Upper School Math Teachers Selected to Score AP Tests

During the summer, Upper School math teachers Danielle Heintz and Gary Piligian were selected to work with Advanced Placement teachers and college professors from around the world to evaluate and score student AP Exams.
   
AP Readers are high school and college educators who represent many of the world’s leading academic institutions. During the 2015 scoring sessions, more than 13,500 AP Readers evaluated more than 4.5 million AP Exams. “We are very grateful for the contributions of talented educators like Gary Piligian and Danielle Heintz. The Reading draws upon the talents of some of the finest teachers and professors that the world has to offer,” said Trevor Packer, Senior Vice President, AP and Instruction at the College Board.
“It is the best professional development experience I have ever had. This was my third year grading the AP Calculus exam, and I will continue to do it as long as I am invited. Everybody is treated as a knowledgeable professional, and collaboration is natural and expected,” shared Danielle Heintz.
Upper School math teacher Gary Piligian also said the week-long experience was infinitely worthwhile. “The professional development opportunities were amazing. I tended to seek out the college teachers to see how their course differs from the AP Statistics high school course we teach. My grading partner was a professor at Penn State, so we had many opportunities to talk about teaching philosophies. Reflecting on the experience, I realized that if I were an 18 year old student leaving high school now, I would choose to major in data science – a combination of statistics and computer programming – the career opportunities are spectacular.”
The Advanced Placement Program academically prepares high school students to pursue college-level studies – with the opportunity to earn college credit, advanced placement or both – while still in high school. Through AP courses, each culminating in a rigorous exam, students learn to analyze complex problems, construct solid arguments, and see many sides of an issue – skills that prepare them for college and beyond.