California's public universities would no longer let applicants use grade-point averages that give extra weight to honors or Advanced Placement courses, under a legislative proposal for a new state master plan for education. Proponents of the proposal say the move will help improve the quality of all high-school courses, while critics see it as a misguided effort to increase the enrollment of minority students who do not, on average, take as many honors and AP courses as other students do.
The tentative plan, put forward by the Legislature's Joint Committee to Develop a Master Plan, calls on the University of California and California State University to "continue collaborating with [elementary and secondary] schools to increase the rigor of all academic courses to achieve the goals of reducing demand for remedial instruction among freshman students and eliminating the current practice of providing additional weight to honors and AP courses in admissions decisions."
Charles A. Ratliff, senior consultant to the joint committee, calls GPA bonuses for Advanced Placement classes "the wrong direction" for the state. "If we are honest about a level playing field," he says, "we must remove the competitive advantage" students receive if they attend high schools rich in AP offerings. "The incentive for something called 'honors' must be exposure -- deeper, more rigorous academic courses," he adds.
He concedes that the changes could decrease AP enrollment for students who would see less incentive for taking such classes; but, he adds, a "considerable number" of students take the classes only for the GPA bonus, not because they intend to take the Advanced Placement examinations offered by the College Board.
Not High Schools
Mr. Ratliff notes that one-third of California's high-school graduates who end up in the University of California system -- and a full half of in-state high-school graduates who enroll in the California State University System -- need remedial instruction in English, mathematics, or both.
"The colleges will not make themselves high schools," Mr. Ratliff says. He adds that the proposed change, one of 70 in the draft master plan that the committee will present to the Legislature, would grant college administrations the ability to define what they will accept as college-preparatory learning. Giving colleges that control, the plan's architects argue, would bring about a smoother, more controlled transition from the senior year of high school to the freshman year of college.
Mr. Ratliff expects the measure to face "careful consideration," but he is confident that "some form of it will survive in the final analysis -- particularly the alignment of curriculum." Such alignment, he says, would ensure that all professors who teach freshmen could assume that incoming students had a standard knowledge base.
The AP Program offers several AP Scholar Awards to recognize high school students who have demonstrated college-level achievement through AP courses and exams. Although there is no monetary award, in addition to receiving an award certificate, this achievement is acknowledged on any AP score report that is sent to colleges the following fall.
Award Levels
AP Scholar
Granted to students who receive scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams.
AP Scholar with Honor
Granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams.
AP Scholar with Distinction
Granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams.
State AP Scholar
Granted to the one male and one female student in each U.S. state and the District of Columbia with scores of 3 or higher on the greatest number of AP Exams, and then the highest average score (at least 3.5) on all AP Exams taken.
National AP Scholar
Granted to students in the United States who receive an average score of at least 4 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams.
National AP Scholar (Canada)
Granted to students in Canada who receive an average score of at least 4 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 4 or higher on five or more of these exams.
National AP Scholar (Bermuda)
Granted to students in Bermuda who receive an average score of at least 4 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 4 or higher on five or more of these exams.
DoDEA AP Scholar
Granted to the one male and one female student attending Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools with the highest average score on the greatest number of AP
Exams. The minimum requirement is a score of 3 or higher on three exams.
International AP Scholar
Granted to the one male and one female student attending a school outside the United States and Canada that is not a DoDEA school with the highest average score on the greatest number of AP Exams. The minimum requirement is a score of 3 or higher on three exams.
AP International Diploma
Granted to students who meet criteria outlined here.
已经有 2 人参与评论了, 我也来说几句吧
海诺
2013-03-01 22:18
赞 
踩 
大家正在围观
