Strategies for Improving the Advanced Placement Examination Scores of AP Social Studies Students

Abstract

WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT, we live in a highly competitive world. Although there is no national competency examination in our subject area, Advanced Placement social studies courses are being used more and more to improve the credentials of college applicants. Those of us teaching these courses are under increasing pressure from parents and school administrators to allow more and more students to take the AP courses and to improve the AP scores of our students. The present standards movement has affected all social studies teachers. As this movement sweeps the country, more and more of us are faced with the difficult task of either teaching meaningful skills or teaching to a test. A recent study I conducted has demonstrated that we can achieve both. The study focused upon improving instruction in AP social studies courses through providing teacher training in the use of different teaching methods and strategies. Specifically, teachers learned the importance of (a) mastery learning, (b) the use of weekly written assessments, (c) the use of primary documents, (d) the use of actual AP tests for practice, (e) the use of student-developed outlines, and (f) vocabulary development. Each of the AP social studies teachers attended an AP Teacher Institute for their