Fellow Teachers, please respond if you can help:

[quizbowllee]

Brindlee Mountain is planning to start offering AP courses next year. There has been much discussion on what EXACTLY the requirements of an AP teacher are. I would love to teach AP English, though I don't think I am qualified at this time. Try as I might, I cannot seem to find any concrete criteria for becoming certified to teach AP courses. Can any of you point me to some sort of document that outlines the requirements?

Currently I have:

B.S. Degree in Secondary Education/Language Arts
M.S. Degree in Curriculum and Instruction

12 hours towards Ed.S. in Gifted Education

[Down and out in Quintana Roo]

You have it exactly right Lee. There basically are no requirements.

What you should look into, however, are training classes that are offered in the summertime by various schools, colleges, and organizations, sponsored by AP/College Board. I took one on AP US History this summer even though i'm not teaching the course (yet), so that's definitely a great option. It's not a requirement but i imagine it would be a pretty good idea.

[Stained Diviner]

Starting two years ago, the College Board requires teachers to become AP certified. The only educational background you need is a Bachelor's Degree. However, you need to submit some paperwork to them as outlined on their website. It basically requires a course outline and usually some sample assignments or tests. You need to make sure that what you submit exemplifies whatever AP wants you to emphasize in their classes. (For Calculus, they want to see evidence that you are using technology and are making students justify their work. I'm sure there are analagous issues in English.)

It is a completely ridiculous process. They allow teachers to collaborate on their submissions, and there are many cases of two teachers submitting exactly the same thing, with one teacher getting approved and the other one not getting approved. There are also many cases of teachers who have had their students get lots of 4s and 5s on the tests not getting approved. (I'm not saying it's impossible--it's just seems pretty random.) There are cases of teachers not hearing back for two months, and there are cases of teachers being approved fifteen minutes after they submit the materials.

You should talk to anybody you know who currently teaches AP English. The best thing to do is to just ask them if you can submit whatever they sent in. (I generally am against plagiarism, but this process is not worthy of respectful treatment and allows copying.) If not, they can tell you what you need to emphasize for English and describe what they sent in.

If you get turned down, they tell you what you need to change in your submission, so you get a second chance. Don't let this process stop you from teaching the course you want to teach--this is a case in which the ends justifies the means from your end.

If you do not get approved, your students can still take the AP English Test, but your school cannot list the course on transcripts as AP English.

[btressler]

It is a completely ridiculous process.

You should talk to anybody you know who currently teaches AP English. The best thing to do is to just ask them if you can submit whatever they sent in. (I generally am against plagiarism, but this process is not worthy of respectful treatment and allows copying.) If not, they can tell you what you need to emphasize for English and describe what they sent in.

There are also example submissions provided on the AP website. Take one of those and tweak it to fit your needs. That's what I did.

The problem they were trying to solve was that schools were calling courses "AP" that weren't really covering some / any AP topics. But of course, just because I said I'm teaching something on my submitted syllabus, how do they know I actually covered it? So I agree this was ridiculous.

[quizbowllee]

So, just to clarify, there is no graduate degree requirement? I was told initially that I had to have at least a Masters Degree in my field (English) and that my Masters in Education wouldn't suffice.

[Stained Diviner]

If we are talking about the same thing, and it sounds like we are, then no. I am AP Certified, and my Master's is in Education.

[quizbowllee]

If we are talking about the same thing, and it sounds like we are, then no. I am AP Certified, and my Master's is in Education.

Thanks, David. That's exactly what I needed to know. Looks like Brindlee Mountain will finally have AP classes in the fall.

[STPickrell]

Be sure to see if you can get AP Study Hall included. :)

http://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/2006 ... nk-of.html

[rchschem]

It's not that the teacher become certified, in the way that "teacher certification" usually is meant, as in National Board Certification or the like, but that the course's syllabus must be approved by The College Board. The syllabus is linked to the teacher, in that if you have a new teacher at the school teaching the same course that teacher must submit a new syllabus (wink, wink) but it is still the course that is certified.

Everything else mentioned about the nature of the CB syllabus approval process and its complete meaninglessness is true.

[howlin]

I only have a BA and my AP courses have high pass rates. And I have graded the exams. Go to the College board website and there is much info there.
And the syllabus approval process is totally bogus. They denied the syllabus of more than one teacher on their developement committees. I am fairly sure that no one who knows anything about my subject ever looked at mine.
And remember that there is AP English Lit and AP English Language. Just check out the AP's syllabi, aka acorn books, and you should do fine. There are also pass exams posted online.

However, I am currently of the opinion that the College Board is now run by a bunch of weasels since they cancelled one of my subjects for a numberof uninformed, erroneous reasons. but I'm not bitter....really.