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HIGH SCHOOL PTA PARENT COFFEE HIGHLIGHTS (OCTOBER 4)
Didi Hari Krishnan

Updates and Follow Up

High school dining options
Concerns include the pricing, the options, and the taste of the food
There is be a student government and Sodexo partnership
There are student feedback channels
We will be looking at points of sale (the popular and not so popular options)

Social-emotional learning and student wellness
This is top of mind for everybody
Here are the additional steps we are taking in high school:
- Well-being check ins (every six weeks)
- Advisory curriculums
- Panorama survey (in October) and goal-setting
- Grade-level assemblies
- Student Government initiatives
- Personal Academic Counselors (PAC) parent coffees

Upcoming Events

Advanced Studies at SAS
Where we were in 2012–13?
- In 2013, college-level learning was driven by the Advanced Placement (AP) Program
- SAS provided access to 26 exams at that time 
- 539 students took a total of 1,272 exams 
- Average score of 4.2
- 94 percent of scores were a three or higher 
- SAS R&D process is underway 

What do we want for our students?
Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Cultural Competence, Content Knowledge

What are Advanced Topics (AT) courses? 
1. Designed to be college-level learning experiences that are guided by our learning aspirations.
- They have undergone a rigorous course development and vetting process
- Connect students with relevant and engaging learning experiences that might not always be possible with a more standardized approach
- Aim to bring students closer to the experiences of experts in the field 
2. Some of our AT courses provide access to an AP exam
- The AP curriculum provides an excellent anchor for several of our AT courses, but standardized test preparation is not the sole focus 
3. Some AT courses are aligned to co-crediting opportunities with our University Partnerships
- In most cases, no additional assessments are required

Where we are now
- Over 40 Diverse College Level Opportunities within our program 
- Access to 26 AP Exams
- Over 2,000 students registered in AP Classroom this year
- Four courses with the opportunity to earn college credit with our university partners
- Advanced Studies enrollment continue to increase
- Total AP & AT student enrollments now over 2,500 this year
- new opportunities continue to be explored
- AT Visual Arts is currently under development 

Advanced Studies Review 2020-21: Areas of Strength 
1. Advanced Studies course offerings and enrollment continue to increase
- Total Advanced Studies enrollment is now at 2,331
- Average number of Advanced Studies courses is now at 8.4 for the class of 2021
- In 2012-13, we had 1,272 students sit AP exams with a mean average of 4.2

2. AP Scores remain consistently high relative to global averages
- Mean score ranges from 4.1 to 4.3 over the past five years 
- AP scores at SAS saw a 2 percent dip relative to 2019

3. Advanced Studies students report high degrees of satisfaction 
- Students report their average likelihood of recommending courses within our program at 4.4 out of 5
- Relationships and classroom environment are a consistent strength

4. Capturing student voice
- More than 1,100 survey responses containing close to 3000 qualitative responses
- Most effective mechanism for accelerating my learning around our program
 
5. The advantages of a hybrid approach
- The diversity of learning opportunities available to our students - peak performance really does take on a variety of different forms in our program
- Evidence that AP and AT courses are complimenting the overall development of pedagogy within our courses.

6. Flexibility and responsiveness of our faculty
- Connecting our students with incredible experiences while adapting to the challenges of the current pandemic
- Continuing to develop and launch exciting new opportunities for our students

7. Our amazing students
- Thoughtfulness of their feedback
- Exceptional attitudes despite the challenges of the pandemic
 

AP exams: SAS exam performance 
In 2021: 7 percent drop in the number of exams taken compared with 2019 and 2 percent drop in exam score average from 2019

Global AP mean score comparison
In almost every instance, we see 2021 world average scores decline relative to 2019
4.1 percent decrease from 2.89 (2019) to 2.77 (2021)

Overall trends at SAS
Students scores remain consistently high:
Mean score ranges from 4.1 to 4.3 over the past five years with standard deviations consistently in and around 0.9

- World averages are calculated by weighted averages, extrapolated from reported distribution data and test-taker data from https://www.totalregistration.net/. This does include English Language and Composition and Calculus BC scores because the world averages for them are not available yet. We will update this information once the data is officially released. Many students around the world are still waiting to receive their scores.

Advanced Studies Survey Results
1. Relationships & Classroom Environment Are a Consistent Strength
- 4.4 average across all question in this category for both AP and AT course
- However, we do see some gender differences in perceptions of peer support

2. AP Students Highlight Feedback as a Strength 
Exam preparation also highlighted as a key strength 

3. AT Students Respond More Favourably Than AP Students
- Higher degrees of student agency and choice
- Learning Aspirations: Collaboration, Creativity, and Cultural Competence the most significant differences in comparison to AP
- More opportunities to learn from experts in the field, take risks, and pursue topics of interest

4. Boys Respond More Favourably Than Girls
This trend is fairly consistent and appears to be more pronounced in our AT courses

Reflection: Moving Forward

1. Extraordinary Care and Excellence
- How are we managing this tension in the domain of advanced studies?
- How are we ensuring that we are meeting the needs of all of our students within our Advanced Studies program?

2. Possibilities
- How are we supporting students to develop positive identities, particularly in those subject areas where we see large gender disparities?
- How are we capturing student and community voice in our course development process?

3. Capacity Building in our Advanced Studies Program
- AT program is currently vulnerable to teacher turnover
- Are there intentional moves we can make in our approach to building teams and the master schedule?

Acces the slide deck here

  • advanced studies
  • advanced topics
  • courses
  • high school
  • parent coffee
  • well being

 

 

Recent Posts

Didi Hari Krishnan

Did you miss the high school PTA parent coffee on Monday, December 6? Our high school leadership team and high school students shared how we support student wellness in the high school and how we respond to student data and trends. Parents also shared tips and strategies with each other to support our students at home.