More high schools ditching final exams

3Ks
Wed, 30 May 2007 15:09:22 +0000

Hey Zebes, I just wanted to weigh in on the value of the AP projects that until recently I viewed in the same light as you—grade buffers to ease in to test-only grades. I have not always appreciated the alternative assessment argument. That is until recently when I learned first-hand the value of these projects when used to demonstrate applied knowledge.

Our public school has mid terms, finals, and a smaller project first semester followed by a second semester capstone project for every AP class, in addition to sitting for the standardized exam. The final exams are given the week before the actual AP test to get them ready for the AP. After the AP exams, our students have an entire month of school from mid May to Mid June and they would have little to do in class if it were not for these final projects.

So our teachers bring these projects along throughout semester and they’re due and graded at the end of each semester. The students come up with the focus and scope of the project based on the requirements, and the teacher approves or modifies. At our school with the high caliber students in these APs, the quality and depth of the projects have been phenomenal. 50 page analytical, cited research papers, fully functioning GUI, Java Computer Programs, Applied Calculus and Physics projects, texts analyzed and presented to teach a specific theory of literary criticism are some that come to mind. These are not the over-involved parent, crafty kind of projects that people lament.

The surprising result is that students had tangible class work to demonstrate on their activity resumes to use as talking points in college interviews. Even more surprising, the college career center had my freshman son list those capstone projects as a part of his career resume for summer internships in addition to his more typical HS work experience. My son was hired for his internship based on the work of one of these AP projects. He had many other qualifications to support his application, but one of these projects became the major talking point in his interview. My son said his AP teacher, a Harvey Mudd grad, always told them to hang onto their projects for this very reason. Needless to say, I value these projects quite differently now. And I do agree that finals are a necessary part of HS.