The growth of the Advanced Placement Program (AP) in participating high schools and entire districts has been supplemented by state-wide plans to use AP as part of general educational improvement. AP summer institutes to provide opportunities for motivated teachers is described. (MLW)

An advanced placement calculus program is described that incorporates IBM personal computers, conference telephone connections, modems that transmit computer signals over the phone lines, OPTEL graphics that allow the users to "write" on their computer screens, and a sophisticated package of calculus software used for homework…

Analyzes several questions and student answers, and the graders' evaluations of student responses on each of two advanced placement examinations--the one which tests Vergil and the one which tests Catallus and Horace. The percentages of participants scoring at each grade level of the exam are also presented. (SED)

Describes an advanced placement course, designed for ninth- and tenth-grade students with no prior chemistry, covering two years of content in a single year. Factors leading to course initiation, student selection, curriculum development, teaching methods, problems encountered, and overall results are considered. (JM)

Gifted and talented youths' educational needs are so extensive that acceleration, enrichment, individualization, and counseling services are required. The Gifted Education Resource Institute at Purdue University has been developing programs and helping others throughout the midwest to develop programs to meet the needs of these youth. (MLW)

"Smoothing the Path" describes successful state-level strategies and policy lessons that have been learned in four states during the development of schools that integrate secondary and postsecondary education. Statewide efforts in the multi-year Early College High School Initiative, which began in Ohio and Utah in 2002 and in Texas and…

"The Achiever" is a monthly publication for parents and community leaders from the Office of Communications and Outreach, U.S. Department of Education (ED). Each issue contains news and information about school improvement in the United States. Highlights of this issue include: (1) Budget Proposal Advances NCLB, Introduces…

Teaching from a global perspective is important because the lives of people around the world are increasingly interconnected through politics, economics, technology, and the environment. Global education teaches students to understand and appreciate people from different cultural backgrounds; view events from a variety of perspectives; recognize…

Presents counselors with educational alternatives for gifted secondary students including college level courses and examinations for credit. Presents survey information from several colleges and universities about their early enrollment policies and educational alternatives for gifted students. (PAS)

The Northern Tier Distance Learning Consortium links six high schools and three colleges in northeastern Pennsylvania. Indiana students participated in an interactive distance-learning program that focused on underwater exploration. (MLF)

Addresses the population section of the Advanced Placement course outline for human geography, focusing on four themes: (1) geographical analysis of population; (2) population distribution and composition; (3) population growth and decline over time and space; and (4) population movement. Identifies strategies for instructional activities.…

Explores the development of the Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. history test and reviews its grading process for consistency and fairness. Examines the efforts taken to ensure compatibility with college-level U.S. history survey courses. (CMK)

Describes an Advanced Placement (AP) European history course in a multiethnic, urban school. Provides information on the course and a discussion on teaching strategies, materials, and testing methods. Includes student comments on AP European history versus AP world history. (CMK)

Discusses the debates concerning (1) content and process in social studies and history and (2) testing and standards in California, noting that Advanced Placement (AP) courses demand a high scholarly standard. Focuses on the AP European history course and examination, addressing history as interpretation, teaching analytical essay writing, and AP…

College-based programs that motivate underachieving teenagers to graduate and pursue further education is part of a menu of initiatives Guilford County, North Carolina, has introduced to meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of students in its middle and high schools, where racial and ethnic diversity and poverty have been on the rise. As…