With federal relief opportunities like the Elementary and Secondary Emergency Education Relief (ESSER) Fund, states and districts have more resources to respond to the pandemic’s impacts on student success.
Learn how you can use these funds to provide equitable education, accelerate student learning, and keep your students on the path to college and career. Address student needs with these College Board programs, which meet the requirements for federal funding
Strategies for Providing Students with Pathways to Success
Under each of the following strategies—developed by the U.S. Department of Education—for using federal relief funds, we’ve outlined several programs that can help districts and schools address student needs.
Strategy 1: Expand Access to Advanced Coursework
Remove barriers to student participation, particularly in underrepresented areas.
The Pre-AP Program
Pre-AP courses help students focus on fewer essential topics in greater depth, recover from unfinished learning in prior years, and achieve grade-level success. Pre-AP courses meet recommendations from the U.S. Department of Education and other organizations for how to address lost instructional time.
Discover Pre-AP
See also: Use Pre-AP to Address Unfinished Learning
Pathways for Women and BIPOC Students
AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) was launched to address a well-documented shortage of women and students of color studying STEM and pursuing STEM careers. Students who take AP CSP—including female, Black, Hispanic, and first-generation students—are 3 times more likely to major in computer science in college.
Explore the Course
AP Course Expansion or Start-Up Funding
An investment in AP includes professional development through AP Summer Institutes, textbooks, materials, equipment, and free AP Classroom resources for teachers and students. Explore courses and consider starting or growing your AP program. Research from EdTrust shows that advanced coursework opportunities lead to higher graduation rates and help students of color thrive alongside their peers.
Consider the Costs
Download: Summer Supports for AP Students and Teachers
Ending AP Deserts
More than 1.75 million high school students are not able to enroll in Advanced Placement courses solely because the high schools they attend do not offer an AP courses. States can address these “AP Deserts” by passing policies requiring all schools to offer advanced coursework, expanding courses to schools without AP, and providing virtual options for students without access to AP..
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Strategy 2: Support Teachers to Help Accelerate Learning
Help educators use new approaches that prioritize student engagement and collaboration.
Getting An Early Start with AP Professional Development
For additional targeted support, schools can request an AP consultant to customize professional development workshops and assist your teaching staff in using AP resources, including those that expand access to learning and remove barriers to AP.
Complete an Interest Form
Note: Select Host AP workshop or Summer Institute
Achieving Equity in AP Workshop Series
This workshop series helps teachers and administrators create AP programs devoted to improving access to, and equity in, advanced academics for students from all populations.
About the Workshop
Virtual Pre-AP Readiness Workshops
Pre-AP Readiness Workshops orient participants to the design and pedagogy of the Pre-AP program. Designed for content teachers in grades 6–12, these workshops empower educators to apply what they learn in the workshop to their own content area and grade level. New and experienced teachers learn classroom approaches to help empower all their students to grow and succeed.
Schedule a Workshop
Project-Based Learning Professional Development
Teachers can receive professional development on our project-based opportunities, including the AP Capstone Diploma™ program and AP Summer Institutes for AP U.S. Government and Politics and AP Environmental Science. Teachers learn how to help students build knowledge and skills through sustained investigation of complex, real-world problems.
Find Support for Project-Based Learning
Strategy 3: Leverage Data to Identify Needs and Technology to Increase Access
Determine barriers to success with data and support new learning experiences.
Offering PSAT-Related Assessments to Access AP Potential™
Schools can use PSAT-related assessment results to identify students who are likely to succeed in AP courses and exams. Research shows that AP students are better prepared for college. They are more likely to enroll in college, stay in college, do well in classes, and graduate on time in four years.
Offer Assessments to Access AP Potential
Strategy 4: Measure Student Learning
Assess academic progress in order to promote college and career readiness.
The SAT Suite of Assessments
Educators can use the SAT Suite (SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10, and PSAT 8/9) to help measure and address where students are academically, based on the disruption of the pandemic. The SAT Suite strongly aligns with state and national standards to support their progress toward educational and workplace success.
About the SAT Suite
Recognition Programs and Scholarships
The PSAT/NMSQT connects students to millions of dollars in scholarship opportunities, helping to remove barriers to college and career success. Depending on the test, scores are used to identify candidates for the National Merit® Scholarship Program and the College Board Recognition Program, which award academic honors to underrepresented students and connects them with universities across the country.
Learn How Scholarships Find Students