I couldn’t get this in as a comment (that 404 security rule on comments is a pain in the butt) so I made my comment into this post:
Daniel said this:
Several of our students rapped in English the whole time during the speaking section. I thought it was funny, because the students obviously didn’t want to do the test anyway.
It is all about looking good, even if your students aren’t interested or ready to take the AP exam. Unfortunately, even here in south Fulton, there is a pervasive attitude among administrators that there is “no point to taking the 4th year of a foreign language unless you are ready for AP type questions.” Yes, several administrators have actually told me that. And we’re at a school where it’s a victory to keep students from fighting each other.
Speaking of how it is all about looking good, as Daniel said above, not to mention the enormous financial gains made by the AP corporation from so many students who are far from properly prepared for the exam, this is interesting from Carol’s site:
As TPRS was originally developed, the objective was to create a method that would prepare students for the College Board Advanced Placement Exam from level 1. In addition, teachers report higher AP scores, with some students passing the AP exam in as few as 3 years of language study.
Although nationwide fewer than 10% of our high school students proceed to the highest levels of foreign language offered in our schools and even fewer proceed to college foreign language studies, we have seen enrollment in our programs increase by as much as 400% after TPRS programs were introduced.
For more, see: