College Board to Eliminate Four AP Programs by Next School Year

Student Loan Girl — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:26:00 GMT

The College Board’s decision to drop four Advanced Placement classes and subject exams by the end of the 2008–09 academic year is expected to affect about 12,500 students and 2,500 teachers worldwide.

The AP program allows high school students to take college-level courses at their high schools. AP students can earn college credit at most colleges and universities by scoring high enough on national AP tests given at the end of each academic year.

The AP program currently offers 37 courses and exams across 22 subject areas, but officials of the nonprofit College Board have announced plans to eliminate Italian, Latin literature, French literature and computer science AB from the AP program.

Lack of Student Participation Spurs Cuts

The decision came after officials discovered only a fraction of underrepresented minority students take AP exams in those subject areas, writes Education Week reporter Scott Cech (“College Board Intends to Drop AP Programs in Four Subjects,” April 4, 2008).

Italian, which officials say might still be saved if the program receives outside funding, was 400 percent over budget due to the small number of students taking the exams.

“For us, [the question is], are we able to achieve our mission of reaching a broader range of students?” said Trevor Packer, College Board vice president of the AP program.

Budgets of Remaining AP Programs Expected to Grow

Packer said the decision to eliminate the four programs was not connected to the results of a recently released national quality-control audit intended to gauge whether the rapid expansion of the college-preparatory program over the past decade had led to a decline in the rigor for which it has been known.

Of the 146,671 AP courses submitted for review nationwide, 136,853 — 93 percent — were approved, reports The Washington Post (“Nearly All Area AP Teachers Get Passing Grades in Audit,” March 25, 2008).

The 33 remaining AP programs are expected to have their budgets increased.

“We don’t want any AP subject area to be deemed a so-called second-class citizen,” Packer said. “Our top funding requirement should be … professional development and instructional materials.”

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Turkey-Day Trivia & Other Tidbits

Student Loan Girl — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 15:07:00 GMT

Whether you’re making the trip home for a feast and four-day weekend with the family, or staying put and keeping it low-key with friends, frozen pizza, and a steady stream of college football, equip yourself with these feathered factoids, and you’re sure to take the Thanksgiving spotlight with your impressive command of fowl fable and lore.

Or with what is obviously your slightly freaky turkey fetish. Whatever works.

The Turkey Trivia Trove

Did you know that:

Turkeys can drown if they look up when it’s raining?
Turkeys have great hearing, but no external ears?
The fleshy growth from the base of the beak is called the snood?
Turkeys sometimes spend the night in trees?
The heaviest turkey ever raised was grown in England and weighed 86 pounds?
Only male turkeys make the familiar “gobbling” sound? (Females make a clicking noise.)
The turkey once vied with the bald eagle for the title of national symbol of the United States? Benjamin Franklin argued on behalf of the turkey.
Wild turkeys can run at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour and fly for short distances at up to 55 miles per hour?
Turkeys have heart attacks? (When the Air Force conducted test runs with jets that broke the sound barrier, entire fields of nearby turkeys would drop dead.)

For even more turkey “did you knows,” check out these websites:

Test Your Thanksgiving I.Q.

If you’d rather show off your towering turkey know-all by dominating the competition Jeopardy!-style, challenge your small siblings, vegan roommates, and other worthy adversaries with these Thanksgiving-themed quizzes:

Thanksgiving Pop-Culture Quiz from FamilyEducation.com
Turkey Day Quiz from InfoPlease
Aristotle’s Thanksgiving on the Web Turkey Trivia Quiz

465 Ways to Say “Thank You”

You may already know how to say “thank you” in Spanish, French, Italian, or German, but if you’re looking to extend your linguistic borders, try saying it in Welsh, Zulu, Thai, or any one of another 465 languages. Here’s just a small sample:

Arabic: Shukran
Chinese (Mandarin): Xie xie
Dutch: Dank u
Finnish: Kiitos
French: Merci
German: Danke
Greek: Efcharisto
Hebrew: Toda
Hindi: Shukriya
Hungarian: Köszönöm
Inuktitut (Alaska): Taikkuu
Irish Gaelic: Go raibh maith agaibh
Italian: Grazie
Japanese: Arigato
Korean: Komapsumnida
Lakhota: Pilamaya ye (said by a woman), Pilamaya yelo (said by a man)
Navajo: Aheéhee’
Polish: Dziekuje
Russian: Spasibo
Scottish Gaelic: Tapadh leat
Spanish: Gracias
Swahili: Asante
Swedish: Tack
Tagalog: Salamat
Thai: Khawp khun
Welsh: Diolch
Zulu: Ngiyabonga

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Student Loan Blog : French

College Board to Eliminate Four AP Programs by Next School Year

Turkey-Day Trivia & Other Tidbits