Free PSATs, Standalone AP Class Budget Proposals Put Forth

Melrose School Committee members debated on Tuesday night two proposals, raised during a review of next year's budget, that would offer free PSATs for sophomores and juniors and create a standalone AP foreign language class in a school with mixed classrooms.

The proposals (PDFs attached), put forth by committee member J.D. LaRock, arose from when Melrose High School Principal Joe Dillon and Guidance Director John Buxton spoke to the committee about AP exam scores.

Due to staffing levels, low-enrolled courses and increasing enrollment at Melrose High School, AP students and Level V foreign language students are routinely grouped in the same classroom with one teacher. Dillon said in December that the combined classes are "not an ideal situation" and that "it isn't producing sufficient results looking at it based on AP scores," but that the other option is not running the low-enrolled courses at all.

During that discussion two months ago, Dillon also said that the PSATs are considered a "solid determinant" of which students should take AP courses, while Buxton said the school wants more students to take the PSATs and was examining giving the PSAT during the school day.

Based on that, LaRock drafted the two proposals presented to the committee on Tuesday night. He said that, among other goals, the aim of both proposals is to provide Melrose High School students with an advantage when it comes to college admissions.

Would offering test for free boost participation rate?

Offering the PSAT to all sophomore and juniors for free would cost $4,000, which would come from a consultant line item in the budget identified by LaRock and Superintendent Joe Casey.

LaRock said he hoped that offering the PSATs for free, it would provide an incentive for students to take the PSAT in their sophomore year. Beyond preparing students for the SAT, LaRock noted in his proposal that performance on the PSAT helps determine which students would succeed in AP classes—as Dillon noted in December—and avails students of other programs and scholarships, such as National Merit Scholarships.

Although the committee did not vote on either proposal, members were intrigued by the idea of offering the PSATs for free, while Dillon said the proposal "certainly holds merit," adding that PSAT results could also inform the school's curriculum.

"I think the logistics pose somewhat of a challenge," he said. "You have about 450 kids taking a three-and-a-half hour test on location, that would present a challenge. Challenges are not insurmountable."

Noting that more students are taking the SATs multiple times—which generally leads to better scores—committee member Kristin Thorp said that taking the PSAT both sophomore year and junior year is also a rising trend.

"I think it’s an interesting proposal at encouraging making it easier for kids to take it," Thorp said. "I'm interested in what $4,000 we wouldn’t be spending in consultants, but I think it’s interesting."

Committee member Don Constantine said he wasn't sure if the cost per test was the reason why only a minority of Melrose sophomores were taking the PSAT, and wondered if there was another way to offer an incentive to those students to take the test. Dillon acknowledged that the school could "do a better job advertising PSATs for sophomores."

Committee Chairwoman Margaret Driscoll said because students taking the PSATs multiple times is a new trend, "there hasn't been a real focused effort on advertising or communication with families," and told Dillon that perhaps the school could focus on that first and if there's enough demand next school year, exploring the free PSATs proposal for the following year.

A drop in Melrose High School's SAT participation rates four years ago spurred committee member Carrie Kourkoumelis to speak in favor of the proposal. According to figures from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in the 2004-2005 school year, 217 Melrose students took the SAT. The following year 238 students took the test, but since then, 181, 185, and 154 Melrose students have taken the SAT each year.

"I don’t think the $15 that is traditionally charged for the PSAT is the barricade necessarily," Kourkoumelis said, noting Constantine's remarks. "I think it’s more a matter of heightening the awareness. I think this is a very helpful way to jumpstart that process, even if we only did it as a one-time gesture."

Superintendent Casey spoke strongly in favor of the proposal, saying it would give students a leg up.

"This is an initiative that is going to pay dividends," he said. "I think this is a strong data point (for evaluating student performance) and at the same time helps us to remind parents—and all of us—that there's competition at home and abroad. We have to be part of solving that problem."

Should spending on staff focus on AP or elsewhere?

The standalone AP class proposal that would cost $10,000-$12,000—a specific funding source hasn't been identified—aims to address the situation of combined classrooms of AP students and others, LaRock said, adding that he's "very open" to alternative approaches to the problem.

The proposal would pay for a ".2" position that would be filled by a current AP teacher, who could then have a class comprised solely of AP students. The proposal targets an AP foreign language class, based on average test scores.

LaRock said the combined class model "makes it more challenging to deliver the curriculum for any of those students in the most effective way. It also appears to have had an impact on the AP language exam performance."

Dillon said he would not support the proposal, mentioning the staffing issues he mentioned earlier in the evening, with increasingly crowded classrooms due to growing enrollment, identified as a critical area through the NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges) re-accreditation process the high school recently went through and from which administrators are awaiting a final report.

"I certainly understand your proposal," he said to LaRock. "I don’t know whether any one-year pilot can give us that much information as to whether a program will be successful ... given the needs of the high school, in someone were to dangle a .2, I probably would not have identified this as to where we would go."

Dillon added that an additional concern is putting a plan in place to address the problem over the long-term, rather than a one-year pilot, which "could be a significant staffing issue."

Asked by LaRock for an alternative approach to the issue—noting that virtual high school courses were examined and dismissed as not serving the needs of Melrose students—Dillon said options including examining the instructional methodology for combined classes to ensure the material is delivered effectively to all students. He also said, "just throwing (it) out there," that AP courses could fit "the classic independent learner model," run as a seminar once or twice a week with independent research, study and learning on behalf of the student.

Thorp said she understood the issue of mixed classes "first hand," but raised a concern about focusing on AP classes because there an indicator in the form of a test.

"I have an issue with applying more money and smaller class sizes to a group simply becuase there is a test that we can apply to them," she said.

LaRock said he appreciated Thorp's comments, but to his my mind, "it's not a class size reduction proposal at all—it's an achievement-related proposal.

"The important thing is not low test scores—it’s what the consequences are for the student," he said, adding that lower AP exam scores could disadvantage students in the college admission process.

Thorp, however, pointed out that by the time AP exam scores are released, the college admission process is already over and students have already been accepted. LaRock later noted that students who do not score at least a 3 on an AP exam do not receive college credit.

Kourkoumelis said that while the AP exam results "don't have necessarily an impact on the students  who just graduated from Melrose High School (in terms of college admissions), they do have a long range impact on how Melrose High School is viewed by admissions officers."

If a student has a class on their transcript and do not report those classes when they marticulate, Kourkoumelis continued, "it sends a red flag up," leading to admissions officers learning a student did not report taking the course because of a low exam grade.

As far as Dillon's suggestion that an independent study model could be implemented to address the problem, Kourkoumelis said "it's not impossible," but that the AP curriculum is meant to be taught in a classroom with no more than 10-15 students.

"That is the AP model that I have read," she said. "Beyond that, combining levels is not considered to be a workable model by the people who designed these courses. So I think we may need to make some hard choices."

LaRock agreed that continue to offering an array of AP language courses in a combined classroom is preferable to not offering them at all.

"What I’m saying is it would be better all things considered for students to both have the opportunities to take an AP language class and do well enough on the exams to get credit towards college, rather than the situation we have now," he said.