teachers for their dedication to providing resources and opportunities to their students!

As funds permit, we will continue to offer these AP® exam scholarships. Keep an eye out for more information on the spring semester courses application process!

IOAPA: Semester Check-In

We are now over half way through the fall semester! We wanted to take the time to provide the IOAPA community with some resources that may be helpful for finishing the semester, as well as provide you with reminders and upcoming dates and deadlines.

There have many changes and added resources to AP® courses. Are you aware of all of these?

These changes have been implemented to make your role more streamlined from registration, to exam ordering, to test day.

1. Click here to access a handout is quick guide to the new changes to AP® for AP® Coordinators.
2. Click here for access to the AP® Coordinators Manual Part I (Part II will come out in March). This manual includes:
   1. What is new for 2019-2020
   2. 2020 AP® Exam schedule
   3. Exam ordering policies and deadlines
   4. Instructions about new exam registration and ordering processes

AP® Exam Registration and Ordering

Do you have questions with the new AP® Exam ordering process?

You will use your AP® student roster to update exam ordering information, including SSD accommodations, for each student. For more information, click here to watch a quick and helpful video from the College Board and click here for more detailed instructions.

What about my students who will only enroll in a one-term, spring semester course?

• When students get enrolled into their spring semester courses with IOAPA, the AP® Coordinator will create the exam only sections for those students. There should not be a need to denote those sections as “second semester.”
• APEX and Edhesive will enroll those students into “second semester” AP® Classroom sections on the College Board site.
• When the school’s AP® Coordinator orders the exams for the one-term, spring semester students, the AP® Exam registration deadline is March 13, 2020.

Why did the College Board switch to ordering AP® Exams in the fall semester?

The College Board implemented a pilot program for fall AP® exam registration that included more than 800 schools and 180,000 AP® students in the fall of the 2018-2019 school year. Below is what the College Board noticed:

• Students and teachers reported the students were more invested, committed, engaged, and focused.
• When students register for the AP® Exam in the fall, 15% more students completed the exam.
• Students’ chances of earning a 3 or higher increase when compared to students in schools with spring registration.
• There was a 12% increase in the number of scores 3+ earned by minority students, and a 20% increase in the number of scores 3+ earned by low-income students.

AP® Exams Taken by Low-Income Students: Scores of 3+

For more information on the pilot study, click here, and click here to watch a short video to hear the experiences of teachers and students in the pilot study.

Reminder: The final deadline to order AP® Exams for fall registration is November 15th, 2019!

IOAPA: Continued Funding for AP Exams

The Belin-Blank Center is pleased to announce the availability of scholarships to pay for the cost of Advanced Placement exams for low-income students in rural schools who are currently participating in IOAPA courses.

IOAPA principals, site coordinators, and mentors: Make sure to apply for this funding opportunity by October 15! For more information and for access to the application, click here.

The purpose of this funding is to increase the number of students taking AP exams from rural schools in Iowa. If schools are already paying for AP exams, they should not request this funding. Funding is only available for students who are taking or have taken an IOAPA Advanced Placement (AP) course in the 2019-20 school year.

The per-exam cost for the 2019-20 school year is $64 for students eligible for free/reduced cost lunch. Schools should pay the $64 per student to the College Board. Schools should submit an invoice to the Belin-Blank Center after students have taken the AP exams along with documentation showing they have paid the College Board for these students’ exams. There will be no reimbursement if a student does not take the exam.

Awards will be announced by November 1, 2019.

As a reminder, the College Board’s new deadline to order AP exams is November 15, 2019.

Please email us at ioapa@belinblank.org with any questions!

2019: IOAPA + Edhesive

IOAPA has been providing computer science courses to students across Iowa since 2015! We are able to offer these opportunities because of our partnership with Edhesive, an online curriculum provider. Whether you are new to using Edhesive or have a few years of experience, it is always helpful to refresh with important tips and information, as well as changes within the online course provider! We hope this blog post serves as a resource for teachers mentoring for computer science IOAPA courses.

IOAPA Mentors’ Role:

Since Edhesive is not a credit-bearing institution, mentors will serve as the teacher of record at each school. Mentors and schools also decide how involved they want to be when offering Edhesive courses. However, mentors are responsible for the following six items:

1. Setting up your course: Follow this link to learn how you can divide your course into grading periods and change/update student names in your gradebook.
2. Helping students enroll: Follow this link to assist your students in enrollment, add/remove students, and adding a second course for a student.
3. Provide access codes to students: Follow this link to know where all the quiz and exam access codes can be found.
4. Monitor student performance and progress: Follow this link to learn how you can view the “Course Access Report” to see what course items your student has viewed, participated, along with when these were viewed or completed, and to view overall activity, assignment submissions, grades, and quiz and exam statistics!
5. Transfer students’ grades in Edhesive to your school’s transcript: Follow this link to learn how to download the grades from your online Edhesive gradebook to your computer as a CSV file.
6. Complete the AP Course Audit with the College Board: Follow this link to learn how to complete the AP Course Audit for AP Computer Science A and AP CS Principles. AP Computer Science Principles mentors must also create a Digital Portfolio with the College Board.

Supports & Resources

Edhesive has recently created new onboarding videos for Edhesive teachers! These serve to provide a short introduction to getting started on and using the Edhesive platform. There are 25 short videos, totaling only 30 minutes to show you everything you need to know about getting started with your Edhesive courses. Click here to access the Edhesive Onboarding Videos. For additional tutorials and guides, mentors can visit the Help Center or email support@edhesive.com.

The teachers listed in the course (Rebecca Dovi and Becky Stacey) do not interact with students. If students have questions, they should ask their IOAPA mentor or utilize the Student Forums for additional support with their coursework.

Similarly, if mentors need support you can connect to Edhesive teaching assistants (TAs) and other teachers through the Teacher Forums.

IOAPA Classes 2019-2020

We are just over a week into the fall semester! During this busy time of year, we don’t want you to forget about some important information related to your IOAPA courses. To keep you in the loop, here are a few upcoming items for IOAPA.

• If your students decide the class is not for them, not a problem! Just make sure to drop the course before September 13th to prevent the $350 drop fee. For more information about our drop policies, check out the IOAPA handbook on our website.
• Check your previous emails from ioapa@belinblank.org, as these emails contain important information and deadlines about the upcoming year. If you did not receive these emails, make sure to check your spam / junk folder.
• Don’t forget: New to Fall 2019, AP Coordinators need to order AP Exams by November 15, 2019! (Click here for instructions and check here for additional deadlines).

Helpful Tips to Start the Semester

Textbooks: Recommended textbooks for courses on APEX can be found by clicking “Learn more” on the relevant course(s) from the IOAPA course catalog. Edhesive courses do not require textbooks.

Online Support: APEX and Edhesive offer support guides and videos on their websites! Also, feel free to reach out to their customer service with technical questions.

Visual Guide to IOAPA Middle School Courses

We are excited to share the new IOAPA Middle School Course infographic using data from 2018-2019 IOAPA students! This, along with our high school infographic and other useful information, can be found on our website, on the Support Materials page. 

Visual Guide to IOAPA High School Courses

We are excited to share the new IOAPA High School Course infographic using data from 2018-2019 IOAPA students! This, along with our middle school infographic and other useful information, can be found on our website, on the Support Materials page. 

The 2019 Iowa AP Index

The Belin-Blank Center is excited to announce the release of the 2019 Iowa AP Index!

The Iowa AP Index was developed in 2005 by the University of Iowa College of Education’s Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development. The Iowa AP Index serves to recognize the Top 50 Iowa accredited public and nonpublic high schools for providing Advanced Placement (AP) opportunities to Iowa’s high school students.

The Iowa AP Index provides a measure of AP opportunities. The AP Index is the ratio of AP Exams taken by students to the number of graduating seniors. A high AP Index indicates a school has developed a culture that encourages students to take AP courses and exams. Schools with index scores in the top 50 are publicly recognized for their commitment to providing AP opportunities. Schools that are not in the top 50 are notified separately regarding their index ranking. 

This year, Rivermont Collegiate in Bettendorf is the top Advanced Placement school in Iowa, according to the Iowa AP Index.

In previous years, Rivermont Collegiate was classified as a Specially Accredited College Preparatory School in the Iowa AP Index. However, Rivermont Collegiate is accredited by the Iowa Department of Education, and therefore is no longer considered specially accredited. Rivermont Collegiate is now recognized with the accredited public and nonpublic schools in the Iowa AP Index.

The top 10 schools in the 2019 Iowa AP Index behind first-place Rivermont (index of 4.71) are:

2. Valley High School (West Des Moines, index of 2.70)

3. Valley Lutheran High School (Cedar Falls, index of 2.55)

4. Roosevelt High School (Des Moines, index of 2.48)

5. West Senior High School (Iowa City, index of 2.26)

6. John F. Kennedy High School (Cedar Rapids, index of 2.23)

7. George Washington High School (Cedar Rapids, index of 2.10)

8. Wahlert Catholic High School (Dubuque, index of 1.91)

9. Muscatine High School (Muscatine, index of 1.88)

10. Iowa City High School (Iowa City, index of 1.86)

Magnet Schools: We also want to give a special recognition to Des Moines Central Academy (index of 2.63), which is not ranked with the Iowa public and nonpublic schools.

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To view the top 50 AP schools in Iowa, visit www.iowaapindex.org.

Introducing the Iowa AP Index Archive

It’s officially spring, which means we are getting closer to releasing the 2019 Iowa AP Index! The Iowa AP Index serves to recognize the Top 50 Iowa accredited public and nonpublic high schools for providing Advanced Placement (AP) opportunities to Iowa’s high school students.

The Iowa AP Index provides a measure of AP opportunities. The AP Index is the ratio of AP Exams taken by students to the number of graduating seniors. A high AP Index indicates a school has developed a culture that encourages students to take AP courses and exams. Schools with index scores in the top 50 are publicly recognized for their commitment to providing AP opportunities. Schools that are not in the top 50 are notified separately regarding their index ranking. 

Do you ever wonder about the history of your school’s participation in AP, or the history of AP in Iowa? The Belin-Blank Center has released the Iowa AP Index since 2005, which means there is quite a collection of data of how AP opportunities have evolved in various schools throughout the state!

This year, were are introducing an updated Iowa AP Index Archive.  This archive shares data from the last 12 years. The Iowa AP Index Archive provides information about Iowa’s average AP Index, and also provides a directory of the schools who ranked in the Top 50 from 2005 to 2017.

Check out the AP Index Index Archive, here! Also, keep an eye on this page for the 2019 AP Index to be released later this spring.

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Advanced Placement Teacher Training Institute (APTTI)

Are you starting to make summer plans? Don’t forget to add the Advanced Placement Teacher Training Institute (APTTI) into your summer schedule! This professional development opportunity takes place at the University of Iowa campus on June 25-28, 2019. Registration is now open!

APTTI is a College Board approved Advanced Placement Summer Institute (APSI). AP Summer Institutes provide subject-specific training for teachers who are interested in teaching an AP course. Summer Institutes can also support current teachers of AP courses seeking to develop their skills, or gain familiarity with the course.

“It [APTTI] not only provided me the opportunity to gain an understanding of AP-teaching, but I gained resources and new ideas that I now apply to all of my classes. “

“The training was invaluable…I find myself continually going back to my notes, looking at the resources I obtained at the training, and even emailing the facilitator who still quickly responds to me even though it has now been 2.5 years. I would not be as successful in my classroom had it not been for this training.”

Funding

The Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) offers the AP Institution Grant, a grant to support Iowa teachers in attending APTTI. (Participation in IOAPA not required.) This grant will cover $450 (more than 80%) of the $550 registration fee.  Click here to learn more and click here to access the grant application. This application is due June 1st, 2019. 

Academic Credit

Teachers who register for APTTI may pursue additional opportunities for graduate-level academic credit and/or Iowa licensure renewal units (additional fees and registration required). University credit is NOT included in the cost of APTTI. Click here to learn more about academic credit options!

Apply today here, and email us at aptti@belinblank.org with any questions or concerns.

AP Exam Reviews: NOW OPEN!

The AP Exam Reviews are now OPEN! Please contact us at ioapa@belinblank.org to register.

AP exam reviews are a great resource for students to prepare for AP exams. The Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) offers online AP Exam Reviews to Iowa AP students at no cost.

AP Exam Reviews are are available for the following courses: AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, AP Psychology, AP Spanish Language and Culture, AP Statistics, AP U.S. Government and Politics, and AP U.S. History.

Please make this opportunity available to students who will make use of the support, and especially to students who may lack access to other resources. 

Due to increased interest in our ever-expanding course offerings, along with changes in the University of Iowa’s budget, there are significantly fewer AP Exam Reviews available this year than in previous years. In light of these limitations, we ask that schools carefully consider their students’ need for and interest in this modality of support before signing students up for AP Exam Review.

Please email ioapa@belinblank.org to register, or if you have any questions or concerns.