ERIC ED561050: What Are the Characteristics of AP® Teachers? An Examination of Survey Research. Research Report No. 2002-10

26 Pages·2002·0.21 MB·English

by  ERIC

2002-10
Research Report No.
What Are the
Characteristics of AP®
Teachers?
An Examination
of Survey Research
Glenn B. Milewski and Jacqueline M. Gillie
2002-10
College Board Research Report No.
What Are the
Characteristics of AP®
Teachers?
An Examination
of Survey Research
Glenn B. Milewski and Jacqueline M. Gillie
2002
College Entrance Examination Board,New York,
Glenn B. Milewski is an assistant research scientist at Acknowledgments
the College Board.
We are grateful to many individuals, including Marlene
Jacqueline M. Gillie is a graduate student intern at the
Dunham, Diana DeStefano, Renee Gernand, Michael C.
College Board.
Johanek, Jennifer L. Kobrin, Robert Majoros, Trevor
Packer, and Thanos Patelis, for their helpful comments
Researchers are encouraged to freely express their
in earlier versions of this paper. Any errors contained in
professional judgment. Therefore, points of view or
this report are solely the responsibility of the authors.
opinions stated in College Board Reports do not
necessarily represent official College Board position
orpolicy.
The College Board: Expanding College Opportunity
The College Board is a national nonprofit membership
association whose mission is to prepare, inspire, and
connect students to college and opportunity. Founded in
1900, the association is composed of more than 4,200
schools, colleges, universities, and other educational
organizations. Each year, the College Board serves over
three million students and their parents, 22,000 high
schools, and 3,500 colleges through major programs and
services in college admissions, guidance, assessment,
financial aid, enrollment, and teaching and learning.
Among its best-known programs are the SAT®, the
PSAT/NMSQT®, and the Advanced Placement Program®
(AP®). The College Board is committed to the principles of
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Contents Tables
1. Frequency of AP Teacher Registrants and
AP Teacher Survey Respondents by State.......5
Executive Summary............................................1
2. Frequency of AP Teacher Registrants and
Introduction.......................................................2 AP Teacher Survey Respondents by
Geographic Region......................................5
AP® Program Description.......................2
3. Frequency of AP Teacher Registrants and
AP Teacher Survey Respondents by
The Purpose of the
AP Course..................................................5
AP Teacher Survey..................................3
4. Average Class Size by AP Course...................6
Method...............................................................3 5. Participation and Ratings of Professional
Development Activities...............................13
Participants.............................................3
6. Importance of Training and Resource Needs
by Years Teaching AP Courses....................15
Materials.................................................3
Procedure...............................................4 Figures
1. Requirements for enrollment in AP courses....7
Representativeness
2. Classroom materials used by AP teachers.......7
of Respondents.......................................4
3. Estimated percent of students enrolled in
Results and Discussion.......................................6 AP courses by race–ethnicity.........................8
4. Estimated percent of students enrolled in
Classroom Characteristics.......................6 AP courses by demographic characteristics.....9
5. Student ethnicity by average number of
Teacher Characteristics.........................11
years teaching...........................................10
Background.......................................11 6. Student demographic characteristics by
average number of years teaching................10
Professional Development.................13
7. Ethnicity of AP teachers and their students...11
Training and Resource Needs............14 8. Concordance between academic subject
of degree earned and AP course taught........12
Technology........................................15
9. Anticipated year of retirement of
AP teachers...............................................13
Important Issues for
AP Teachers......................................16
Conclusions......................................................16
References........................................................18
Appendix..........................................................18

Executive Summary In order to investigate how representative the current
sample was of the population of AP teachers, the char-
acteristics of survey respondents were compared to
In 2001, the College Board administered 1.4 million
characteristics of AP teachers registered with
Advanced Placement Program®(AP®) Exams to 845,000
Educational Testing Service (ETS). The comparisons
students; these exams comprised the end-of-year assess-
were made using an effect size measure known as
ment for 35 AP courses from 19 subject areas. A profile
Cohen’s w (Cohen, 1988). The results of analysis
of AP participants, including both students and teach-
suggested that the current sample is representative of
ers, is of particular interest. Information on test-takers
national teachers by state and region, and only slightly
collected at the time of examination provides a rich
different by academic subject.
description of AP students, but what are the character-
Access to the AP Program, for students that have an
istics of their teachers? Since the success of the AP
AP program at their school, appears to be keyed to
Program is dependent upon the skills and talents of its
academic preparedness. An exploration of classroom
secondary school teachers, these characteristics are
characteristics revealed that students enrolled in AP
important to know. The current study provides a
classes generally enjoy a small class size. Findings also
glimpse into these characteristics by summarizing the
indicated that AP teachers employ a variety of educa-
results of the largest survey of AP teachers to date.
tional materials in their classrooms. One problematic
The AP Teacher Survey contained 40 questions that
finding was that ethnic minority, ESL, and economically
were organized to fit into six different sections covering
disadvantaged students seem to be underrepresented in
the following content areas:
AP classes. Despite these students being underrepresent-
• Classroom characteristics ed, most schools did not have specific initiatives geared
toward increasing minority student participation in the
• Teacher background
AP Program.
• Professional development An examination of teacher background revealed three
salient results. First, ethnic minority teachers were heav-
• Training and resource needs
ily underrepresented. Second, most AP teachers tended
• Technology to hold a master’s degree in the academic discipline in
which they teach. Third, the majority of AP teachers
• Important issues for AP teachers.
anticipate retiring within the next 15 years with more
Data collection took place in three phases. During phas- than one-third anticipating retirement by 2010.
es one and two, the survey was administered through An examination of professional development activity
the mail, and during phase three, the survey was admin- participation revealed that a variety of education-related
istered through the Internet. The three phases yielded a activities are available to teachers, and that teachers
total of 32,109 responses. generally take advantage of these activities. Financial
During phase one of data collection, which took coverage and release time appeared to facilitate partici-
place between November 1999 and April 2000, pation in these activities. Some activities appear to be
100,000 surveys were mailed to 13,000 AP coordina- underutilized, but the reason for this is unclear. Findings
tors for distribution to the AP teachers in their schools. indicated a need for professional development training
Phase one yielded 27,336 responses, which comprised in time management, test preparation, and various
85.1 percent of the current sample. During phase two, teaching methods for covering difficult course material.
teachers that did not respond to the phase one adminis- Findings further indicated that more professional devel-
tration of the survey were targeted. Phase two took opment and classroom resources are needed to make
place between May 2000 and September 2000, and lessons more interesting and motivating.
involved mailing 50,500 surveys to AP readings1 and Technology use among AP teachers revealed that only
summer–fall professional development workshops. a moderate percentage of AP teachers visit the Internet
Phase two yielded 4,150 responses which comprised for professional purposes on a weekly basis, even
12.9 percent of the current sample. During phase three, though most teachers have Internet access in the class-
the AP teacher survey was administered via the Internet room. Younger teachers tend to use the Internet for pro-
from September 2000 to February 2001. Phase three fessional purposes more frequently than older teachers,
yielded 623 responses which comprised 1.9 percent of and across racial ethnic groups, Asian American and
the current sample. Hispanic teachers tend to use the Internet less frequent-
ly than teachers from other ethnic groups.
1 AP readings take place each year and involve AP teachers gathering to evaluate free-response answers to AP Exams.
1
Important issues for AP teachers seem to surround Nearly 60 percent of U.S. high schools participate in
professional development. This was evident by teachers the AP Program. There are currently 35 different AP
ranking these issues highest when asked to select the courses in 19 subject areas, offered by nearly 14,000
five most pressing issues they face as a teacher. The list secondary schools around the world. Most U.S. colleges
of 12 issues was diverse and included physical and universities, as well as colleges and universities in
safety–school violence, cultural–ethnic diversity, and 19 other countries, grant credit, advanced placement, or
moral and development issues, among others. both for qualifying grades on AP Examinations. In
Despite limitations encountered in the evaluation of 2002, approximately 900,000 students took more than
the survey data, such as nonresponse bias, volunteer 1.5 million AP Exams.
bias, and a partial lack of representativeness, the AP Discipline-specific committees of college faculty and
teacher survey provided useful information on AP AP teachers develop each AP course and exam, empha-
teachers for determining baseline characteristics. sizing current disciplinary reforms and the best of cur-
Eventually, this information will be compared to future rent college practices, pedagogy, and course content.
survey results, and trends among AP teachers will be Each committee regularly produces an AP Course
explored. Additional future research will entail linking Description, published by the College Board, which out-
the survey results to student performance and school lines the information, skills, and assignments that are
characteristics using hierarchical models. These models incorporated in corresponding college courses. High
can be used to evaluate which school and teacher char- school AP teachers use these detailed course guidelines
acteristics are most important to student success. to develop their lesson plans. Through curriculum sur-
veys of college courses, each AP Course Description is
Key Words: Advanced Placement Program,
revised on a regular basis. These surveys verify that each
AP teachers, professional development
AP course covers the breadth of information, skills,
types of activities, and assignments found in the corre-
sponding college courses.
Introduction Studies of the validity of AP Exam grades tend to
focus on the connections between AP Exam grades, col-
lege achievement, and appropriate college placement.
In anticipation of the research community’s limited
Morgan and Ramist (1998) conducted a study that
exposure to the College Board’s Advanced Placement
focused on comparing success in college between AP
Program (AP), the current introduction provides a brief
students and non-AP students. The results indicated
description of the AP Program, as well as a review of the
that AP students, whose AP Exam grades had exempted
purpose of surveying AP teachers.
them from introductory college courses, were more suc-
cessful in subsequent college courses than their class-
AP® Program Description
mates who took the prerequisite courses in college.
Also, Gonzalez, O’Connor, and Miles (2001) found that
The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program (AP)
the skills of AP Calculus and AP Physics students were
is a cooperative educational endeavor of secondary
similar to the skills of students who performed well on
schools, colleges, and universities. Founded in 1955, the
the Third International Mathematics and Science Study
AP Program provides motivated high school students
(TIMSS) Advanced Mathematics and Physics tests. In
with the opportunity to take college-level courses while
addition, the College Board conducts college compara-
still in high school. The AP Program enhances high
bility studies, in which a portion of the AP Exam is
school curricula by challenging and stimulating students
administered to college students when they complete the
with rigorous, high-quality courses in the arts, natural
corresponding college course. These students’ perfor-
sciences, social sciences, mathematics, and foreign lan-
mance on the AP Exam is compared to their perfor-
guages. AP courses provide in-depth coverage of rele-
mance on their college tests and to their course grades.
vant material with a focus on facilitating the develop-
These studies allow the AP Program to set AP Exam
ment of analytical reasoning skills and disciplined study
grade boundaries. Consequently, the cut-off point for
habits. The College Board’s AP Program contracts with
an AP Exam grade of 5 (AP Exams receive grades rang-
Educational Testing Service (ETS) to design, administer,
ing from 1 to 5) is roughly equal to the average AP
and score the end-of-course AP Examinations that are
grade of college students who receive an A in the corre-
administered worldwide each May. Success on AP
sponding college course; the cut-off point for an AP
Exams often leads to exemption from introductory
grade of 4 is roughly equivalent to the average AP grade
courses in college and may also improve students’
of college students who receive a B, and so on.
chances of being accepted by the college of their choice.
2
The AP Program offers a variety of professional England; most AP teachers use the Internet and com-
development opportunities to its teachers throughout the municate via e-mail; and AP teachers attend and seem
country year-round principally through workshops and satisfied with workshops sponsored by the College
summer institutes. AP workshops are typically offered Board. The results of this survey will address plans for
on weekends during the academic year and range from future training programs and help to set new directions
one to three days in length, while AP Summer Institutes for the AP Program.
are intensive courses, usually lasting a week, that pro- The AP Teacher Survey is also an attempt to provide
vide in-depth preparation for the teaching of an AP class. a richer understanding of AP teacher characteristics and
Weekend workshops concentrate on teaching a specific needs. Since the success of the AP Program is dependent
AP subject by focusing on instructional strategies and upon the skills and talents of its secondary school teach-
the management of an AP course. The workshops and ers, these characteristics are important to know. The
institutes also act as a forum for the exchange of ideas results of the current survey will be used to direct
and information about the Program between teachers. changes to the AP Program that more fully meet the
AP teachers participate in these workshops and institutes needs of AP teachers. In addition, the results of the cur-
to strengthen content knowledge, pedagogical skills, and rent survey will lead to future research using hierarchi-
to improve communication networks between fellow AP cal linear modeling to evaluate which teacher character-
teachers. There are currently more than 110,000 AP istics are important for student success.
teachers and administrators worldwide, and during the
2000–2001 school year, 1,874 workshops and summer
institutes for three different experience levels were held.
Method
More than 60,000 individuals attended these workshops
and summer institutes.
The AP Program conducts research continuously in an
effort to develop new services and products that enhance Participants
quality education and to ensure the quality of the prod-
ucts it delivers. In addition, the AP Program is focusing A total of 32,109 AP teachers comprised the current
on initiatives that target priorities like increasing the data set. The examinees were 17,075 (53.2 percent)
numbers of minority students that participate in AP female and 14,736 (45.9 percent) male AP teachers that
courses, and increasing the range of professional devel- responded to the AP teacher survey. Over 99 percent of
opment activities, through collaborations and partner- the survey respondents taught in the continental United
ships with organizations outside of the College Board. States of America. The ethnic composition of the survey
respondents is 1.8 percent American Indian or Alaskan
The Purpose of the Native, 1.3 percent African American or black, 3.1 per-
cent Asian, Asian American, or Pacific Islander, 0.1 per-
AP Teacher Survey
cent Cuban, 3.1 percent Mexican American, 0.1 percent
Puerto Rican, 0.1 percent Other Hispanic/Latino(a), 95
The primary purpose of the AP Teacher Survey is to col-
percent white, and 2.4 percent “Other”; 2.2 percent of
lect baseline descriptive information concerning AP
the survey respondents did not provide an ethnic
teachers with regard to their training, experience, and
description.2 Survey respondents tended to be middle-
attitudes. This information can then be used to develop
aged (M = 46 years old; S.D. = 10 years).
a profile of AP teachers and to track changes in teacher
characteristics over time. The survey also acts as a fol-
Materials
low-up to a “census” measurement conducted during
the period of March 22 through April 8, 1999, by James
The 40 questions included in the current survey were
Spanier Associates Marketing Research and Consulting
organized into six sections. These sections covered the
(1999). The census measurement was conducted via
following content areas:
telephone and assessed the characteristics of 609 AP
teachers who primarily taught the subjects of science, • Classroom characteristics
English, mathematics, and history. Major conclusions
• Teacher background
derived from the census measurement are that a sizable
percent of AP teachers have taught for many years and • Professional development
thus may soon approach retirement, especially in New
• Training and resource needs
2 Since respondents were asked to select all ethnic categories that applied to them, the percentages listed above do not sum to 100
percent.
3
• Technology the annual AP readings and summer–fall workshops
where AP teachers meet for professional development
• Important issues for AP teachers.
activities. Phase two yielded 4,150 responses, which
The questions on classroom characteristics focused on comprised 12.9 percent of the sample.
school information as well as on instructional materi- Phase three of data collection began after September
als used most frequently, background characteristics of 2000 and was completed in February 2001. The survey
students in AP classes, special initiatives to increase was administered through the Internet during phase
minority participation in AP classes, and requirements three. For the purposes of the current study, additional
for participation in AP classes. The section covering cases were not added to the sample if participants com-
teacher background included questions regarding pleted the survey after February 2001. The 2000–2001
academic background, teaching experience, courses Web-based administration of the survey yielded 623
being taught, and personal information like gender, responses, which comprised 1.9 percent of the sample.
age, race–ethnicity, and anticipated year of retirement. For phase one and two of data collection, 21.9 per-
The professional development section contained ques- cent of the surveys were completed and returned. It is
tions that covered access to and participation in vari- unclear whether this percentage represents the true
ous types of professional development activities among response rate, however, since it is uncertain how many
AP teachers. The questions from the training and teachers actually received the survey due to the nature
resource needs section addressed aspects of teachers’ of survey distribution through AP coordinators.
professional development for which further training or Although the instructional letter requested that AP
additional resources were needed. The technology coordinators distribute survey packets to their AP
section focused on technology usage, such as e-mail teachers so that the survey could be completed and
and the Internet, for professional purposes related to returned within two weeks of receipt of the mailing,
teaching AP classes. In the section that addressed some AP coordinators may have failed to distribute the
important issues for AP teachers, respondents were packets in a timely manner. Therefore, it was necessary
asked to rate the importance of 12 issues related to to investigate how representative the current sample
teaching high school students. was of the population of AP teachers.
Procedure Representativeness of
Respondents
Data collection took place in three phases. During phas-
es one and two, the survey was administered through
Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate whether
the mail. The survey was administered through the
the characteristics of the AP teachers who responded to
Internet during phase three. The three phases of data
the survey were representative of the characteristics of
collection yielded a total of 32,109 responses.
AP teachers that register with ETS. Approximately 75
Phase one of data collection began in November
percent of all AP teachers register with ETS via their AP
1999 and continued until April 2000. During phase
coordinator. Statistical analyses focused on comparing
one, 100,000 surveys were mailed to 13,000 AP coor-
the distributions of AP teacher survey respondents to
dinators. AP coordinators are high school staff mem-
those of ETS registrants by state, geographic region, and
bers that manage issues related to AP Exam administra-
academic subject using an effect size measure known as
tion. Coordinators were asked to distribute the survey,
Cohen’s w3 (Cohen, 1988). Values for Cohen’s w that
an addressed return envelope, and an instruction letter
range between 0.00 and 0.10 indicate that there is a
to the AP teachers in the schools in which they worked.
small difference between groups, values between 0.30
The instructional letter given to AP teachers included a
and 0.49 indicate a medium sized difference, and values
request that the teacher complete and return the survey
greater than 0.50 indicate that there is a large group dif-
within two weeks of receipt of the mailing. Phase one of
ference (Cohen, 1988). Table 1 provides a comparison
data collection yielded 27,336 responses, which com-
of AP teacher registrants and AP teacher survey respon-
prised 85.1 percent of the current sample.
dents by state, Table 2 provides this comparison by
Phase two of the data collection began in May 2000
region, and Table 3 by AP course.
and continued until September 2000. During phase two,
The results revealed that there was a small difference
teachers that had not responded during phase one were
in the proportion of teachers and registrants by state
targeted. In phase two, 50,500 surveys were sent to
3 Cohen’s w was calculated instead of chi-square because of the well-known problems associated with the influence of sample size
and other variables on the chi-square statistic (see Bentler and Bonnet, 1980).
4
TABLE 1 TABLE 1 CONTINUED
ETS Teacher Registration AP Teacher Questionnaire
Frequency of AP® Teacher Registrants and AP Teacher
State Frequency Percent Frequency Percent
Survey Respondents by State
Wyoming 143 0.1 33 0.1
ETS Teacher Registration AP Teacher Questionnaire Non-U.S. 5,354 5.3 135 0.4
State Frequency Percent Frequency Percent
Total 101,038 100.2 29,741 92.3
Alabama 1,199 1.2 299 0.9
Note: Total percentages do not sum to 100 percent because of
Alaska 251 0.2 62 0.2
rounding error and missing information.
Arizona 1,068 1.1 281 0.9
Arkansas 763 0.8 231 0.7 TABLE 2
California 11,525 11.4 3,267 10.2
Colorado 1,424 1.4 458 1.4 Frequency of AP Teacher Registrants and AP Teacher
Connecticut 1,859 1.8 344 1.1 Survey Respondents by Geographic Region
Delaware 359 0.4 121 0.4 ETS Teacher Registration AP Teacher Questionnaire
District of Columbia 303 0.3 71 0.2 Region Frequency Percent Frequency Percent
New England 6,806 6.7 1,916 6.0
Florida 4,155 4.1 1,379 4.3
Middle States 18,805 18.6 5,960 18.6
Georgia 2,429 2.4 826 2.6
South 19,471 19.3 6,277 19.5
Hawaii 366 0.4 123 0.4
Midwest 19,186 19.0 6,127 19.1
Idaho 390 0.4 108 0.3
Southwest 12,165 12.0 3,802 11.8
Illinois 3,707 3.7 1,159 3.6
West 19,251 19.1 5,524 17.2
Indiana 1,732 1.7 529 1.6
Non-U.S. 5,354 5.3 135 0.4
Iowa 712 0.7 214 0.7
Total 101,038 100.0 29,741 93.0
Kansas 673 0.7 224 0.7
Kentucky 1,604 1.6 440 1.4 Note: Total percentages do not sum to 100 percent because of
Louisiana 822 0.8 163 0.5 rounding error and missing information.
Maine 660 0.7 224 0.7
TABLE 3
Maryland 2,556 2.5 744 2.3
Massachusetts 2,986 3.0 940 2.9 Frequency of AP Teacher Registrants and AP Teacher
Michigan 2,950 2.9 852 2.7 Survey Respondents by AP Course
Minnesota 1,240 1.2 402 1.3 ETS Teacher Registration AP Teacher Questionnaire
Subject Frequency Percent Frequency Percent
Mississippi 690 0.7 179 0.6
Biology 7,706 7.6 2,892 9.0
Missouri 1,370 1.4 415 1.3
Calculus 15,081 14.9 5,388 16.8
Montana 308 0.3 77 0.2
Computer Science 3,425 3.4 788 2.5
Nebraska 539 0.5 124 0.4
Chemistry 5,970 5.9 2,022 6.3
Nevada 392 0.4 108 0.3
Environmental Science 787 0.8 318 1.0
New Hampshire 536 0.5 170 0.5
Physics 5,598 5.5 1,453 4.5
New Jersey 3,806 3.8 1,251 3.9
Statistics 1,983 2.0 846 2.6
New Mexico 512 0.5 175 0.5
Art History 987 1.0 268 0.8
New York 7,460 7.4 2,286 7.1
APIEL 3 – 9 –
North Carolina 2,605 2.6 978 3.0
English 18,468 18.3 5,813 18.1
North Dakota 87 0.1 39 0.1
French 4,352 4.3 897 2.8
Ohio 3,432 3.4 1,221 3.8
German 1,284 1.3 281 0.9
Oklahoma 1,273 1.3 444 1.4
Latin 1,269 1.3 337 1.0
Oregon 898 0.9 223 0.7
Music 1,320 1.3 281 0.9
Pennsylvania 4,321 4.3 1,487 4.6
Spanish 6,818 6.7 1,620 5.0
Rhode Island 370 0.4 138 0.4
StudioArt 3,994 4.0 210 0.7
South Carolina 1,329 1.3 495 1.5
Economics 2,409 2.4 492 1.5
South Dakota 168 0.2 75 0.2
European History 3,557 3.5 1,058 3.3
Tennessee 1,419 1.4 431 1.3
Government & Politics 4,558 4.5 1,197 3.7
Texas 9,617 9.5 2,952 9.2
Human Geography – – 10 –
Utah 1,057 1.0 358 1.1
Psychology 1,730 1.7 604 1.9
Vermont 395 0.4 100 0.3
U.S. History 9,739 9.6 3,536 11.0
Virginia 3,219 3.2 1,087 3.4
World History – – 6 –
Washington 1,429 1.4 426 1.3
Total 101,038 100.0 30,326 94.0
West Virginia 524 0.5 131 0.4
Wisconsin 2,052 2.0 742 2.3 Note: Total percentages do not sum to 100 percent because of rounding
error and missing information.
5