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Grading AP calculus exams for fun and profit
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Career
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By kroth
Posted Thu Jun 10, 2004 at 08:28:59 AM PDT
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Grading AP calculus exams was suggested to me by someone at Mathfest last summer as a quick way to make some money for the summer without having to summer teach. Before I went I could definitely tell that the money wasn't bad for a week's worth of grading, but what I didn't suspect was how much fun I would have while there.
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AP (advanced placement) exams are exams taken by high schools students, mainly in the US. The final scores range from 1 to 5 and typically if the student scores above 3, she will recieve college credit for the course. The possible topics vary, but the ones in mathematics are calculus AB (somewhat equivalent to calculus 1 in college), calculus BC (equivalent to calculus 1 and 2), and statisitcs.
If you want more information about AP exams in general go to the college board AP central site. Information on applying to grade (called reading) can be found at here and I'll talk more about it below.
The grading of the AP calculus exams (both AB and BC) was held at Colorado State university in Fort Collins, CO. The people grading (readers) are flown in from across the country and even some from around the world. We stayed in dormitories on campus and graded in the student center. The people grading come from a wide variety of backgrounds and places and this year it was about 50% high school teachers and 50% college professors. There were over 600 people there to grade over a quarter million exams.
A typical day consisted of being briefed on a rubric for a problem, then grading that problem. You grade in rooms of about 16 people, two of whom are in charge of the group. Each person follows the rubric as exactly as possible and if you are uncertain you begin by asking your grading partner and then if the question still remains you can ask higher up. Speed in grading is not a concern for any individual, consistency is the main goal. In fact since consistency is the main goal, the one thing you must do is follow the rubric whether you agree with it or not, which takes some getting used to (they do have a debriefing at the end where you can lodge your complaints)
So why is the experience fun? Well mostly it's the stuff that happens in between the actual grading that's fun. There are breaks during the day, for meals, and the evening is free. You get to meet people from all over the country and trade experiences and teaching tips. In the evening people sit around and play games, watch sports, drink beer and wine-from-a-box, and talk. The food (outside of the dining hall meals) is pretty good, in fact they feed you a lot, enough that people warn you about gaining weight.
So what are the benefits of grading AP exams? They fly you out to Colorado for free and feed you and house you while you are there (and you can arrive early or leave late from Colorado and take a vacation if you wish). You get paid an honorarium, which was $1450 this year, which isn't bad for a week's worth of grading. You get to meet and work with people from a variety of mathematical backgrounds. Also, at some schools this counts as professional service, but that varies from school to school.
How do you apply to grade? To apply to be an AP reader(grader) from a college, you must have taught an equivalent course. You need to fill out the online application, which also involves sending a cv and syllabus of a comparable course (which you can send by email).
They recommend you apply by September. However, they are really in need of college professors to grade, so I applied in December (I think) and still got a spot. In general there is no waiting list for college graders (the waiting list for high school teachers is long) and once you've graded once, you can come back again 5 more times (and they do not have to all be in a row) and you can come back more if you want to lead. Also, I've heard there is even a greater need for statistics graders.
Should you grade AP calculus exams? As long as you do not mind grading with someone else's rubric, go for it! I'll probably see you there next year.
If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me. |
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