Advanced Learners

DoDEA supports advanced learners and advanced instruction through the Advanced Academic Program and Services (AAPS) program in grades K - 5, the DoDEA Gifted Education (GE) Program in grades 6 - 12, and The College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) program in grades 9 - 12.

The PAC East District has positively impacted advanced learning as evidenced by the AAPS program:

• Being completely overhauled with a new Administrative Instruction (AI) and program implementation guide in 2019. The new program has moved away from a binary “in or out” of the program and instead serves all students through a Levels of Service model to provide appropriate advanced academic support to each student as needed and to develop the potential for advanced academics in all students.

  • The AAPS program is based on the National Association of Gifted Children’s (NAGC) national programming standards which were adopted by DoDEA as the CCRSGE standards which brought the program up to current best practice for gifted programming. The NAGC standards strands are:

    • Learning and Development

    • Assessment

    • Curriculum Planning and Instruction

    • Learning Environments

    • Programming

    • Professional Development

• Adopting the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) as an aptitude assessment that is used during referrals for more intense levels of service. The CogAT is also given to all second grade DoDEA students as a screener to help find students who might need advanced academic support. The use of the screener has increased the number of students who receive higher levels of service in our schools and the Levels of Service model has created access to advanced academics and working with the AAPS Resource Teacher (AAPS RT) for all students.

• Focusing on supporting more advanced learners by providing services to many students on an as needed basis without the requirement of a referral.

• Supporting grade-level teachers with advanced differentiation content extensions for advanced learning in the classroom setting on a regular basis instead of through infrequent, disconnected pull out sessions.

• Increasing the AAPS RT manpower ratio to better serve teachers and advanced learners in schools from one AAPS RT per school regardless of size to one AAPS RT per 600 K - 5 students in a school.

The Pacific East has positively impacted advanced learning at the secondary level through the Advanced Placement program as evidenced by:

• 2,381 students enrolled in 22 courses took 4,086 exams in SY 17 - 18 to SY 20-21

• Course enrollment and exam scores have both risen during that period

• Each AP teacher is supported by a district content ISS and is certified by attending a College Board approved training

• AP courses offered in the PAC East District are:

  • 2-D Art and Design

  • 3-D Art and Design

  • Biology

  • Calculus AB

  • Calculus BC

  • Chemistry

  • Comparative Government and Politics

  • Computer Science A

  • Computer Science Principles

  • Drawing

  • English Language and Composition

  • English Literature and Composition

  • Environmental Science

  • Human Geography

  • Japanese Language

  • Macro Economics

  • Physics 1

  • Physics C: Mechanics

  • Psychology

  • Spanish Language

  • Statistics

  • US Government and Politics

  • US History

  • World History: Modern

AAPS Program Development

AP Course Enrollment and Exams

The AAPS program Administrative Instruction provides the policy for the Advanced Academic Program and Services program.

DODEA ADMINISTRATIVE INSTRUCTION 1308.01 ADVANCED ACADEMIC PROGRAMS AND SERVICES – ELEMENTARY (KINDERGARTEN- GRADE 5)

The Advanced Academic Program and Services Implementation Guide 2019 provides specific information about the program and how it should be implemented in schools.

Advanced Academic Program and Services Implementation Guide 2019

The Training Overview outlines the training and support that has been provided to AAPS RTs to learn about and implement the program.

AAPS Training Overview by School Year and Implementation Phase

Sample AAPS Training Agendas:

• Fall 2021 - Record Keeping

• January 2021 Iowa Acceleration Scales

• November 2019 Using CogAT Results to Inform Instruction and Identification Tools Best Practice

• January 2019 Level of Service Determination, Level of Service 2, Quarterly Reporting

The PAC East District follows The College Board Advanced Placement Program course structure and guidelines:

https://ap.collegeboard.org/

During SYs 2017-18 and 2018-19, AP teachers, ISSs, and administrators participated in training to use their AP score report and Instructional Planning Report data to inform their instruction for the upcoming year.

Sample Documents from training sessions:

• Announcement

• 2018 Agenda

• Training PP

• Beginning of Year Data Analysis Expectations

• Training Follow-Up

• IPR Analysis Tool (aggregated for the district)