From Jason Neiffer, MTDA Assistant Director/Curriculum Director:

NOTE: This information was also sent to the primary contact for each school with an AP™ enrollment in our Fall 2017 program.

Attention: All schools with a Fall 2017 AP™ enrollment with MTDA.  Please review this notice and let me know if you have any questions.

First and foremost, thank you for entrusting your student with MTDA for an Advanced Placement™ course. We are very proud of our AP™ program, which has experienced growth in the past three years that has outpaced growth in the rest of our program. We have had positive and constructive feedback from our students and look forward to continuing to enhance and polish the student experience in the program. We, of course, also welcome your feedback!

As a distance learning program, AP™ classes work differently than they do if they are offered directly in your school. It is important that you plan now for students taking the Advanced Placement™ tests, May 2018.

AP™ Bulletin

This week, our AP™ teachers will be sharing this document:

https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/pdf/ap-student-bulletin-2017-18.pdf

…the AP™ Bulletin for Parents and Students, with our students. Please review this document yourself and assist MTDA by forwarding either the document itself or the link to your AP™-enrolled students and their parents. It contains important information about the Advanced Placement™ program, the AP™ test in the spring, and preparation tips for the exam.

Course Audits

As you may be aware, all schools and outside course providers must pass a rigorous “Course Audit” to qualify for exams to appear on the College Board’s Advanced Placement™ Ledger. For the 2017-2018 school year, MTDA has submitted and passed the course audit for all of the AP™ courses in our catalog.

This year, the College Board has asked all providers like MTDA to inform you in writing that you must take an additional step locally to have MTDA’s courses appear in the ledger associated with your school. With your local course audit account, you must specifically choose the course and associated it with MTDA as an external provider. It is our understanding that this process must be complete by January. However, we would advise doing so as soon as possible.

Test Administration

As a distance learning provider, MTDA has no role in the administration of Advanced Placement™ exams. In the past, partner schools have registered themselves as a member school with the College Board or found a nearby district that is already offering AP™ examinations to assist in this process.

The best resource to get started is provided by the College Board’s “Start AP™” page, located here:

https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/start-grow-ap/start-ap

The page contains an excellent set of resources on how to get started, including a timeline and contact information for assistance at the College Board itself.

In addition to the College Board, Julie Cruse at OPI can also be a resource for getting started. She works on projects related to Advanced Placement™ and access and works with folks at the College Board in case you get stuck and need assistance. She is JCruse@mt.gov or 406.444.0769.

We sincerely appreciate working with you to help serve students across the state to deliver programs like Advanced Placement™ courses. Do let our staff know if we can be of any assistance!