It is that time of year for the AP scores to be released. Many teachers and students, for that matter, eagerly or nervously sign into their College Board account to see if they passed the exam or even got the score that they thought they deserved. I know that I have found that there are highs and lows every year when I check my students’ scores. There is an underlying feeling that I am going to be seen as a bad teacher because of the scores. I am just being honest. And maybe, their scores are a strong reflection of my work with them. It is one of the reasons that I feel such a responsibility to providing the best that I can for my AP curriculum. More importantly, I check those scores with the faces of my students clearly in my mind. I hope that they are not disappointed and more importantly that they find that the work we did together in the classroom, not on their exam, is what will end up being what truly matters to help them in their future endeavors.
I guess what I am saying is that we should use these feeling that the numbers produce, for any scores of a standardized test, as an opportunity to inspire us as educators. Don’t let the numbers get you down. You wouldn’t want your students to do the same. Right? Instead, write down some of the things that were strengths this year. For example, my students have a lot of anxiety about applying to college and writing a college essay. So, we spend the first two weeks of school just talking about the art of self…and I don’t mean a selfie. Even though the college essay won’t be on their AP exam, it has been a success because I get some really good opportunities to reduce the anxieties of my students in their college application process. As an added bonus, my students improve their writing and interviewing skills. In addition to the college essay, I can list several other activities and test prep assessments that have helped students grow. This can even mean watching a student come in at the beginning of the course with a 1 on their pre-assessment and move to a 2 by the time the end of the year’s AP exam comes along. That can be a huge achievement for that student even though it is not the passing 3 or higher. They challenged themselves and grew. Who else could ask for anything more?
Here comes the hard part. Reflect. At first, this can be difficult, but I know for a fact that the more you reflect on your best practices, the better and happier you will be. And guess what? There is a direct correlation to your students’ attitude and their confidence linked to you because of it. Now list a few or even one thing, if that makes you more comfortable, that you would like to improve or change. Make sure to have a rationale for that change. For instance, my colleague and I looked at our scores from the last two years and decided that it is time to make an even bigger change to our curriculum. We are going to remove a whole unit on a book for AP Lit to focus some more on shorter texts. We see the value in that there are more short texts (prose and poems) in the multiple-choice section and in the two out of three free response questions. We are going to remove a book, probably one that we love to teach and are emotionally attached to, in order to give our students more opportunities to work on something that is a greater part of the exam.
Last but not least, don’t let this change to your curriculum for next year get you disheartened. As teachers, we give up a lot of our time. So, thinking about reinventing the wheel can seem frustrating. I am going to challenge you to look at this change in another way. There are many reasons that you wanted to teach. I bet one of those reasons was because you loved the idea of creating lesson plans to inspire and motivate. This revision of your lesson is that opportunity to do just that. Get excited about what you do and find a new and fun way to reach your students.  I guarantee you will look back next year, ON YOUR REFLECTION, and determine that the change was one of your strengths.
Until next time, I look forward to hearing your inspiration to dealing with the numbers and reflecting on your year. After all, our best inspirations sometimes come from examples.
See you Real Soon,
Erin
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