CCHS Teachers Serve as AP Test Readers

Three Central Catholic teachers recently served as AP Test Readers.  They were employed by the College Board this summer to read (grade) thousands of AP tests in their respective subjects.  This is an intense and rewarding professional development experience that makes our teachers even stronger in preparing our AP level students for the tests and for college success.

Patrice Brock, a science teacher at Central Catholic, worked as an AP Biology reader.  This was her fifth year reading AP exams.  The past two years have been virtual reading experiences, but the readers are back to traveling to different venues by subject to read the tests in person.  Readers are assigned to a single exam question, and depending on the subject and the length of responses, they may read 1,000-2,000 exams.  All AP exams are graded within a two-week window in June. 

“For my subject, 600-700 AP Biology teachers and college biology professors come together for seven days of grading over 200,000 exams in the Kansas City Convention Center,” Patrice explained.  “We are trained by the national exam writers and evaluated for grading accuracy throughout the week.

“Being able to see how thousands of students answer AP exam questions, learning about academic benchmarks and expectations from the test developers, and sharing educational ideas with high school and college teaching peers is some of the best professional development available.  These AP grading experiences have made me a better teacher, helping me share the latest learning tools and strategies with my students.”

Stan Sylak, a 2006 CCHS graduate, has been teaching in the social studies department at Central Catholic for five years.  He worked as an AP Government reader.  The exam was scored in Salt Lake City, Utah, but he was selected to read at home.  He hopes next year to be able to travel to participate in the reading in person.

Sylak wanted to get involved because he heard that it was an exceptional professional development experience that helps the teacher to really understand how to aid students in preparing for the AP exam.  “It gave me a better understanding of how the responses are scored so I can help my students get better practice during this school year,” he said.

This is Robert Daine’s first year serving as an AP reader, and he also worked in Kansas City.  Daine is a science teacher at Central Catholic, and he worked as an AP Physics reader.  He wanted to participate because he realized it was an excellent opportunity.  “It’s the best way to learn how the exams are really graded, especially with the nuances that can exist in a mathematical-based exam,” he explained.  “I learned a lot about how to teach the class in the future.  I know where kids can go wrong on the test and the common misconceptions, so I can help our students not make those mistakes.”

These teachers go through specific training before reading the tests.  A comprehensive rubric is developed by the exam leaders, and teachers are trained on that rubric.  The emphasis is on whether the students display a deep enough understanding of the concept being tested, and they review specific vocabulary and key ideas.  Over 250,000 students may take each exam, so readers are trained in the various ways the students might answer the specific question, and still show understanding.  They also grade sample responses for training and calibration before they actually start grading on their own.

“I believe every AP teacher would benefit from this experience,” said Brock.  “Being able to talk to the people who write the test questions, participating in the actual grading of exams, and spending time with dedicated professionals has been one of the richest professional development experiences of my career.”