May 08, 2008
CSTA Survey Prize Winner
The CSTA Membership Satisfaction Survey has now been completed and CSTA is delighted to announce that Ken Gittins is the winner of our member raffle prize.
According to CSTA President Robb Cutler, the Membership Satisfaction Survey is a key element in the association's strategy to ensure that it continues to expand its membership benefits in a way that best serves the needs and interests of its members."We depend upon our members to tell us what is working for them and what they need, and the survey is one of the most effective ways of collecting this information", said Cutler.
As an incentive for members to participate in the online survey, CSTA randomly selected one member who completed the survey to receive the raffle prize. This year's prize, a Flip Video Camera, has been won by Ken Gittins, a teacher in Highlands Ranch, CO.
Cutler says the results of the survey will be used by the CSTA Board of Directors and staff to determine how to improve existing member benefits and what new benefits will be developed in the next two years.
Chris Stephenson
Executive Director
Posted by cstephenson at 10:59 AM | Comments (0)
April 04, 2008
The End of the AP CS AB Exam
By now, many of you have heard of the College Board's decision to discontinue the AP Computer Science AB exam after next year (the A exam will not be affected). We are just as surprised as you are by the announcement and know that the news will come as a disappointment to many computer science teachers. We do hope, however, that this decision will provide us with an opportunity to strengthen high school computer science education.
The College Board has said that it will be "focus[ing] their efforts on improving and supporting the AP Computer Science A program, which will be enhanced during the next five years to better represent a full-year, entry-level college computer science sequence."
To that end, they have formed a "AP Computer Science Course and Exam Review Commission responsible for developing and enacting comprehensive research among colleges, universities, and secondary schools to identify how best to keep the AP course and exam current and reflective of the ever-changing discipline of computer science."
CSTA is well-represented on this commission and will do its best to meet these goals.
While we don't know what the future will hold for the AP curriculum, we now have a seat at the table and we'll keep you posted as we move forward.
In the meantime, given that we are soon only going to have a single AP CS exam, what do you think that exam should cover? In other words, what are the essential concepts that the course must include?
Let us know what you think!
Robb Cutler
CSTA President
Posted by cstephenson at 01:55 PM | Comments (17)
December 11, 2007
How Do We Make AP CS Better?
CSTA has been invited by the College Board to take part in a review of the Advanced Placement Computer Science curriculum and we would like your guidance on how it might be improved.
In order to keep all of its subject area curricula current, the College Board conducts regular reviews of all of its AP curricula. To do this, it forms a committee of experts from various educational levels within each academic discipline to examine the curriculum carefully and put forward any recommendations for change.
Of course, the process is not a simple one. There is the issue of ensuring the curriculum is sufficiently rigorous as to justify the awarding of college-level credit to students who successfully pass the exam. There is also the concern with ensuring that the exam answers can be fairly and consistently assessed.
There are also much deeper questions to be answered. Does the curriculum cover the appropriate content? Is it well-focused, consistent, and rigorous? Does it provide a balanced view of the discipline? Does it encourage good students to view the discipline in a positive but realistic way?
These are some of the questions that we need to consider very carefully as a community.
At this point, a rant against the AP CS curriculum is really not very helpful. What we need are your practical suggestions for making it better. We cannot promise that we can make it so, but we believe that good things will happen when we bring the collected wisdom of our CSTA community to this task.
So tell us what you think! How can the AP CS curriculum be improved?
Chris Stephenson
CSTA Executive Director
Posted by cstephenson at 03:42 PM | Comments (3)
November 01, 2007
New CS Snips Podcasts
CSTA has a new collection of podcasts called CS Snipits that allows teachers to listen-in on interesting conversations with leaders and practitioners in the computer science (CS) field. These podcasts feature educators, industry folks, and students who are willing to take the time to chat with us about their passions.
The 2007 Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Conference was held in Orlando, Florida, October 14-17. This conference celebrates the technical contributions and career interests of diverse people in diverse computing fields. I love this conference because it makes college and university students the primary focus, having them participate in a variety of presentations including technical papers, panels, workshops, posters, and Birds-of-a-Feather sessions.
During our time at Tapia this year, I visited with many conference attendees, and talked specifically about projects for K-12 aimed at making computing more inclusive for all students. I especially loved interviewing the students who helped us appreciate their passion for computing and their drive to improve the world.
Here are just a few of our podcast from Tapia this year.
Edward Gonzales and Josef Sifuentes of Rice University energetically contend that if you think math isn't cool it is because you're not cool! Gonzales and Rice have launched the Math is Cool project to demonstrate how you can use mathematics, racing, and art to engage student interest in computing.
Richard Tapia of Rice University, recounts how his dreams of diversity in computing gave rise to the Tapia Conference. As a bridge-builder among ethnic groups, Richard has mentored dozens of students toward amazing successes in computing. His dedication to students is second to none.
To listen to these or any other CS Snipits, visit http://csta.acm.org/Resources/sub/Podcasts.html
Pat Phillips
Editor, CS Snipits
Posted by cstephenson at 01:46 PM | Comments (0)
October 11, 2007
Interesting Article on the Job Market
One of the things we frequently hear from our members is that kids are avoiding computer science courses because they belief that there are not any jobs. We now have more evidence that this is not the case.
Recently, the Chair of the CSTA Advisory Council, Dr. Debra Richardson, sent me this article by eWeek reporter Deborah Perelman that shows that job opporunties for computer science graduates are actually on the rise and so are the salaries.
The article CS Degree Starting Salaries Up 15% Since Bust was published October 5, 2007 in eWeek.
To quote Perelman: "In addition, some of the highest salary offers among all college majors, exceeded only by a few in the engineering field (chemical, computer, electrical and mechanical engineering, specifically), went to graduating computer science majors. Computer science majors saw a 4.5 percent increase in salary offers between 2006 and 2007, bringing the average to $53,051. The increase for information sciences and systems graduates was even greater (5.9 percent), resulting in an average offer of $49,966."
This is a great article and you should definitely read it, and perhpas even print off a copy for your school's guidance counsellor, or for the members of the PTA.
Chris Stephenson
CSTA Executive Director
Posted by cstephenson at 06:14 PM | Comments (1)
September 21, 2007
What would you say to the world?
As educators we know that we impart more to our students than just content knowledge. Life lessons, motivations, these come along with the classroom content of variables and arrays. We share student's hopes and dreams and often wonder what happened to "so and so" every now and again.
But what if we were asked to put aside content? Focus instead on the life lessons? Many universities across the country have been asking professors to do just this in a series called "last lectures". The professors were to give what they imagined to be their last lecture in life. What would you say? Who would you address it to?
Hypothetical has a way of becoming true. This week Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch gave his lecture entitled "Achieving your Childhood Dreams" as a part of this lecture series. The catch? It just might be one of his last. Randy is one of the co-creators of Alice and has contributed enormously to computer science in his career. Randy also has terminal cancer and has been given just a few weeks to live.
The lecture that he gave was taped and can be viewed through CMU for a short while. The lecture itself is 2 hours, but watching it goes much faster than that. The Wall Street Journal has a good article with a short highlights video of the lecture.
I highly recommend watching the lecture, sharing it with your students and talking about the life lessons that it evokes. The lecture is light and full of humor and something not to be missed.
Leigh Ann Sudol
CSTA Communcations Chair
Posted by cstephenson at 11:37 AM | Comments (2)
August 22, 2007
NCLB Resulting in Serious Decreases in Many Subjects
According to a report from the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Education Policy (CEP), about 44% of school districts nationally reported cutting time from one or more other subjects or activities as a result of the NCLB legislation.
The report, Choices, Changes, and Challenges: Curriculum and Instruction in the NCLB Era was based on a nationally representative survey of nearly 350 school districts. It reports that time spent on subjects other than reading and mathematics (including science, social studies, art and music, physical education, lunch and recess) has fallen by nearly one-third since the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act became law in 2002.
About 62% of districts reported increasing time for English language arts and/or mathematics in elementary schools since school year 2001-02, and more than 20% reported increasing time for these subjects in middle school during the same time. Among the districts reporting increased time for English and mathematics, the average increase was substantial, amounting to a 46% increase in English, a 37% increase in math, and a 42% increase across the two subjects combined.
The report notes that the increases and decreases are more prevalent in districts that are home to struggling schools. School districts with at least one school identified for improvement under NCLB reported in greater proportions that they had increased time for English and/or mathematics at the elementary and middle school levels and had cut back on time for other subjects since 2001-02 (78%) than did districts without schools identified (57%).
In addition to increasing time spent on English and mathematics, many districts appear to be changing their curriculum to provide a greater emphasis on content and skills covered on high-stakes state tests used for NCLB purposes. In mathematics, for example, 81% of districts reported changing their curriculum at the elementary and middle school levels to more closely match the content of state tests, while 78% of districts reported doing so at the high school level.
We would love to know if you have experienced similar cuts, especially to computing courses, in your school!
Chris Stephenson
Executive Director
Posted by cstephenson at 03:43 PM | Comments (0)
May 22, 2007
CSTA Announces Zune Winners
Since January, CSTA has been collecting data from our High School Computer Science Survey. As of our closing date of May 1, 2007, more than 1000 eductors from across the United States had participated.
The CSTA Reseaarch Committee is now tabulating the results of the survey and is planning to publish them on the CSTA website some time this summer.
In the meantime, however, CSTA has announced the winners of its survey participation raffle. Rob Tindel of Arnold High School in Florida and Beth Smith of Fountain Hills High School in Arizona have each won a Zune digital media player from Microsoft!
CSTA would like to thank all of the educators who particpated in our survey and Microsoft's Carla Faini who so graciously dontated the Zunes.
Chris Stephenson
Executive Director
Posted by cstephenson at 07:20 PM | Comments (0)
February 14, 2007
Portugal's CS Teachers Face Critical Challenge
According to Ana Paula Ferreira of the Portuguese Science Teachers Association (ANPRI), someone has been playing politics with teacher certification requirements in Portugal and the future of computer science in high schools is in jeopardy.
Since the 1990s, Portugal has had a pre-service university degree for people who want to teach computer science courses. Since that time, many high schools have been teaching computer science in grades 10 through 12.
Recently, however, the Ministry of Education decided to allow anyone to teach computer science classes. The problem, Ana says, is that the people in the Ministry of Education do not understand the difference between teaching computer science and teaching technology in education (the use of computers to support learning in other curriculum areas).
The members of the ANPRI are very concerned that this change will allow teachers with no computer science background to teach computer science or will eliminate real computer science education altogether.
According to Ana, the computer science teachers who are part of ANPRI believe that it is essential to prepare their students for a technology-embedded future and computer science is a key element of their education. ANPRI is therefore committed to working in collaborating to the Ministry of Education to propose a special curriculum for K-12 schools, and develop special high schools courses.
ANPRI estimates that there are 2000 teachers with degrees in computer science teaching in Portugal's high schools. ANPRI represents 10% of that number the organization is launching a campaign to reach for new members.
Judith Gal-Ezer
Director for CSTA International Outreach
Posted by cstephenson at 01:47 PM | Comments (2)
September 25, 2006
What The Heck Just Happened in Texas?
Mark Stehlik kindly agreed to let us repost his message to the AP Listserv regarding Texas' recent decision not to include computer science as a math or science credit under their plan to increase the number of mandatory courses for high school students.
The state of Texas has recently approved a requirement called 4x4, to graduate in its recommended or distinguished track, it will require 4 years of Math, Science, English (Language Arts), and Social Studies.
Prompted by this, a week ago Thursday, I and an intrepid band of Texas secondary and college computer science educators ventured to testify before the Texas State Board of Education with the hope of persuading the board members to approve a petition formulated by Karen North to allow Computer Science (specifically, AP CS, not a course like Web Mastering) to count as a Math or Science in the newly approved 4x4 curriculum.
We arrived at 9:00 a.m. to find that we were item 8 on a 13-item agenda. And that 33 people were slated to testify to item 7 (discussion concerning the implementation of the 4x4 curriculum). As we sat and listened to discussions concerning the proper labeling of consumables (among the minutiae that occupy a state board of ed), we were heartened by positive references to Computer Science made in the testimony for item 7.
Unfortunately, those wan hopes were positively crushed by the board. First, since so many people testified on item 7, we didn't begin testifying until shortly before 6:00pm (needless to say, my 5:55 flight back to Pittsburgh left without me). Second, perhaps because of the late hour, approximately 6 board members (of 15 total) decided not to be present for our testimony. Their chairs were empty! It was positively disconcerting after watching all the favor paid to certain item 7 witnesses to see such an abject display of disinterest in our cause.
Further, unlike for item 7, there were virtually no questions subsequent to individual testimony (only 1 question, asked of 2 witnesses, was, "So, if you had to pick one, is Computer Science a math or a science?"). Of the 13 people testifying on this item, 2 were against (and 1 practically called us all liars for attempting to characterize Computer Science as science as we do not observe the natural world and thus are not a true science). (As an aside, I agree that Computer Science is not a Natural Science, but that doesn't make it not a science, or relevant to the future education of these students, but I digress).
At the end of the testimony, a board member asked to accept the Superintendent's recommendation to deny the petition (which was based on the fact that CS didn't require Algebra II as a prerequisite, which the board decided to no longer require as part of its discussion of item 7!). The motion was seconded and passed N-2 to 2. I say N-2 because it was unclear how many members were actually present to vote (the chair asserted that there was a quorum, though).
Very depressing.
Mark Stehlik
Posted by cstephenson at 12:56 PM | Comments (3)
July 04, 2006
Improving the NET Standards
As many of you probably know, ISTE's National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for Students provide the gold standard by which the implementation of educational technology in support of student learning can be measured. What you may not know is that over the next year, ISTE is launching a national consultation process to "refresh" the Student standards.
Why, you might be asking, should we care? The sad truth is that these days there is an educational and attitudinal divide between those of us who focus on the use of educational technology across the curriculum and those of us teach computer science. The truth is, however, that our interests and fates are inextricably linked and it would make much more sense if we worked more closely together.
Despite our different focus, educational technologists and computer scientists are both committed to ensuring that students have the opportunity to benefit from educational technology and to acquire the skills and knowledge they need to survive in this increasingly global and technologized world. Where we falter, however, is in seeing the extent to which our goals will only be achieved by our comprehension of the importance of the full continuum of skills. It is simply not enough to teach students about and with technology, students need to develop the skills that will allow them to become the creators and innovators who will develop the new technologies we have only begun to dream of.
When the ACM Model Curriculum for K-12 Computer Science was developed, the authors believed it was essential to include the NETS as the foundational building blocks of technology knowledge for all students. As ISTE moves forward with their revisions, we hope that they will also incorporate the skills that we believe are critical to student success. We hope that they will take an opportunity to include computing logic and algorithmic problem solving into the NETS for grades 6-8, not just because these concepts are the fundamental building blocks of more advanced computing, but because they provide students with a powerful new tool for thinking about how technology can be used to solve real world problems. And if ISTE does this, we will commit CSTA to ensuring that teachers have access to a variety of age-level appropriate instructional materials that will help them introduce these concepts in engaging and relevant ways.
ISTE has begun this discussion about what students need to learn, and it is essential that computer science educators take part. Be part of this important event by completing the online survey at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=390142293245
Students win when we work together.
It is that simple.
Chris Stephenson
Executive Director
Posted by cstephenson at 09:53 PM | Comments (1)
June 01, 2006
New Research on the Impact of NCLB
A recent study by Robert Tai, assistant professor of science education at the University of Virginia, gives some important support to warning voices being raised about the impact of NCLB testing on high school computer science education.
As two recent articles in the CSTA Voice noted, the current emphasis on student performance in math and literacy is having a profound effect on high school computer science. Teachers and resources are being pulled from non-core courses to provide remedial learning to raise test scores, leading to the cancellation of computer science classes, especially in urban schools that are more reliant upon federal funding.
Tai surveyed 3,359 students who were in the eighth grade in 1988. He found that among students who expressed interest in science and yet made only average math scores, 34% graduated college with a science or engineering degree while
those with above-average math scores and no preference for science, had only a 19% likelihood of earning a science or engineering degree.
Tai's findings suggest that mandatory testing policies, such as the No Child Left Behind Law might actually worsen the nation's output of scientists by focusing to narrowly on math and literacy achievement.
"We've been so focused on achievement, on getting students to do better, we've pretty much ignored their interest," Tai said in an interview. "And it's their interest that's going to pull them through."
Tai's findings are particularly important in light of the President's concerns about national competitiveness in areas such as supercomputing and nanotechnology for which computer science education provides the conceptual building blocks. Decreasing opportunities for students to study computer science in high school deprives students of the opportunity to explore their interests and abilities in this field, and therefore only exacerbates the current pipeline crisis.
Posted by cstephenson at 06:50 PM | Comments (0)
April 05, 2006
Interesting Answers About Minority Student Under-representation
The other day I was talking to Geoff Sutcliffe at the University of Miami about a grant proposal he is working on that cleverly combines JETT workshops for teachers with funding for students who want to major in computer science or mathematics. Considering the cost of education these days, this sounds like a great idea to me, and according to a new report from the American Council on Education, Geoff may actually be addressing the key problem behind the under-representation of minority students in our field.
An interesting new report from the American Council on Education is shedding new light on why there are fewer Black and Hispanic students who graduate with university degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Contrary to the commonly-held belief that many minority students are simply not interested in these fields, the study indicates that Black and Hispanic students are about as likely as their white and Asian-American peers to enter college interested in majoring in the STEM disciplines.
The report, "Increasing the Success of Minority Students in Science and Technology," is based on a longitudinal study in which the U.S. Department of Education collected data over six years on the progress of 12,000 students who began college in the fall of 1995. The initial sampling of entering freshmen found that 22.7% of Hispanic and 18.6% of black students entered college interested in the STEM fields, compared with 26.4% of Asian-American students and 18% of white students.
It revealed that while Black and Hispanic students were just as likely as other students to get though the perceived gatekeeper courses in the first year, they seemed to run into trouble in their third year, and by the end of their sixth year of college, just 62.5% of those who had still been in STEM fields as of 1998 had obtained degrees in those areas, compared with 94.8% of Asian-American and 86.7% of white students who had remained in those fields.
Among the results of the study, these three stood out particularly for me.
* Nearly 42% of those who earned a degree in a STEM discipline on time had taken a highly rigorous curriculum in high school, compared with just 18 percent of those who did not finish on time.
* More than 64% of those who completed such degrees had at least one parent with at least a bachelor's degree, and 47%t came from families with income levels in the top third nationally. Of the students who failed to earn their degrees on time, 38% had at least one parent with at least a bachelor's degree, and 28% came from the wealthiest third.
* Of the students who graduated on time, 38.5% had received financial-aid grants exceeding $5,000 as freshmen, and 27.1% had worked more than 15 hours per week. In contrast, just 7.6% of the students who failed to obtain STEM-field degrees on time had received financial-aid grants of $5,000 or more as freshmen, and 42.6% had worked more than 15 hours a week.
What this tell us is that:
* Good high school courses matter
* Family matters
* Money matters
Much of our effort at CSTA is focused on convincing students that computer science is a rich, diverse, and rewarding field, one worthy of their dreams and their effort. And this is true. But what is also true is that to convince a child to dream and then not provide her or him with the tools to achieve that dream is not just unfair or unwise, it is cruel and irresponsible.
This is why we need to work together to make our programs more accessible to all students. This is one reason I hope that Geoff gets his grant.
Copies of the report can be ordered for $22 (plus $6.95 shipping and handling) from the ACE Fulfillment Service, Department 191, Washington, D.C. 20055-1091, or by calling (301) 632-6757.
Chris Stephenson
Executive Director
Posted by cstephenson at 01:44 PM | Comments (0)
February 02, 2006
Help The President Get IT Right
While it may seem like good news, President George Bush's State of the Union promise to improve national competitiveness by supporting math and science education may turn out to be very bad news for computer science education.
In his State of the Union address, Bush promised to train 70,000 teachers to lead high school Advanced Placement math and science classes. Unfortunately, he didn't say anything about computer science.
The problem is that computer science is a science and that it should be seen as a core component of all STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) initiatives. Training more math and science teachers will simply diminish the already shallow pool of qualified computer science teachers.
What we have, you see, is a communication problem. Too few people understand that computer science is as much part of the core of required knowledge for every educated citizen today as physics, biology, chemistry, or mathematics.
In addition, all of the government's economic indicators point to the Information Technology industry as the primary field for job growth and resulting worker shortages over the next twenty years. Any government education initiative that does not improve support for computer science education will never improve our national competitiveness in key areas of innovation.
So what can we do?
It is essential that we help everyone, especially policy-makers, to understand a few simple things:
1. Computer science is a science and needs to be included in any STEM initiative for high schools.
2. Teaching students to use computers is only half the battle. Computer science education is the key to preparing students for tomorrow's technology driven world.
3. Several fields in computer science over the next ten years will be among the fastest growing careers but the current lack of support for high school computer science education is contributing to the declining number of students pursuing studies in this field.
4. To keep the United States competitive, we need to effectively educate the future creators of advanced technology--the innovators and problem solvers.
And we need high school computer science and high school computer science teachers to do all of these things. We are already seeing school districts pulling good teachers out of computer science classrooms and putting them in math or science classrooms to meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Legislation and this new initative will make the situation worse, not better.
Help CSTA get the word out! Talk to your congressmen and your senators. Help them understand why supporting computer science education in high schools right now is the key to long term innovation and economic survival.
Chris Stephenson
Executive Director
Posted by cstephenson at 03:31 PM | Comments (7)
December 02, 2005
Letter in Edutopia
My friend Joe Kmoch emailed me this morning to let me know that my Letter to the Editor had been published in one of my favourite magazines... Edutopia, published by the George Lucas Foundation.
Joe also suggested that I post a copy of the letter for you, so here it is.
IT DOESN'T COMPUTE
I am so glad that Todd Oppenheimer ("Tech Made Easy," October 2005) called attention to the fact that too few high schools teach computer science. When we talk about the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education for students, computer science is often completely ignored despite the fact that computing is now necessary for almost every single transaction and interaction in our society.
As a result, though considerable time and money have been spent on increasing and supporting integration of computing tools across the curriculum, computer science has been left to wither and die in many schools, school districts, and states. The result of this shortsightedness is that we continue to fall farther and farther behind on the indicators of high-level computing ability.
For example, U.S. universities no longer dominate in the prestigious ACM International Programming contest. The long-term effect of this problem is that, though we may excel at training students to use the tools that power our world, we are forgetting to train those who will build them, and everyone knows that it is the tool builders, not the tool users, who guarantee our economic future.
For some reason, there is an enormous misconception that there are no jobs in computing. Nothing could be further from the truth. Every labor prognostication we have shows that the gap between the highly skilled workers we produce from our schools and the jobs that need filling in our society is growing, not shrinking. It is also probably safe to say that the great scientific breakthroughs of this century (especially in the combinatorial sciences such as bioinformatics) will depend on computing knowledge. We continue to ignore this fact at our peril.
CHRIS STEPHENSON
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
COMPUTER SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Posted by cstephenson at 06:53 PM | Comments (3)
November 30, 2005
Audits of AP CS Courses
At a recent meeting of teachers and administrators from the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), I happened to overhear expressions of concern about the College Board's plans to conduct audits of AP Computer Science courses and the teachers who teach them. Basically the teachers were concerned that audits of teacher credentials would seriously diminish the district's ability to find enough teachers for courses that are already challenging to staff.
Following up on this line of questioning, I contacted Gail Chapman, who is the Director for K-12 Consultant Training and Support at the College Board and my best professional source on all things AP Computer Science. Gail confirmed that while the exact details are still under discussion at the College Board, it is their intention to conduct course audits.
As noted on the AP Central website, the College Board sees the audit process as a central strategy for maintaining course quality and integrity:
"The goal of the AP Course Audit is to ensure that the newest generations of AP students are assured of the same level of consistent quality in their AP courses that continues to be manifest in the development and scoring of the AP Exams."
It is important, Gail says, to understand that this issue is not just a computer science issue. Rather, the Universities have raised on-going concerns with the entire spectrum of AP courses because they feel that schools often provide AP credit for courses that are not AP in content. As a result, students are simply not sufficiently prepared for the rigor of a university-level course. If the College Board is to maintain its credibility with the post-secondary institutions, it must ensure that courses labeled AP provide instruction and content that reflects the AP Course Descriptions.
Gail also believes that ensuring that AP courses contain AP content and are taught by teachers who are adequately prepared to teach this content protects teachers as well. Too often, she notes, teachers are required to teach courses that are not within their discipline and this puts an incredible strain on them.
This does not mean, however, that the LAUSD folks do not have some grounds to worry. As we have seen with the requirements for "highly qualified" teachers under the NCLB legislation, sometimes the additional qualifications bureaucracy really does disenfranchise people who have the knowledge credentials but not necessarily the paper credentials. Appropriate wording to the course audit documents that will allow for the latter, but encourage the former is one of the things still in discussion.
Gail encourages teachers to provide feedback regarding the course audit that can assist in further defining the audit details.
For more information about the AP course audits, visit
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/article/0,3045,151-165-0-46361,00.html
And as always, let us know what you think!
Chris
Posted by cstephenson at 06:53 PM | Comments (5)