AP Exam Review Slots Available

The Iowa Online Advanced Placement (AP^TM) Academy allows Iowa students to take AP^TMclasses online. The Iowa Online AP Academy is especially meant for rural schools that do not have the resources to support AP^TM classes. Educators can learn more here.

 

Only one month to go until AP exams (see AP Calendar here)! No need to fear, though, students and teachers—there are still AP Exam Review slots available.  All Iowa schools are welcome to participate.

AP Exam Review is available for the following AP courses:  Calculus AB, Statistics, Physics B, Psychology, English Language and Composition, English Literature and Composition, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, U.S. Government and Politics, U.S. History, Biology, Chemistry, and Spanish.

Schools can set up users through one of two ways:

Option 1: Site coordinators can create a Classroom through their Iowa Online AP Academy account. Site coordinators may then add students to each AP Exam Review subject class they create. To add or edit a Classroom for AP Exam Review, sign in through Apex and click on the Classroom tab. The Exam Review should be the only class showing. Click on the “Add a Classroom” button on the right and follow the prompts to add the class, select the exam review content, and add students.

Option 2, must be used by schools enrolling 25 or more students: The school must send an Excel file listing all students who will enroll to Support at Apex Learning. List each student on a single line, and indicate the AP Exam Review course(s) in which the student will enroll by product code. If the student plans to enroll in multiple Exam Reviews, separate each course product code by commas. Attach your completed Excel file to an email addressed to support@apexlearning.com. Use the email subject line: IOAPA – {School Name} AP Exam Review Student List. If a school has more than 25 students to enroll, please contact the Apex Learning Support team for information on bulk registration/enrollment.

If you have questions about signing students up for AP Exam Review, you can contact Lori Hudson at lori-hudson@uiowa.edu or 319-335-6148.

AP Courses Offered for the 2014-15 Year

The Iowa Online Advanced Placement (AP^TM) Academy allows Iowa students to take AP^TM classes online. The Iowa Online AP Academy is especially meant for rural schools that do not have the resources to support AP^TM classes. Educators can learn more here.

Looking ahead to next year’s courses? Apex Learning will offer the following courses for 2014-15:

Math

• AP Calculus AB (Semester 1 and Semester 2)
• AP Statistics (Semester 1 and Semester 2)

Science

• AP Biology (Semester 1 and Semester 2)
• AP Chemistry (Semester 1 and Semester 2)
• AP Psychology

Social Studies

• AP U.S. History (Semester 1 and Semester 2)*
• AP U.S. Government and Politics
• AP Macroeconomics
• AP Microeconomics

English

• AP English Language and Composition (Semester 1 and Semester 2)*
• AP English Literature and Composition (Semester 1 and Semester 2)

World Language

• AP Spanish Language (Semester 1 and Semester 2)

*indicates new course updated with College Board requirements

AP Physics B will not be available the 2014-15 school year. Apex Learning wants to confirm that the course is published with updated College Board requirements. This is the same process Apex underwent with AP Spanish and AP Biology in previous years.

AP Report to the Nation: Highlighting Iowa

The Iowa Online Advanced Placement (AP^TM) Academy allows Iowa students to take AP^TM classes online. The Iowa Online AP Academy is especially meant for rural schools that do not have the resources to support AP^TM classes. Educators can learn more here.

The 10^th Annual AP^TM Report to the Nation was published this February, bringing with it positive news on the expansion of AP^TM. In the past decade, the number of U.S. students enrolled in courses—around 500,000 students in 2003—has almost doubled to a million in 2013. Another exciting finding is the number of participating students who come from low-income families has quadrupled in the past ten years to a total of about 275,000 students now.

Looking at Iowa specifically, student involvement in AP^TM has grown from about 3,000 Iowa students to over 5,700 since 2003. Students who score highly on the exam—or who receive a 3 or higher—has jumped about 1,500 students in that time frame as well.

College Board reported some of the recent great growths Iowa has made include our state’s commitment to teacher development and targeted assistance to traditionally underserved schools. For teachers seeking opportunities through the Belin-Blank Center, we recommend looking into our summer AP Teacher Training Institute.

At the same time, College Board notes that nearly 300,000 students in the 2013 graduating class who had the potential to take AP^TM did not take advantage of these opportunities. For some of these students, there continue to be obstacles that stand in the way of access and opportunity—like we discussed a few weeks ago for Black Male Achievement Week and we often reference with respect to rurality. As AP^TM develops further, we will strive alongside schools and districts to increase the program’s accessibility to all high-achieving students.

Black Male Achievement Week Spurs a Necessary Dialogue

The Iowa Online Advanced Placement (AP^TM) Academy allows Iowa students to take AP^TM classes online. The Iowa Online AP Academy is especially meant for rural schools that do not have the resources to support AP^TM classes. Educators can learn more here.

The goal of AP^TM is to challenge students and to better prepare them for higher education. Yet this program and others like it traditionally underrepresent students who are Black, Hispanic, American-Indian, and low-income, despite an awareness of these inequities and efforts to expand educational access.* Examining the 2013 graduating student cohort, only 28% of young black men who demonstrated potential for success in AP^TM took one or more AP^TM courses in high school (see College Board and American Promise infographic here).

Black Male Achievement (BMA) Week took place last week, drawing attention to barriers that prevent young black men from accessing AP^TM programming in addition to a host of other societal supports and opportunities. To incite conversation on this topic, the award-winning American Promise, a documentary examining the experiences of two friends at a prestigious private school as they move from kindergarten through high school, is now available for streaming online.

Events will continue through February and March (e.g., a Teach for America and American Promise Google Hangout on Tuesday, 02/11), bringing people together across the country to better understand these issues and what can be done to bring about change. Be a part of this conversation, and become a stronger advocate for your students, peers, and/or self.

*To read more about the high-end achievement gap and recommendations to help combat these inequities at a district- and school-level, download The Education Trust’s “Finding America’s Missing AP and IB Students” here.

Onward with AP in Spite of the Polar Vortex

The Iowa Online Advanced Placement (AP^TM) Academy allows Iowa students to take AP^TM classes online. The Iowa Online AP Academy is especially meant for rural schools that do not have the resources to support AP^TM classes. Educators can learn more here.

Alas, the bitter cold has returned. With the plummeting wind chill comes school closures—and unstructured time for students. However, regardless of whether Iowa schools extend the academic year into July, AP^TM students must take exams the weeks of May 5^th and May 12^th. What steps can online AP^TM students stranded at home take to avoid falling behind?

Accept the test dates as set in stone. With a few exceptions, AP^TM exams are generally not rescheduled. Cross your fingers all you like, but wishful thinking will not change this.

Create a schedule with short- and long-term goals. Given the flexibility of online courses, students benefit from the use of schedules, a topic we have discussed previously, particularly to reach completion of short- and long-term goals. For some students, this is as simple as following the syllabus each week. For others, it may help to break down assignments further and to set specific hours aside each week for each course assignment. These schedules should be followed as closely as possible to avoid overwhelmingly busy weeks later in the term.

If you have Internet access at home, continue to make progress in your courses. Yes, school is closed, and your friends may be taking it easy. However, remember the challenge you gave to yourself when you signed up for AP^TM or other honors courses. The grit needed to accomplish larger goals requires that you maintain goal-directedness, motivation, and self-control every week. If you have access to your coursework, continue to make progress on assignments and lectures. Watching daytime television and scrolling through Reddit will lose its appeal relatively quickly anyway.

Keep in touch with classmates during strings of snow days. Form a group with classmates, and share your short- and long-term goals for the semester. Encourage one another toward goals. Taking an online course can be an isolating experience, but having a peer group to hold you to the expectations you set for yourself will motivate you to push ahead.