Re: High School Chemistry and Biology

Date: Tue, 06 May 2003 14:52:58 -0500
Newsgroups: misc.education
Size: 5,840 bytes

On Tue, 6 May 2003 08:47:45 -0400, "John Gilmer"
<email-address-deleted> wrote:
>
>"Herman Rubin" <email-address-deleted> wrote in message
>news:b96b05$email-address-deleted...
>> In article <3eb63171$0$email-address-deleted>,
>> John Gilmer <email-address-deleted> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> >> At one of the universities where I taught, the head of
>> >> the physics department, when visiting high schools,
>> >> advised them to take physics only for a "recreational"
>> >> course, but instead to take what was still good
>> >> mathematics.
>>
>> >Well, since any college that even pretends to teach math and science
>never
>> >assumes that the freshman knows calculus, what's the point of the kids
>> >studying hard in high school (except to get the grades that will impress
>the
>> >admissions and scholarship folks)?
>>
>> At that time, calculus was not taught in high school.
>
>At what time?
>
>Some classmates who went to school in Arlington, VA (class of 61) took
>calculus in HS.
>
Note calculus was apparently not taught in high schools
before 1951.
After AP was developed, it also took some time to spread
into the high schools around the country. It is still not given
in all schools, btw. Small rural schools are probably less likely
to have such a course, though it may be possible for bright
students to take calculus at the local community college for
both hs and college credit. My own high school did not offer
calculus in 1962, but did in 1964 after I had graduated.
I looked up the history of AP courses and found this:
http://tinyurl.com/b4ts
1951
The Ford Foundation Fund for the Advancement of Education
sponsors two parallel studies that lead to the creation of
Advanced Placement: General Education in School and
College and the Kenyon Plan. They conclude that high school
students can and should succeed in doing college-level work,
set in motion a collaboration of schools and colleges to develop
curricula and standards for the creation of advanced placement
courses in high schools, and implement exams for assessment.
1955-1956
The College Board takes over administration of AP, with
Williams College professor Charles Keller as director, and
11 initial subject offerings: American history, biology, chemistry,
English, French, German, Latin IV (fourth-year Vergil), Latin V
(prose, comedy, lyric), mathematics, physics, and Spanish.
1957
European History is introduced as a subject.
1958
The College Board contributes to professional development
by beginning training programs for AP faculty consultants.
1960s-1970s
Professional development for AP teachers increases with
creation of summer institutes. The College Board attempts
to expand AP's reach to schools in lower-income areas with
workshops at the Hampton Institute in Virginia and televised
AP courses in New York City.
1961
James B. Conant, president of Harvard, praises AP, and key
administrators at many colleges follow suit. Increasing
numbers of colleges begin to give credit for AP Exam grades
of 3 or better.
1962
The College Board begins to win support for AP from leading
educators at state levels. New York State begins contributing
resources to the program.
1969
AP Mathematics becomes Calculus AB and Calculus BC, and
Physics is split into two separate exams: Physics B and
Physics C.
1971
The AP French Exam becomes two separate exams: French
Language and French Literature.
1972
AP Art History and AP Music Listening and Literature are
introduced.
1972
AP Art History and AP Music Listening and Literature are
introduced.
1973
The Physics C exam is split in two: Physics C -- Electricity
and Magnetism, and Physics C -- Mechanics.
1977
The AP Spanish Exam is divided into two exams: Spanish
Language and Spanish Literature.
1978
AP Music Theory is introduced, in addition to Music Listening
and Literature. Listening and Literature is dropped in 1991.
1980s-1990s
Pre-AP programs are introduced, including AP Vertical Teams
and Building Success workshops for teachers, to start students
on the path to advanced work before high school. New courses
and exams continue to be added to meet changing educational
needs, these include:
1980 Studio Art
1984 Computer Science
1987 U.S. Government and Politics and Comparative Government
and Politics
1989 The two Latin exams become known as Latin Vergil and Latin
Literature, the latter based on the works of Catullus, Ovid, Cicero,
and Horace.
1989 Macroeconomics and Microeconomics
1992 Psychology
1995 AP Calculus adds a calculator requirement.
1997 Statistics
1997 International English Language (APIEL)
1998 Environmental Science1980
1980
The AP English Exam is divided into two exams: English
Language and Composition and English Literature and
Composition; the German Exam splits into German
Language and German Literature. German Literature is
dropped in 1983.
1998
Number of AP Exams administered tops one million!
1999
Minority participation rises to 31 percent. United States
Department of Education implements AP Incentive
Program, providing exam fee subsidies to low-income
students and supporting state initiatives to expand
access to AP.
2000
More than 250 teachers of economically disadvantaged
students attend AP Summer Institutes through the College
Board's AP Fellows program.
2001
AP students receiving a grade of 3 or higher on AP Math
and Physics Exams outperform other advanced math and
physics students in both the United States and abroad,
according to an assessment conducted by TIMSS (the
Third International Mathematics and Science Study). AP
Human Geography is offered as a course and exam.
2002
World History is now offered as a course and exam.
Dorothy
--
There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..
Outer Limits