Mass Insight Education and Research

Explore Student Experiences Throughout the School Year

Click on each critical period to explore student experiences.

Strong Start

August/September

Keeping Up

November/December

Midterm Reset

January/February

Exam Prep

March/April

Due to varying school schedules and contexts, the exact timing of the critical periods will differ by school and even by class. The months provided are a guide for where teachers should be looking for experiences based on time of year. Experiences marked with “ Students Shared” were generated directly from conversations with students about what supports their success in AP.

Keeping Up

At this point in the year, students are familiar with the AP® structure. As the AP coursework ramps up, students need to feel a strong network of support from adults and peers coupled with a strong classroom culture of teamwork, collaboration, and persistence. Nurturing a growth mindset and providing tools for students to develop agency is essential. As coursework becomes more strenuous and the holiday breaks draw closer, students will benefit from these extra supports to persevere as things get more challenging.

Explore each experience by clicking on it.

Mindsets

Stress that mistakes and revisions are how people learn, not signs that they do not belong

Model for students how to effectively deal with competing demands and how they can apply time and stress management strategies to their lives

Provide opportunities for students to compare work from the beginning of the school year to see progression

Continue encouraging mindset of learning and growth, ensuring focus is not exclusively on the exam

Students Shared

During “drop/add” timeline, provide students with extra motivation to stay enrolled

Students Shared

Student Voice & Agency

Release control to students and support them in being independent

Coach students to self-assess on current performance (when compared with their expectations at the beginning of the class)

Set up AP classroom checkups- quick student progress reports on how students are doing

Work with students to set goals so that distractions and competing priorities do not lessen their attention to AP course

Classroom Community & Culture

Discuss the broader value and context of engaging in rigorous and systematic thinking/learning (ex: becoming an informed citizen, creating/inventing, working for social justice)

Solicit input from students on “what’s not going well”

Focus on target students and provide them with specific support to help them reach goals

Formally assign student work groups

AP Skill Building

Explicitly teach project planning and planning for due dates

Begin practicing AP exam format regularly, with assessments mirroring the exam format

Teach and reinforce time management techniques for students to balance increasing AP demands with outside commitments

Explain to students how assignments during this time period differ from similar assignments earlier on (making progression visible)

Students Shared

w

Feedback & Grading

Teach students how to give feedback to each other and practice this skill during class time

Ensure students know how to incorporate feedback and action steps when they receive it

Start connecting with students outside of class to provide access to additional support

Set up AP study hall where students have access to AP teacher(s) regularly

Reframe “numerical grades” as potential qualifying scores on the AP exam

Provide some low-stakes assignments to help students practice and ease growing stress

Students Shared

Download a printable On-Track Framework.

Download the PDF Version

Is the On-Track Framework helpful?

Fill Out Our Survey

Looking for concrete ways to bring the On-Track experiences to students?

Each experience links to multiple classroom strategies contained within the “Classroom Strategies for AP Success” bank. This menu of strategies is meant to help teachers, counselors, coaches and administrators support the learning experience of historically underserved students in Advanced Placement® classes equitably. It includes strategies that address the academic and non-academic skills of students as well as strategies to modify instruction.

View Classroom Strategies for AP Success