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Equal Access Means Equal Opportunity for All:
Creating a Real-Time Statewide Advanced
Placement Consortium
February, 2003
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AP Consortium Purpose
AP Consortium PurposeIncrease the accessibility to advanced
placement courses for Wisconsin’s
rural, low income, and minority
students by using “real time”
classroom instruction delivered over
Wisconsin’s fiber optic BadgerNet.
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Project Concept
WADEN
AP STUDENT
AP CONSORTIUM
TEACHER
SCHOOL
COUNSELOR
UW-MADISON
(TRAINING)
CEW ADVANCED PLACEMENT CONSORTIUM
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•
Almost a quarter of Wisconsin’s public secondary

allocate scarce local teacher resources to AP
instruction.
instruction.•
Unavailability of AP courses preclude
Unavailability of AP courses preclude
guidance counselors from promoting these
guidance counselors from promoting these
types of courses to their students.
types of courses to their students.
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Example of the Impact That This
Inaccessibility Cycle Can Have
"I just wanted to drop you a line to say that I find your AP project very interesting- I come
"I just wanted to drop you a line to say that I find your AP project very interesting- I come
from a small, rural high school that did not offer any AP courses. In fact, I was told by the
from a small, rural high school that did not offer any AP courses. In fact, I was told by the
middle school guidance counselor that high school students weren't capable of handling
middle school guidance counselor that high school students weren't capable of handling
college level work, so AP was a bad idea!
college level work, so AP was a bad idea! However, in the summer of 1991 I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a pilot program
However, in the summer of 1991 I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a pilot program
at the University of Iowa called the Advanced Placement Academy. The Academy consisted of
at the University of Iowa called the Advanced Placement Academy. The Academy consisted of
AP classes in English, History, Biology, and Mathematics, which were condensed into six-

Recruit AP teachers
–
Arrange for their summer training at UW-Madison or
Lawrence University [Appleton]
–
Help principals and counselors make a wide range of AP
distance learning courses available to their students
–
coordinate fiscal transactions required to participate.

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NUTS & BOLTS
The AP Consortium will utilize each school’s
existing distance learning (DS-3/fiber optic)
teleconferencing facilities as the primary
instructional delivery platform.
PLAN OF ACTION II
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NUTS & BOLTS
PILOT YEAR PROJECT OBJECTIVES
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Recruit as many as 25 AP Consortium high schools with
two AP Consortium teachers per school.
•
Enroll as many as 500-700 AP students to participate in
the AP Consortium courses for the 2003-2004 school year.
•
Conduct an AP Consortium summer training course at
UW-Madison and Lawrence University for AP teachers.
–


AP Consortium teachers may supplement this “real time”
instruction through use of web pages created and
supported by the AP Consortium staff. Teachers can use
these websites to post and receive assignments, provide
on-line readings, or conduct other learning activities.
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preparation for their students;
•
Provide incentives to strengthen curricula that
provide the foundation for these AP courses.
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NUTS & BOLTS
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Increase their professional skills
•
Increase their employment opportunities/security
•
Enrich their professional lives
•
Enhance their employability in other educational
settings
AP Consortium Benefits:
TEACHERS
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NUTS & BOLTS
The project will fund as many as fifty AP Consortium teacher
summer training scholarships in Project Year 1. These
scholarships will pay for the AP teacher’s room, board, and
tuition incurred during a four day AP Consortium professional
development course that will be offered at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison and at Lawrence University, Appleton,
beginning in June, 2003.
AP Consortium Benefits:
TEACHERS II
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NUTS & BOLTS