Maryland Public Schools were just ranked #1 by the College Board’s 5th Annual AP Report to the Nation and this time the top ranking is for real. Unlike the misleading #1 ranking that Maryland got from Quality Counts, the College Board’s report is based on objective outcomes, i.e. the percent of the Class of 2008 who passed an Advanced Placement (AP) Exam at least once in their high school career.
According to the College Board, 23.4% of Maryland’s high school graduates earned a passing score of “3”or above on at least one AP Exam while in high school. That compared to a national passing rate of 15.2%. Inexcusably, no one knows how Harford County Public Schools fit into the mix because HCPS doesn’t report comparable data. Why not?
The College Board makes AP Exam results available electronically, so individual school districts can easily comb through the statewide data to figure out their pass rates. That’s likely how Montgomery County (46%), Anne Arundel County (25.5%), Baltimore City (2.7%), Baltimore County (22.1%), Carroll County (21.9%) and Howard County (31.4%) all managed to report their results.
Harford County Public Schools’ Director of Secondary Education has produced plenty of questionable charts and graphs reviewing secondary school reform (CSSRP). But no comparable AP results were produced for any of the five years the Annual AP Report to the Nation has been in existence. Sources say that’s because HCPS didn’t pay a small fee to get the data.
Whatever the reason, there is no justification for HCPS to deprive the public of one of the few standardized, objective measures of student performance in use nationwide.
In response to a request from The Dagger, HCPS did provide the following information on the AP Exams, broken out by high school.
The first column measures the percent of the Class of 2008 who took at least one AP Exam while they were in 12th grade, but it does not give an indication of how those students performed.
The second column shows the percent of AP Exams taken that earned a passing grade of “3” or above in 2008. This includes tests taken by students in all grades, not just in 12th grade and also includes tests taken in more than one subject by the same student.
While there is no connection between these apples and oranges columns of data (except the high school from which they were derived), some troubling disparities in AP participation and performance are revealed.
High School Percent of 12th graders who took at least one AP Exam in 12th grade Percent of AP Exams taken in 2008 that earned a passing score
| High School | Percent of 12th graders who took at least one AP Exam in 12th grade |
Percent of AP Exams taken in 2008 that earned a passing score |
| Aberdeen High School |
15.3% of 12th graders tested |
62.3% of scores at 3 or above |
| Bel Air High School |
27.9% of 12th graders tested |
71.7% of scores at 3 or above |
| C Milton Wright High |
24.7% of 12th graders tested |
79.4% of scores at 3 or above |
| Edgewood High |
13.0% of 12th graders tested |
32.6% of scores at 3 or above |
| Fallston High School |
21.8% of 12th graders tested |
63.8% of scores at 3 or above |
| Havre de Grace High |
6.8% of 12th graders tested |
54.7% of scores at 3 or above |
| Harford Technical |
15.7% of 12th graders tested |
31.5% of scores at 3 or above |
| Joppatowne High |
7.1% of 12th graders tested |
18.3% of scores at 3 or above |
| North Harford |
8.5% of 12th graders tested |
60.8% of scores at 3 or above |
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Roger Plunkett says that by the time the next Annual AP Report to the Nation comes around, he plans for Harford County Public Schools to have comparable data. That would be a good starting point. Not only to allow comparisons with other school systems, but to provide an objective measure of where we are now and more importantly, to help us get where we want to be.
Joppatowne had a less than 20% pass rate. With only 7% taking tests, it looks like less than 2% of the graduates were ready for college.
I was very surprised when the article appeared in the Baltimore Sun with a note saying that HCPS had no comparable data about AP test scores. Considering the fact that the Board initiated a big reform effort years ago, you would have thought they would have been extremely interested in looking at this type of data because it is an indicator of student achievement and initiatives undertaken at each school.
To that end, there should be much more information about SAT scores too and the impact the block schedule has had. If the college bound students in this county are being put at a disadvantage because of this, it is costing students spots in colleges, scholarship money, and a better chance to score 3+ on the AP thus saving them money in college. There is data on the College Board website about students who take the AP tests in both block and non-block schedule and there is a statistically difference in outcomes.
How much does it cost to get this information about the AP anyway?
Liz Bowie (Sun reporter) requested that information long ago from HCPS, too. It must be county schools stonewalling. HCPS does not want this information out because it isn’t good.
The other thing that people are not talking about–yet–is that high schools don’t have enough teachers or money or expertise to offer 32 relevant course to college-bound students. High school seniors are office helpers to fill the schedule. That must really impress those top schools.
Top colleges don’t want office helpers; they have their own.
what about phys ed helpers? Are colleges looking for them?
Man, loved having gym first period and being a phys ed helper second period my senior year… 🙂
Steve- I was a guidance aide–1st period-NO HOMEROOM! SWEEEEET
Where’s Patterson Mill??? They don’t have seniors, but they had students taking AP World History. So they should have results on numbers of students who scored a 3 or above.
How does the number of students who took the test compare with the number of students who took an AP class?
Why doesn’t HCPS pay for this report? Easy answer: They don’t want the taxpayers to see how they really compare with the rest of the state and country.
I too wondered where PMHS data is. As parents WE pay for our students to take these exams, I think it should be a given that we see all results not just our students. I want to know when a teacher has only taught an AP class for a year what their track record is…lets face it there is a learning curve with teaching the material and teaching to the exam.
Not all students who take an AP class take the exam- there are a variety of reasons why.
Come on HCPS cough up the information. The Sun article just drew even more attention to HCPS “resistance” and its lack of cooperation. Just curious if we can get John Carroll’s results? HCPS lose a lot of students to private schools..and this one in particular.
Thanks Dagger.
I don’t know whether John Carroll results are easily available, but some private schools put that information into a school profile that goes to colleges. Schools whose students score well use that as advertising. Some private schools require students who take an AP class to also take the test; this ensures that kids take the AP class for the reasons they were originally designed for (letting advanced kids take classes for potential college credit–not just to boost GPA with an easy teacher).
Years ago, I asked a guidance person at Bel Air High School for a copy of its profile. She responded that the profile was on line and added that an admissions person who was interested in a student would take the time to review the profile. Though many colleges are somewhat familiar with some area high schools, colleges outside the region may not be.
Profiles should be provided in college applications. The profile may include things such as average SATs or the average for the middle 50 percent. It might include how many students take AP classes and the percentages for scores over three. Racial make-up may be included along with anything else that might be important (percent of students going to college–both two and four-year).
If the parent in the previous comment wants to know John Carroll’s numbers, he/she should just call the office there and ask for a school profile. I would imagine that one is available, but I do not know for sure. On the other topic of inexperienced AP teachers: I would advise anyone who has a child taking an AP class to buy the study guide at the beginning of the year (my child liked the Princeton Review ones) and use it throughout the year. A motivated student can do well on the AP exams without a great teacher especially after he/she has taken one of the exams and understands how they are administered.
Excellent question about Patterson Mill. We are working on it…
John Carroll does attach a School Profile to transcripts. I am not sure of all HCPS on an individual school basis but most colleges expect it as a standard practice.
Kate, thanks for the info about the College Board study of the effect of block scheduling on AP scores. Here’s the link: http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research/cb/block-schedules-ap
This well-designed study should be required reading for all High School Principals, Guidance Counselors, and any other administrators involved with High School scheduling.
Students who take an AP course in 1 semester scored significantly lower on the AP test than students who take the course for the whole year. The kids who scored the best had classes that were 45 to 60 minutes long for the whole year.
Thanks PMS Mom for the link and Kate for the heads up. This is a perfect example of how the Board of Ed ignored existing research on block scheduling and just skipped along trusting whatever the HCPS administration suggested. HCPS is really lucky that most Harford County parents are not paying attention.
If anyone expects Executive Director of Secondary Education Volrath to change now and start presenting accurate, good faith data regardless of whether it suits his self-serving agenda, they’re hoping for a huge transformation. For years his modus operandi has been distortion, obfuscation and selective presentation of data; and the board has been more interested in circling the wagons to avoid the embarrassment that he causes, than they have been in standing up to him.
Maybe, with the new superintendent providing less air cover for his shenanigans, and the curriclum director having resolve, the leopard might have no choice but to change his spots.
Thank God for the parents, teachers, principals and leaders who have always seen through him and call a spade a spade. What an embarrassment it would be to all of us if this man was seriously considered for superintendent.
Here is the AP data on Patterson Mill, keeping in mind that Patterson Mill opened last year with 9th and 10th graders only and most AP courses are offered in 11th and 12th grades.
One AP course (AP World History) was offered in 2008 to 10th graders at the school. Since only one subject area was offered, the number of exams in this case also equals the number of students tested, which was 33.
The percent of AP exams taken in 2008 that earned a passing score was 30.30%
We will add this information to the chart in the story above ASAP.
The PMS figures will look really bad because the percentage will be for sophomores taking their first AP exam. The other figures from around the county and state are percent of seniors who have passed at least one exam (they may have taken six, for example). It looks like the pass rate will be around 5 percent (10 of 33 passed, out of maybe 225 students?).
The percent of seniors who have passed one test is a bogus figure, too, in my mind. Why don’t they give us the additional figure of percent of passes for all tests taken?
Oops. Guess I need to read the chart. Is that first section percent of seniors who take an AP test senior year or percent who have taken at least one test? The percentages in The Sun were for the number of high school seniors who had received a 3 or better on at least one test. Hmmm
PMS Mom – 49 students took the AP Exam in World History at Patterson Mill in 2008. (Thanks to HCPS for providing this data)
Judy – the first column in the chart above shows the percent of 12th graders who took at least one AP exam while they were in 12th grade only and it doesn’t tell us anything about how they did on those exams.
The second column in the chart above does show passing rates, but it compares the passing rate to the number of tests taken by students in any grade and it does not relate that information to the number of students in the population.
So from this data there is really no comparison possible with the AP Report and The Sun report because they showed the percent of 12th graders who passed at least one AP exam at any time while they were in high school ( in 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th grade.)