project rationale
Project Rationale
The AP® Course Audit utilizes a criterion-based professional judgment method of analysis within a nested multi-step review process. This general approach allows complex syllabi to be reviewed in order to reach a holistic, dichotomous judgment based on scores on individual criteria. In this case, the syllabus must meet all curricular requirements in order to serve as the basis for AP course authorization.
The audit process requires AP instructors to submit course syllabi containing evidence that their courses address the key curricular and resource requirements identified by the AP program. Reviewers, who have experience with AP courses and have been specifically trained to examine syllabi in a particular subject area, then review the syllabi. Senior reviewers are employed as key experts to ensure quality and consistency throughout the audit process and in final decisions regarding courses. These experts have developed the criteria used for identifying evidence of curricular requirements.
The use of a criterion-based professional judgment model allows a teacher to fulfill the curricular requirements by submitting one document, a syllabus, rather than being required to fill out questionnaires or inventories where they would be expected to account for how they addressed each curricular requirement. While a standardized reporting method such as a questionnaire or inventory lends itself to greater consistency of scoring, it sacrifices the holistic and integrated view of the AP course being reviewed. The result of fragmenting the review process would be that the syllabi themselves would not necessarily be much improved. One of the goals of the AP Course Audit, in addition to verifying the alignment of the syllabi with the curricular requirements, is to help teachers gain useful information on how to modify the course syllabus so that it better reflects the relevant curricular requirements for the course. Therefore, a review of actual syllabi confirms degree of alignment with the requirements and identifies specific areas where additional information may be needed to demonstrate alignment.
Because the AP Course Audit leads to a dichotomous decision, meets or does not meet, and not a scale score, it is held to a higher standard of consistency. The review process is specifically designed to address consistency issues while accommodating complex documents and expert professional judgment. This allows teachers to accomplish two goals simultaneously with their syllabi:
- demonstrate that they are meeting the curricular requirements for the course, and
- retain the flexibility to teach the course in the way they see fit.
