The purpose of this Delphi study was to describe a consensus among selected high school guidance counselors about common barriers to advanced coursework opportunities experienced by high school students. The Delphi technique developed by the RAND Corporation is a method that combines multiple rounds of questions completed by a panel of experts in…

Advanced Placement (AP) Human Geography faced a number of hurdles that nearly derailed the course before it launched in 2000-2001. A dedicated cadre of geography professionals and high school teachers rose to the challenge and the course remains one of the fastest growing AP courses currently offered by College Board. Seventeen readers and leaders…

This article examines the factors that determine a high school's probability of offering Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. The likelihood that a school offers advanced courses, and the number of sections that it offers, is largely driven by having a critical mass of students who enter high school with…

Secondary schools have been focused on adding rigor to course work for all students in response to research indicating that high school graduates are not well-prepared for college or the workforce. Research shows a correlation between a demanding high school curriculum, particularly in mathematics and science, and postsecondary success. Success…

Borders--places where nations, people, and their cultures come together--are interesting spaces. The meeting may be friendly enough, but borders are by their nature places of "otherness," where those who are moving from one place to another are often conceived of as not belonging. High-ability students in this state of…

A high school teacher at an inner-city school characterized by a multiethnic student population discusses his Advanced Placement (AP) European History course, an option in the school's PACE (Program for Additional Curricular Activities) program. Teaching strategies leading to the students' high performances on the AP exam are identified. (DB)

A plan for the academic magnet high school (AMHS) program offered by the Charleston County (South Carolina) School District is presented in this report. A program overview describes general goals for students, which would emphasize thinking skills in all academic core areas, problem-solving skills in mathematics and research-based science,…

Students at 15 Wake County Public School System, North Carolina, (WCPSS) high schools took approximately 4,878 Advanced Placement (AP) examinations offered by the College Board in 2001-2002. With 20% of all juniors and seniors in the district taking at least one AP examination, the percent attaining a score of 3 or higher on a 5-point scale (the…

This report examines the path to college for students in academically advanced programs-- graduates of Chicago's seven Selective Enrollment schools, those who completed International Baccalaureate programs, and graduates who had taken a sequence of at least six honors and two Advanced Placement classes. This report expands on the findings of…

Career guidance for high-school youth who are gifted is discussed. Strategies for providing educational opportunities for students who need greater challenge are outlined. These include extracurricular activities, advanced placement courses, advanced research and discussion seminars, foreign language and cultural education, and vocational and…

A teacher of an advanced placement English class of over-stressed, over-busy, and rebellious gifted seniors describes how she used Kafka's "Metamorphosis" to help them adjust to this transitional period in their lives while keeping all reading and assignments within the class period. (DB)

Synthesizes existing, isolated bits of information on U.S. secondary student enrollment in advanced science courses. Among the findings for grades 10, 11, and 12, the percentage of those students enrolled in Advanced Biology is 20, 26, and 54. Advanced Chemistry is 0, 33, and 67; and Advanced Physics is 0, 10, and 90. (PR)

This paper examines whether the Maine School of Science and Mathematics, a magnet school in its second year of operation, has improved equity of opportunities for Maine students to participate in advanced mathematics and science courses. Data on per pupil expenditures, state aid to school districts, and course offerings were obtained from the…

The percentage of students taking more challenging courses in high school is dramatically higher now than in the early 1980s. The growth in number of students and schools participating in Advanced Placement (AP) courses is equally dramatic. AP courses are designed by college faculty and by experienced high school faculty. They are an example of…

The major objectives and benefits of the Advanced Placement Program (APP) are summarized, and data specific to Delaware are compared to national statistics about advanced placement (AP) courses in high schools. School participation in the APP is considered an indicator of academic success by educators and policy makers. The extent to which…