Information on
AP (Advanced Placement) Japanese
1.
AP Program
 Enables students to pursue college-level studies in high school
 Developed and administered by the College Board since 1955
 Offers 34 courses in 19 subject areas
 Close to 60% of U.S. high schools participate
 937,951 US students took AP Exams in 2002
 Over 90% of American colleges and universities participate
 College credit, advanced placement, or both are granted for
qualifying AP Exam grades
2.
AP Courses
 Course descriptions developed by a committee of college faculty and
HS teachers
 Cover the breadth of information, skills, and assignments in the
corresponding college courses
 Usually equivalent to second-year college-level courses
 Taught by highly qualified high school teachers
3..
AP Exams
 Administered in May each year
 Developed by committees of college faculty and AP high school
teachers
 Free-response section and multiple-choice questions
 Modern languages – speaking and listening components
 Multiple-choice questions – scored by computer
 Free-response questions – scored by exam readers
 Created, administered, and scored based on rigorous statistical
standards for reliability and score validity
 Developmental process includes college surveys, pre-tests, and
college comparability studies
 In May 2004, 1,887,770 AP Exams were administered at 15,000
schools around the world
 Since 1956, more than 12.6 million students have taken over 19
million exams
 On average, 62% of the exams receive a grade recommended for
college credit, advanced placement, or both.
Credit Policy: http://www.collegeboard.com/ap/creditpolicy
4.
Benefits of AP Program
 Saving on college tuition
 Higher GPA
 Early graduation
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Taking more advanced courses
Double majors
Benefits of Japanese AP Program
 Raising the quality of Japanese education
 Articulation between high school and college programs
 More enrollment in Japanese courses
 Highly motivated, excellent students in college courses
 Professional development activities for teachers
5.
AP Japanese Language and Culture
Timeline:
 Spring 2003
Board of Trustees resolution (World Language
Iniative)
 Fall 2004
AP Japanese Task Force formed
 2004 – 2005
AP Japanese Task Force meets
 2005 – 2006
AP Japanese Development Committee meets
 Fall 2006
First AP Japanese Course
 May 2007
First AP Japanese Exam
Contents:
 Standards-based
 5 C’s
 Authentic task-based questions
 Interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational communications
 Equivalent to 300-hour college-level instruction
 AP Japanese Exam to be developed by Educational Testing Service
Professional Activities:
 Online events (First one: May 2005)
 National Conference (July 2005 and 2006)
 Workshops (Fall 2005 Pre-AP, Spring 2006 AP Japanese)
 Weeklong Summer Institute (Summer 2006 AP Japanese)
Curricular Resources:
 AP Central (http://apcentral.collegeboard.org/)
AP Japanese homepage (sample syllabi, articles, review of
resources, electronic discussion group)
 Sign up for e-newsletters at AP Central
Getting Involved:
 Attending National Conference, Workshops, and Institutes
 Hosting Pre-AP and AP workshops
 Development Committee members
 AP Japanese Exam Readers
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AP Consultants (attend training sessions for consultants)
AP-based Research
Local interactions between high school and college faculties