New education standards will affect the way regular and AP courses are
taught.
Cheryl Hollinger has taught Advanced Placement biology at
Central
York High School in Pennsylvania for 17 years, plenty of time to see what
isn't working. The amount of material covered is "overwhelming," she says; the
1,280-page textbook "is way too big to go in depth." Students go through the
motions of their lab assignments without grasping why, and "the exam is largely
a vocabulary test."
Shifts in how high school classes are taught will force
students to do more than just memorize information
That all changes this fall, however, with a new curriculum that lasers in on
just three body systems (down from 11); requires fewer but more creative biology
labs, and entails an AP exam assessing reasoning skills rather than factoid
recall. "I'm excited," says Hollinger, who welcomes the prospect of getting
students "to think and act like scientists."
[Check out the rankings of the
Best High
Schools.]
Students and parents, get set for the next wave of education reform, which is
about to raise expectations. Data from 2009 show that only 38 percent of U.S.
12th graders performed at or above proficiency in reading, and only 26 percent
were proficient in math. The goal, say experts, is to
better
prepare high schoolers for the rigors of
college
and a competitive world economy, and to create a pipeline of native talent for
the millions of
STEM
jobs going begging—in science, technology, engineering, and math.
One aim of the reformers is to set common (and rigorous) standards nationwide
for the teaching of K-12 math, English language arts, and science. Meanwhile the
College Board, which oversees the AP program, will eventually revamp all 34
courses to get away from that mile-wide, inch-deep approach to subject
matter.
Forty-five states and the District of Columbia have adopted the new Common
Core State Standards for math and English language arts, which set a framework
for what concepts and skills should be mastered at the elementary, middle, and
high school levels. A separate collaborative, the Next Generation Science
Standards, has released a draft set of K-12 science standards that similarly
stress acquiring a deep understanding of concepts through analytical scientific
inquiry. Those standards have support from 26 states, the National Science
Teachers Association, and the National Research Council.
[Awareness is key to
success
of Common Core Standards.]
Since implementing the language arts curriculum in his senior English class
two years ago, Kris Gillis of Fort Mitchell, Ky., has noticed that he's now
using "the exact same strategies in my regular English class as I did in my AP
class." Rather than simply reading a book, discussing it, and writing about it
in summary fashion, says Gillis, the
Dixie
Heights High School seniors now start off "with a giant question."
For example: How would a feminist critic view Alfred Hitchcock's
Rear
Window? They read related texts from different genres, think critically to
reach an informed conclusion, and then "synthesize all of the information into a
cohesive essay" backed by evidence from the texts.
In math, the shift is away from lectures and rote working of equations to the
practical application of mathematical processes, often in teams, to real-world
situations.
High
school math students might use probability to make decisions, geometry to
design a bridge, and statistics to create surveys.
The idea is to help students gain "a broader understanding of mathematical
purpose," says Lynn Dougherty-Underwood, director of K-12 literacy for the
Tampa-area
Hillsborough
County Public Schools. Tampa schools began phasing in both Common Core
Standards in 2010.
By emphasizing analytical skills, a deeper understanding of key concepts, and
applied knowledge rather than a simple recall of facts, the Common Core
Standards and revamped AP curricula should work "in harmony" even though they
were designed separately, argues Trevor Packer, senior vice president for the AP
program at the College Board.
[Weigh the
pros
and cons of AP courses for your student.]
The first two redesigned courses—French language and culture, and German
language and culture—debuted in the 2011-12 school year. Both integrate
communication much more squarely with what's actually going on in the world,
under six broad themes such as global challenges, science and technology, and
contemporary life. Redesigned for fall 2012 are Latin and Spanish literature and
culture, as well as biology.
The new AP biology course will zoom in on four "big ideas" that get at the
systematic nature of all living things: that "evolution drives the diversity and
unity of life"; that living things use molecular building blocks to grow and
reproduce; that living systems respond to information essential to life
processes; and that biological systems interact in complex ways. Students will
study only the immune, endocrine, and nervous systems rather than all 11 body
systems.
Many teachers, like Hollinger, look forward to digging deeper, though she
suspects that many of today's "best" students who do well on recall and
standardized
tests might have some trouble adjusting. This new style of learning, says
Philip Ballinger, director of undergraduate admissions at the
University
of Washington in Seattle, will definitely be better college prep.
U.S. News & World Report
