AP® Chinese Q & A
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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
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.
Are teachers required to participate in a College
Board–sponsored professional development event to teach an AP course?
It is not a prerequisite that AP teachers
participate in a College Board–sponsored professional development event to
teach an AP course. Nevertheless, the College Board strongly encourages
attendance at an AP Summer Institute prior to teaching an AP course, attendance
at one-day AP workshops during the academic year, and frequent use of the AP
Central™ Web site: apcentral.collegeboard.com.
How can I make sure that I receive information
and updates about the AP Chinese course and exam, as well as professional
development opportunities? How can I make sure that my school receives an AP
Participation Form in fall 2006 so that we can register to offer the AP Chinese
Exam?
Please send an e-mail to: APChinese@collegeboard.org,
providing us with your name, school affiliation, mailing address, and e-mail address,
and letting us know what information you would like to receive.
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