What are ways to encourage minority students and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds to take and succeed in AP classes? Advanced Placement courses and their final national standardized exams began in 1954 to help students, mostly white males, get through college more quickly so that they would have more time in the work force. 50 years later,…

Project Aspire was created to identify poor rural students with academic potential and to provide them with academic and counseling support in advanced placement courses and prerequisites. This article describes Project Aspire and its foundations; the relevant lessons learned from the literature on poverty, small schools, rural schools, and gifted…

This theme issue of a newsletter for academically talented youth focuses on getting the best precollege education. It encourages students to take responsibility for their own learning by becoming aware of all the options their school offers; making use of them; supplementing and enriching the basic school curriculum; and participating in…

This paper reports on the status of desegregation of students, teachers, administrators, and central office personnel in the Jefferson County Public Schools (Kentucky) for the 1987-88 school year. The report indicates that although all schools were brought within the student enrollment guidelines for the 1987-88 school year, many problems remain…

A one-year follow-up study of a 1988 report on Wisconsin's internal "brain drain" indicates that the state's historic educational advantage is shrinking. Assessment of performance on the American College Testing Program (ACT), the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT), and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) reveals that scores are…

The University of California's grading/credit policy for advanced placement (AP) courses taken by high school students is discussed. The university traditionally has encouraged high school students to take AP courses if they are prepared and mature enough to benefit from them. The university grants credit for scores of 3, 4, or 5 earned on AP…

An evaluation of the implementation process for the electronics articulation program at the Community College of Rhode Island was undertaken to identify the factors and features of the program that contribute to the attainment of its articulation goals. Information for the evaluation was obtained by reviewing documents and records, observing…

The placement and proficiency system of the University of Illinois was designed to promote good student attitudes towards courses into which they were placed enable students to perform near their maximum capability, reduce the instructor's burden by generating relatively homogeneous ability groupings in courses, and encourage students to begin…

Presents results of a survey of high school history teachers which shows that advanced placement teachers are more likely to have a master's degree. Reports that such teachers are more academically demanding than general enrollment history teachers. Emphasizes the importance of adequate history preparation in teacher accreditation programs. (DK)

Reports on a study of the free response essays in the Advance Placement U.S. history test from 1963-92. Asserts that there were four significant transition years: 1964, 1965, 1973, and 1976 and predicts another in 1994. Presents data indicating trends toward social history, cultural pluralism, and economic/business topics. (CFR)

A study of resource distribution in California's public schools found that average class size differs little across schools; however, teacher preparation and high-school curricula (particularly advanced-placement coursework) vary considerably. Schools serving more disadvantaged student populations receive fewer resources, including highly…

The global education ideology detailed in this essay results in excessive breadth of coverage as well as a lack of rigor in the study of world history and the evaluation of other cultures. In its most concentrated form, it instills a deep skepticism about the political worth of the nation-state and support for a divisive, anti-western form of…

The early part of the 21st century sees the United States competing in an increasingly globalized, high-tech economy that highly prizes those individuals with quality mathematics and science educations, and bestows economic and other benefits on the nations and regions in which they live and work. Nations around the world--recognizing the…

Compiled by the Curriculum Services Office Staff at the North Harris Montgomery Community College District (NHMCCD), in Texas, this manual provides information on administrative issues related to articulation agreements between NHMCCD and area high schools, focusing on competency based course articulation, tech prep initiatives, and dual credit…

Kansas City Kansas Community College's (KCKCC's) High School Partnership Program was established in spring 1987 to enable outstanding high school seniors to earn both high school and college credit for college-level courses taken on their own campuses. Through the Partnership Program, KCKCC offers classes at 10 of the 17 high schools in its…