Geography should not dictate student’s destiny

By Nicholas Colangelo

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In Iowa, geography should not dictate educational opportunity. At its heart, this is a statement about equity. Where a student happens to be attending school, however, does determine opportunity.

Iowa is a state of numerous small/rural schools; students attending these schools may not have resources available to them that urban and suburban districts have, especially when it comes to challenging academic opportunities.

Advanced Placement (AP) courses and exams are recognized national standards for academic rigor and college readiness. AP courses are offered in high schools, typically to 11th- and 12th-graders. The College Board, the organization that administers the AP Program, collaborates with college faculty to ensure that exams in more than 30 content areas reflect mastery of college-level material.

Scores on AP exams predict college readiness, academic success, and high graduation rates. Additionally, AP exam scores of 3 or higher (scale of 1-5) often provide a student with college credit or advanced course placement at colleges and universities, saving tuition money for families.

Before 2001, Iowa was among the lowest handful of states in terms of access to AP. Many smaller schools simply could not afford the resources to provide AP classes for only a few students. Iowa students missed out on a significant educational opportunity. Geography trumped opportunity.

In 2001, the Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education in the University of Iowa College of Education received a federal grant and, in collaboration with the Iowa Department of Education, launched the Iowa Online Advanced Placement Academy (IOAPA), providing AP to every high school in Iowa via the Internet and Iowa Communications Network. More than 10,000 students have participated in IOAPA. Remarkably, while the number of students taking AP exams has significantly increased, performance on AP exams remains above the national average. This past year, 93 percent of students enrolled in IOAPA completed their courses, which says that money for IOAPA is well spent.

The Belin-Blank Center, in collaboration with the Iowa Department of Education, has supported IOAPA from 2001-2011. Current funding ends in June 2011. State Sen. Swati Dandekar, D-Marion, has just introduced a bill, SF 85, which would fund IOAPA through legislative appropriations. The bill proposes funding for 2011-2012 at $750,000, which would cover cost of AP courses, exams and the administration of IOAPA. Dandekar's bill focuses primarily on STEM (science, technology, engineering, math)-related AP courses, complementing other STEM initiatives in the state.

Funding for IOAPA should be appropriated by the state legislature because IOAPA:

1. Touches every part of Iowa.

2. Is a cost-effective and academically effective way for all Iowa high schools to provide AP to students, a 2008 mandate approved by the Legislature in 2008 as part of Senior Year Plus.

3. Prepares Iowa students to succeed in college or workplaces.

I'm asking state legislators, educators and parents to support IOAPA through SF 85.

Every Iowa student should have the opportunity to measure himself/herself against students around the nation using the same meaningful standard. When it comes to educational opportunity, it should not matter where you live in Iowa, but it should matter that you live in Iowa.

Nicholas Colangelo is director of the Belin-Blank Center and is the Myron and Jacqueline Blank Professor of Gifted Education at the University of Iowa. Comments: nick-colangelo@uiowa.edu