The Soulsville Charter School (TSCS) is public charter high school in the heart of Memphis, Tennessee. Of its 338 students, 100% identify as ethnic minorities and 81% are economically disadvantaged. The school’s mission is to prepare students for success in college and in life.
Since their founding nine years ago, 100% of graduates have been accepted to colleges and universities. A key ingredient in accomplishing this feat is properly preparing students for the rigor of college coursework. Bryan Hearn, Director of Academics, believes giving students access to AP® courses is just as valuable as the college credit they can earn from passing the exam.
“While we obviously want students to earn a 3 or higher on AP® exams, we also know that students benefit tremendously simply from being in AP® courses and tackling college-level work in high school.”
TSCS graduated its first senior class in 2012, with only 11 students in AP® courses taking a combined 20 exams.
In the 2015-2016 school year, 51 students participated, taking a total of 104 exams, growing by 5x since their first year. In order to grow their AP® program, TSCS needed to not only convince students who previously did not consider themselves “AP® Students” to take the risk and enroll, but also to support these students as they tackled college-level coursework. To properly assist these brave students, Hearn and his AP® teachers knew they needed a tool that included aligned practice questions and easily accessible data.
TSCS staff found Albert to be just the tool they sought.
During the 2015-2016 school year, 49 TSCS students used Albert, completing 19,998 College Board® aligned questions. On average, students answered 408 questions, or approximately 6.8 College Board® aligned exams throughout the year.
Teachers and students had access to Albert across the entire school year, spreading out deliberate practice sessions across the year, rather than solely preparing for exams in the Spring. Through Albert, students received immediate feedback on their understanding of newly introduced topics. This practice allowed students to quickly correct misunderstandings and build confidence in their ability to engage with complex subject matter.
Mr. Baker, an AP® US History teacher, would host afternoon tutoring sessions once a week. He used Albert to give students quality, exam-aligned practice to reinforce previous content. By the end of the year, students on average answered 209 questions on Albert, or 3.7 AP® practice exams. He noted, “[Albert] showed my scholars the actual format they would see on the national exam. There were no surprises when they took the College Board® test.” In his first year of using Albert, Mr. Baker saw 54% of students pass the AP® US History exam, compared to 8% the previous year.
In addition to supporting an established AP® course, TSCS provided Albert as a resource for teachers and students in AP® courses being offered for the frst time. In the 2015-2016 school year, students were able to explore AP® Psychology, AP® Spanish Language and Culture, and AP® US Government and Politics. While launching new courses is traditionally a daunting task, TSCS gave 43 more students the opportunity to challenge themselves through AP® coursework. They supported their intrepid students by giving them access to Albert’s aligned content. This group seized the opportunity and answered collectively 10,128 questions on the site.
TSCS sets high expectations for its students to stand by its belief that 100% of their students can succeed in college and beyond. A key part of preparing students for college is exposing them to the academic rigor of college coursework prior to arrival on campus. A 2012 study by the Center for Public Education validated this belief and highlighted the pronounced benefit of high school enrollment in AP® courses for low socioeconomic status students’ persistence in college (Klepfer & Hull, 2012).
