AP® Chinese Q & A

http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/about/news_info/ap/qanda_english.pdf

 

What is the Advanced Placement Program ®( AP ®)?

In 2003, more than one million high school students participated in the College Board’s Advanced Placement Program (AP), each student taking one or more of the Program’s 34 college-level AP courses. Based on their performance on the rigorous end-of-course AP Examinations, students earn credit or advanced placement for college, or both, and demonstrate their ability to succeed in college-level studies. The tremendous growth in AP participation attests to a strong commitment from educators and students to elevating the standards in America ’s classrooms. AP Chinese will be offered beginning in the 2006-07 school year .

 

How will the AP Chinese course and exam be developed?

An AP Chinese Task Force will be formed and charged with creating an outline for the course and drafting the exam specifications. An AP Chinese Development Committee will then be formed to refine the course outline, finalize the exam specifications, write the AP Chinese Course Description, begin the writing of exam questions, and assemble the first forms of the exam.

 

What will be taught and assessed in AP Chinese?

The AP Chinese Exam will assess the reading, writing, and speaking of Mandarin; the study of Chinese culture will be an integral part of the course.

 

Who will be on the AP Chinese Task Force and the AP Chinese Development Committee?

Outstanding educators in the field identified by the College Board and organizations such as China’s National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language.

 

How long will the development process take?

Approximately two years.

 

When will the first AP Chinese course be offered?

Fall 2006.

 

When will the first administration of the AP Chinese Examination take place?

May 2007.

 

What level of Chinese language ability and what aspects of Chinese culture will be taught in the AP Chinese course and assessed in the AP Chinese Exam?

The current AP courses and exams in Spanish, French, and German represent the equivalent of third year college study of the language, and AP Chinese may be targeted at this level as well. The AP Chinese course and exam will incorporate Chinese cultural information within the teaching of reading, writing, and speaking the language. The AP Chinese Task Force will convene in early 2004 to define and describe the parameters of the course and exam, in preparation for the release of the official AP Chinese Course Description (which will answer these questions more fully by providing an overview of the course and exam, including sample exam questions) in 2005.

 

Do schools have to pay a registration fee to offer AP Chinese?

No. The AP Program is funded through the individual students’ AP Exam fees.

 

How will schools register to offer AP Chinese?

Each fall, all secondary schools in the United States and Canada and select schools in other countries are invited to register for participation in the AP Program through a Participation Form that asks the schools to indicate which AP subjects and examinations will be offered in the school that academic year and approximately how many students per subject will participate in the Program. In fall 2006, they will be able to select AP Chinese.

 

Will professional development be made available to teachers of AP Chinese?

The College Board intends to offer a variety of annual professional development activities in the summers of 2005 and 2006 and during the 2006-07 academic year .