Daily Reporter staff reports
FORTVILLE — Mt. Vernon High School recently had two staff members selected for the honor of becoming an Advanced Placement (AP) reader.
Patricia Laughlin will read Spanish AP tests, and Sarah Terrell will read AP Government tests for the second year. The pair will travel to Cincinnati in June to grade AP tests for a full week.
Advanced Placement readers evaluate and score AP students’ free responses, which ensures high school students receive grades that accurately reflect college-level achievement in a specified subject. Reader positions are available based on test taker volumes.
Terrell and Laughlin will also become more familiar with AP scoring standards, which will provide knowledge for scoring their own students’ essays during the year. The Mt. Vernon staff will be exchanging ideas with other AP faculty and the AP Development Committee members as well as develop resources throughout the nation. Ideas will be brought back and new concepts implemented with the goal to help Mt. Vernon students pass the AP exams.
“We are very proud of the extra efforts Sarah and Patricia are taking to ensure a better learning experience for our AP students,” Mt. Vernon Principal Bernie Campbell said. “These rigorous hours and connections they make will benefit our Spanish and government programs as a whole, and the students will reap the rewards.”
For seven days in June, Terrell and Laughlin will travel to the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. AP readers can receive certificates awarding professional development hours and continuing education units (CEUs). Each reader will receive an honorarium of $1,639, and travel, lodging and meals are covered.
High school AP readers must have taught the AP course for at least three years in a classroom setting. A chief reader (college professor) for each subject selects the AP readers and oversees the AP grading process.
There are more than 12,000 teachers throughout the United States who serve as AP readers. In 2014, Terrell was one of 715 teachers to grade AP Government tests. Also in 2014, there were just over 1,000 AP Spanish readers.
