Equal Access Means Equal Opportunity for All: Creating a Real-Time Statewide Advanced Placement Consortium February, 2003

AP Consortium Purpose Increase the accessibility to advanced placement courses for Wisconsin’s rural, low income, and minority students by using “real time” classroom instruction delivered over Wisconsin’s fiber optic BadgerNet.

CEW ADVANCED PLACEMENT CONSORTIUM Project Concept SCHOOL COUNSELOR AP CONSORTIUM TEACHER AP STUDENT CEW ADVANCED PLACEMENT CONSORTIUM UW-MADISON (TRAINING) WADEN

Inaccessibility Dilemma Almost a quarter of Wisconsin’s public secondary schools cannot/do not offer a single AP course. Of the remaining schools that offer AP courses, ¾ offer only one or two per year. RESULT: Talented and ambitious students in these schools are at a distinct disadvantage when they compete against their college bound counterparts from schools with greater accessibility to AP course work.

Inaccessibility Cycle School size, student interest, and local budget resources determine availability of local AP courses in Wisconsin. Low student interest for AP courses in rural or urban schools indirectly excludes learners who wish to take rigorous, college level courses while in high school. Low student participation rates in AP courses make it exceedingly difficult to allocate scarce local teacher resources to AP instruction. Unavailability of AP courses preclude guidance counselors from promoting these types of courses to their students.

Example of the Impact That This Inaccessibility Cycle Can Have "I just wanted to drop you a line to say that I find your AP project very interesting- I come from a small, rural high school that did not offer any AP courses. In fact, I was told by the middle school guidance counselor that high school students weren't capable of handling college level work, so AP was a bad idea! However, in the summer of 1991 I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a pilot program at the University of Iowa called the Advanced Placement Academy. The Academy consisted of AP classes in English, History, Biology, and Mathematics, which were condensed into six-week, intensive courses. Students enrolled in one of the four courses, and at the end of the coursework, took the appropriate AP exam. I took the English course-- which turned out to be the most valuable instruction in composition and literature I had during my entire high school career. In fact, the admissions counselor [at the college] where I did my undergrad told me that if I hadn't taken AP English, they would have been reluctant to let me in. I don't know how relevant my experience may be to your project, but the extension of AP courses to rural kids is kind of near and dear to my heart." [Email correspondence to John Gugerty, AP Consortium Project Director, 12/3/02. Quoted with permission.]

NUTS & BOLTS PLAN OF ACTION I Create, operate, and maintain a statewide advanced placement distance learning clearinghouse for all Wisconsin high schools. The AP Consortium staff will: Recruit AP teachers Arrange for their summer training at UW-Madison or Lawrence University [Appleton] Help principals and counselors make a wide range of AP distance learning courses available to their students coordinate fiscal transactions required to participate.

NUTS & BOLTS PLAN OF ACTION II The AP Consortium will utilize each school’s existing distance learning (DS-3/fiber optic) teleconferencing facilities as the primary instructional delivery platform.

PILOT YEAR PROJECT OBJECTIVES NUTS & BOLTS PILOT YEAR PROJECT OBJECTIVES Recruit as many as 25 AP Consortium high schools with two AP Consortium teachers per school. Enroll as many as 500-700 AP students to participate in the AP Consortium courses for the 2003-2004 school year. Conduct an AP Consortium summer training course at UW-Madison and Lawrence University for AP teachers. AP Instructional Content: UW Division for Continuing Studies and Lawrence University AP Distance Education Approaches: UW Extension Create, implement, and then expand the AP Consortium infrastructure for all participating schools.

During the 2003 AP Summer Training, AP Consortium teachers will learn: NUTS & BOLTS During the 2003 AP Summer Training, AP Consortium teachers will learn: problem-solving teaching strategies how to use a variety of contexts and constructs how to monitor and direct the distance learner how to best utilize distance learning technology how to employ authentic assessment in a distance learning environment.

INSTRUCTIONAL DELIVERY NUTS & BOLTS INSTRUCTIONAL DELIVERY Students will participate in their AP Consortium courses in their respective schools in a “real time” environment. AP Consortium teachers may supplement this “real time” instruction through use of web pages created and supported by the AP Consortium staff. Teachers can use these websites to post and receive assignments, provide on-line readings, or conduct other learning activities.

UW ADVANCED PLACEMENT INSTITUTE UW-MADISON PARTICIPANTS UW-EXTENSION SCHOOL OF EDUCATION UW ADVANCED PLACEMENT INSTITUTE CENTER ON EDUCATON AND WORK

AP Consortium Benefits: STUDENTS NUTS & BOLTS AP Consortium Benefits: STUDENTS Wisconsin’s rural and urban student populations will: Get ahead by earning college credits before they leave high school Save themselves thousands of dollars in college costs. Enable them to expand and sharpen their existing academic skills Assist them in creating a more competitive admissions package for the more select colleges Learn in a high-tech distance learning environment

AP Consortium Benefits: SCHOOL DISTRICTS NUTS & BOLTS Rural and/or low income school districts can: Employ economies of scale as they pool their AP teacher talents with other school districts throughout the state of Wisconsin; Begin to “level the playing field” of postsecondary preparation for their students; Provide incentives to strengthen curricula that provide the foundation for these AP courses.

AP Consortium Benefits: TEACHERS NUTS & BOLTS AP Consortium Benefits: TEACHERS Increase their professional skills Increase their employment opportunities/security Enrich their professional lives Enhance their employability in other educational settings

AP Consortium Benefits: TEACHERS II NUTS & BOLTS AP Consortium Benefits: TEACHERS II The project will fund as many as fifty AP Consortium teacher summer training scholarships in Project Year 1. These scholarships will pay for the AP teacher’s room, board, and tuition incurred during a four day AP Consortium professional development course that will be offered at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and at Lawrence University, Appleton, beginning in June, 2003.

AP Consortium Benefits: UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN CAMPUSES NUTS & BOLTS Enhance campus diversity initiatives and results by developing and expanding a pool of students whose preparation will enhance their desire and ability to enroll in higher education. Provide an exemplar for PK-16 coordination.

AP Consortium Benefits: STATE OF WISCONSIN NUTS & BOLTS AP Consortium Benefits: STATE OF WISCONSIN Increase the systematic use of BadgerNET, the state-wide fiber-optic communication network Increase the skill levels of Wisconsin’s future workforce

Project web page: http://www.cew.wisc.edu/ap_consortium/ AP Consortium web page: http://www.apconsortium.wisc.edu/