FAQ

What methodology is being used to determine best practices?

From a methodological perspective, this study can be broadly characterized as a validity study. The study seeks primarily to establish what constitutes appropriate content for AP courses and exams so that valid inferences can be drawn from exam scores about students' ability to perform college-level work. The most generally accepted method for identifying appropriate content is the use of expert judgment models, which are employed extensively and systematically in this study.

The primary methodological technique for the study can best be described as a modified version of the Delphi Method, also refereed to as convergent consensus. The basic principle of this methodology is to recruit experts who independently identify important elements—in this case, elements of best practices courses—then identify areas of agreement through a process of successive judgments. The method as adapted for this project employs a multi-step process to achieve what might be considered sequential or nested convergent consensus. This involves achieving consensus within steps in the process and then across steps. The result is that findings are continually refined and confirmed by multiple independent groups of experts.

What are the goals of the study?

The goal is to redesign AP courses in relation to the best of college teaching, not the average or normative practice. In the process, content is prioritized to ensure that depth, rather than breadth, is the goal. Additionally, key habits of mind developed in best practices courses and effective teaching methods utilized in these courses will be identified. The redesigned AP courses that result will help focus high school teaching on best practices used in the college-level equivalent course of each subject.

What happens after a postsecondary course is determined to be best practices?

The actual practices that occur in the best practices courses will be submitted to the College Board, which will begin the course review process. Professional development for AP teachers will take place before new courses are launched.

What kind of postsecondary institutions participate in the study?

The goal is to ensure that a wide range of postsecondary institutions from among those receiving AP scores participates and that those receiving the most AP scores are most likely to participate. They include a wide range of Carnegie classifications, those serving minorities, those in all areas of the US, and those in various settings (e.g., urban, rural).