AP Curriculum Planning & AP Course Design 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When designing an AP course, what does the College Board's Course and Exam Description (CED) primarily provide to teachers?
- A flexible pacing guide teachers may ignore
- The required content, skills, and course framework that must be taught (Correct answer)
- A list of optional enrichment activities
- Suggested textbooks from approved publishers
Correct answer: The required content, skills, and course framework that must be taught
The CED is the authoritative document defining the required content, skills, and big ideas that AP courses must address.
Question 2: Which instructional approach best supports students in developing the 'Science Practices' outlined in AP science CEDs?
- Lecture-only delivery of content knowledge
- Memorization of lab procedures without analysis
- Inquiry-based laboratory investigations requiring data analysis and argumentation (Correct answer)
- Focusing exclusively on multiple-choice preparation
Correct answer: Inquiry-based laboratory investigations requiring data analysis and argumentation
Inquiry-based labs require students to design experiments, analyze data, and construct evidence-based arguments, directly developing science practices.
Question 3: A teacher wants to ensure vertical alignment in AP curriculum planning. What does this mean?
- Aligning content across different AP courses taught simultaneously
- Ensuring skills and concepts build progressively from prerequisite courses through the AP course (Correct answer)
- Matching lesson plans with other teachers in the same department
- Coordinating AP content with college syllabi at local universities
Correct answer: Ensuring skills and concepts build progressively from prerequisite courses through the AP course
Vertical alignment ensures that prior coursework scaffolds the knowledge and skills students need to succeed in the AP course.
Question 4: An AP teacher is mapping the curriculum and notices that a key enduring understanding is not addressed until the final unit. What is the best corrective action?
- Remove the enduring understanding from the course plan
- Introduce the enduring understanding earlier and revisit it across multiple units (Correct answer)
- Assign it as independent student research
- Address it only during exam review week
Correct answer: Introduce the enduring understanding earlier and revisit it across multiple units
Enduring understandings are foundational concepts that should spiral throughout the course so students develop deep, lasting comprehension.
Question 5: Which document must an AP teacher submit to the College Board to have their course officially authorized to use the 'AP' designation?
- A sample student exam
- A curriculum audit checklist
- The AP Course Audit syllabus (Correct answer)
- A letter from the school principal
Correct answer: The AP Course Audit syllabus
The AP Course Audit requires teachers to submit a syllabus demonstrating that their course meets College Board curricular requirements.
Question 6: When planning formative assessments in an AP course, which strategy most directly prepares students for the free-response section of the AP exam?
- Weekly multiple-choice quizzes only
- Regular practice with open-ended prompts requiring evidence-based written responses (Correct answer)
- Oral presentations on chapter summaries
- Group projects graded on creativity
Correct answer: Regular practice with open-ended prompts requiring evidence-based written responses
Free-response questions require students to construct arguments with evidence, so frequent practice with written, evidence-based responses is the best preparation.
Question 7: A school offers AP courses to students who did not complete the recommended prerequisite. What is the AP teacher's best initial step?
- Refuse to admit those students
- Conduct a diagnostic assessment to identify skill gaps and provide targeted scaffolding (Correct answer)
- Lower course expectations for those students only
- Direct students to drop the course immediately
Correct answer: Conduct a diagnostic assessment to identify skill gaps and provide targeted scaffolding
Diagnosing gaps and scaffolding instruction allows teachers to support underprepared students without compromising AP course rigor.
AP Curriculum Planning & AP Course Design 2
When designing an AP course, what does the College Board's Course and Exam Description (CED) primarily provide to teachers?