AP's AP CSP
Class Information
I wanted to give you a little glimpse into the course your child will be taking with me. Since Computer Science Principles (CSP) is an Advanced Placement (AP) course, students will have the opportunity in May to take the AP exam with the hopes of scoring high enough to earn college credit. This course is also a concurrent enrollment course with Kirkwood Community College, so students have more opportunities to earn college credit. This class is set up to prepare them for the exam, and it may be different than any class they've taking before. Project Lead The Way (PLTW) focuses on teaching the material where the teacher is more like a facilitator and the students take more ownership of their learning in order to best prepare them for the changing workforce (and the AP exam).
Grading Practices
Another piece of this class will be standards-based grading. Many of your students may have seen this before, but I will give a brief overview since each teacher does it a little differently. For each unit, there will be a list of standards that the students need to show me they are proficient in to meet all of the requirements for the course; these line up with what they need to know for the AP exam. Each standard will be graded on a 4 point scale, and it will be put into the grade book as an individual score out of 10 points; it is just put in out of 10 points to match up with the A-F grading scale better (I've attached this grading scale at the bottom). Each unit will be made up of multiple assignments and projects; these will all be opportunities for the students to show me that they have mastered the various standards. I want to give the students multiple opportunities to show me their knowledge/skills before I grade them. You will see grades in Powerschool that are exempt (not included in their grade), and this will be because I am giving them more time to master the skill and want to show their progress along the way. Their grade for each standard will be based on a rubric that your student and I will be filling out together. Students will always have the option to show me new knowledge, so it is never too late for them to go back to make sure they fully understand each concept, and their grade can be updated to reflect this.
Proficiency Scale
4: Fully Meets (10/10; 100%; A)
3: Progressing (8.5/10; 85%; B)
2: Developing (7.5/10; 75%; C)
1: Limited Progress (6.5/10; 65%; D)
0: No Evidence (5/10; 50%; F)
Google Classroom
I will be using Google Classroom to post assignments, and you can also go on their to see the course syllabus and AP exam outline. If you do not have access, please email me, and I will add you.
Questions/Concerns/etc.
If you have any questions about PLTW, standards-based grading, Google Classroom, and/or anything else with this course, please feel free to reach out to me through email, and I will be more than happy to answer through email if possible or to set up a time to talk further.