News
We at Incline High School have worked hard to build up our AP program and, as a result, over the years we have had an impressive number of students accepted to prominent colleges and universities. We have been told on numerous occasions by students who have returned to visit us that our classes – particularly AP classes – prepared them well toward success in their college courses.
Washoe County School District, sensing our concerns, has assured us that we will not lose our AP program. They have told us we can teach both AP and IB together, and have pointed to Wooster High School as an example. So, how has Wooster fared? Some previous data they have given out looked promising, but could have been the result of creative number crunching. What we were interested in was the breakdown of AP scores alone, but it was difficult to get that specific information from Wooster.
Recently, several of our faculty visited with their counterparts at Wooster. One of the questions we were interested in was how well AP and IB classes could be taught together. When talked to privately, Wooster teachers confided that, although their classes are purportedly both AP and IB, they primarily teach the IB component. These students are then required to take the AP test, which presumably allows the school to claim an AP/IB program.
That could be acceptable if the IB curriculum adequately prepares the students for the AP equivalent. But how can you assess that without AP testing score data? Fortunately, we have recently acquired that information from the last two years, and the results are interesting, if not sobering.
AP scores range from 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest possible score. A score of 3 is considered “passing,” but some colleges require a score of 4 or 5 before a student can be awarded college credit for specific subjects.
Let's begin with the English language and English literature tests. IB's strong suit purportedly is its liberal arts program, so one might presume this program would prepare students well for the AP equivalent. However, our students have consistently passed at or near 100 percent. In comparison, Wooster's best passing percentage within the last two years was 47 percent (for English Language), with its worst at 27 percent. Their English Literature scores were consistent at 45 percent. Less than 4 percent of all of these tests scored a 5.
As one might expect, our AP government scores, most certainly due to the success of We The People, average a very respectable 80 percent over the last four years, with 40 percent earning a 5 last year. The 2009 scores for Wooster were 39 percent passing, with a 29 percent figure for 2008. There were no 4's or 5's. Similarly, our U.S. hstory scores last year yielded an 81 percent passing rate, while Wooster weighed in at 56 percent last year and 47 percent the year before.
Although the bilingual component of IB has been a big sell, the average passing rate for AP Spanish over the last 2 years was less than 48 percent, with a 37 percent average passing rate for French. Our average passing rate for Spanish? Yep, higher — around 60 percent on the average.
How about science and math? The state average for chemistry and biology AP scores is an abysmal 2 and 2.5, respectively. Our AP chemistry students achieve a passing average of around 70 percent to 75 percent. Last year, six of those tests scored a 5. Last year, Wooster recorded a 33 percent passing rate, without a 5. Biology at Incline has averaged about 65 percent over the years, while Wooster acquired a consistent 15 percent passing rate over the past two years. Our calculus AP scores average around 60 percent while 48 percent of Wooster's students passed the test in ‘09, and 57 percent in ‘08.
When making these comparisons one thing to remember is that our scores are coming from a very large percentage of our junior and senior class (we allow sophomores to take AP human geography, by the way, and had 18 percent of the class earning 5s last year). Wooster's scores are coming from a small percentage, compared to their student population. Consider the fact that this is a magnet school for the entire Reno area and therefore presumably in possession of a large and elite brain pool, and the picture begins to look very dismal for Wooster's AP/IB program. Is it any wonder that a large majority of our faculty is hesitant about implementing IB?
— Steve Brown is a science and AP teacher at Incline High School.
Washoe County School District, sensing our concerns, has assured us that we will not lose our AP program. They have told us we can teach both AP and IB together, and have pointed to Wooster High School as an example. So, how has Wooster fared? Some previous data they have given out looked promising, but could have been the result of creative number crunching. What we were interested in was the breakdown of AP scores alone, but it was difficult to get that specific information from Wooster.
Recently, several of our faculty visited with their counterparts at Wooster. One of the questions we were interested in was how well AP and IB classes could be taught together. When talked to privately, Wooster teachers confided that, although their classes are purportedly both AP and IB, they primarily teach the IB component. These students are then required to take the AP test, which presumably allows the school to claim an AP/IB program.
That could be acceptable if the IB curriculum adequately prepares the students for the AP equivalent. But how can you assess that without AP testing score data? Fortunately, we have recently acquired that information from the last two years, and the results are interesting, if not sobering.
AP scores range from 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest possible score. A score of 3 is considered “passing,” but some colleges require a score of 4 or 5 before a student can be awarded college credit for specific subjects.
Let's begin with the English language and English literature tests. IB's strong suit purportedly is its liberal arts program, so one might presume this program would prepare students well for the AP equivalent. However, our students have consistently passed at or near 100 percent. In comparison, Wooster's best passing percentage within the last two years was 47 percent (for English Language), with its worst at 27 percent. Their English Literature scores were consistent at 45 percent. Less than 4 percent of all of these tests scored a 5.
As one might expect, our AP government scores, most certainly due to the success of We The People, average a very respectable 80 percent over the last four years, with 40 percent earning a 5 last year. The 2009 scores for Wooster were 39 percent passing, with a 29 percent figure for 2008. There were no 4's or 5's. Similarly, our U.S. hstory scores last year yielded an 81 percent passing rate, while Wooster weighed in at 56 percent last year and 47 percent the year before.
Although the bilingual component of IB has been a big sell, the average passing rate for AP Spanish over the last 2 years was less than 48 percent, with a 37 percent average passing rate for French. Our average passing rate for Spanish? Yep, higher — around 60 percent on the average.
How about science and math? The state average for chemistry and biology AP scores is an abysmal 2 and 2.5, respectively. Our AP chemistry students achieve a passing average of around 70 percent to 75 percent. Last year, six of those tests scored a 5. Last year, Wooster recorded a 33 percent passing rate, without a 5. Biology at Incline has averaged about 65 percent over the years, while Wooster acquired a consistent 15 percent passing rate over the past two years. Our calculus AP scores average around 60 percent while 48 percent of Wooster's students passed the test in ‘09, and 57 percent in ‘08.
When making these comparisons one thing to remember is that our scores are coming from a very large percentage of our junior and senior class (we allow sophomores to take AP human geography, by the way, and had 18 percent of the class earning 5s last year). Wooster's scores are coming from a small percentage, compared to their student population. Consider the fact that this is a magnet school for the entire Reno area and therefore presumably in possession of a large and elite brain pool, and the picture begins to look very dismal for Wooster's AP/IB program. Is it any wonder that a large majority of our faculty is hesitant about implementing IB?
— Steve Brown is a science and AP teacher at Incline High School.
