We examined the variation in Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE) preclass scores according to the type of physics class a student had in high school. This was done for students who had taken Physics 1 at a highly selective university. The majority of students had taken an Advanced Placement (AP) physics course, allowing us to examine in…

This study investigated the challenges students face when learning chemical reactions in a first-year chemistry course and the effectiveness of a curriculum and software implementation that was used to teach and assess student understanding of chemical reactions and equations. This study took place over a two year period in a public suburban…

We present a guided-inquiry biology lesson, using the plant-rhizobium symbiosis as a model system. This system provides a rich environment for developing connections between the big ideas in biology as outlined in the College Board's new AP Biology Curriculum. Students gain experience with the practice of scientific investigation, from…

We have just completed the data collection for our 2012-13 Nationwide Survey of High School Physics and expect to have results to report in the spring. In the interim, we will take a look at physics in two-year colleges (TYCs). In 2007, we surveyed undergraduate seniors in degree-granting physics departments, and we asked these students if they…

Compared performance of Project Advance biology students (N=60) with Advanced Placement (AP) candidates (N=15,947) nationally on College Entrance Examination Board AP biology test. The research, conducted to determine comparability of the program as valid measures of academic achievement, determined that Project Advance students scored above the…

Summarizes papers and minipapers on honors and advanced placement (AP) chemistry courses presented at the Seventh Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (Stillwater, Oklahoma 1982). Advantages/disadvantages of AP chemistry, high school/college courses, and grouping all chemistry students in one class were among the topics discussed. (JN)

Discusses a high school advanced placement physics course cooperating with neighboring college. Describes the background, titles of experiments, report format, and discussion. (YP)

Compares performance of first-year general chemistry college students from 32 institutions with performance of Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry Candidates in 1978 to provide a concurrent validity measure of the multiple-choice section of the AP chemistry examination. Average AP candidates scored significantly higher than average college students.…

The College Board's Advanced Placement (AP) biology program is explained and options within it are explored in this guide for teachers. Experienced AP biology teachers were surveyed for information concerning approaches that were effective in their programs. Descriptions and suggestions from the 14 respondents are reported in the area of: (1)…

Describes using a local college for the teaching of the recommended Advance Placement laboratories as a way to increase greatly needed course time and to increase the amount of equipment available. (PR)

Students of advanced life science courses at Beverly Hills High School, California, are able to approximate a wide variety of life process experiments through use of computer simulations. Students are taught to use the BASIC language and to execute programs on the Hewlett-Packard 2000 Access series. Computer programs are used to enhance…

We present an alternative to a traditional first-year chemistry laboratory experiment. This experiment has four key features: students utilize stoichiometry, learn and apply principles of green chemistry, engage in authentic scientific inquiry, and discover why each part of a scientific lab report is necessary. The importance and essential…

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the feasibility of accounting for student performance in advanced high school coursework through the adjustment of high school grade point average (HSGPA) while separating out variables that are independently considered in the admission process, e.g., SAT/ACT scores, community affluence, type of…

Presented are student papers from a science curriculum class at the Florida Institute of Technology. Topics of the papers include Outdoor Biological Instructional Strategies, Individualized Instruction, Nonmajor Science Education, Secondary School Remedial Mathematics, Advanced Placement Program, "Biology: Living Systems," public law 94-142,…

Describes Syracuse University's Project Adventure (SUPA), a cooperative arrangement between the university and 80 school districts in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maine, and Michigan, which is designed to give talented high school seniors the opportunity to enroll in university freshman courses in several subject areas, including computer…