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Your school's AP secrets
[This is my Local Living column for Jan. 21, 2010.]
Ever seen the Advanced Placement Grade Report for your high school? I thought not. Most people don't know it exists. That is why I have so much pleasure going over the reports. It is like reading the principal's e-mails, full of intriguing innuendo and secrets that parents and students aren't supposed to know.
Although these subject-by-subject reports rarely appear on public Web sites, some schools will show them to me if I ask, for the following reasons: 1. I am very polite; 2. no reporter has ever asked for them before, so there are no rules against it; and 3. they don't think anyone will care.
They are wrong on that last count. The AP Grade Report allows the public to see which AP courses at a school produce the most high grades, and the most low grades, on AP exams. You can gauge the skill of the teachers and the nature of the students who take various AP subjects.
This region's schools have made AP (and the similar International Baccalaureate, which provides comparable reports) the most challenging and influential courses they have. On Feb. 1, The Post will publish my annual rankings of Washington area schools based on participation in these tests, written and scored by outside experts. Students who do well on them can earn college credit. Many people would be interested in the actual results (different from the participation figures I use in the rankings) if they were readily available. To my surprise, that is beginning to happen.
The AP Grade Report is a multi-page document that a high school receives each summer from the College Board. It reveals student scores on the May AP exams. I don't ask for the individual names and results. That's private. But the page at the end summarizing the results for each subject is fair game.
The reports reveal how many students in each course received fives, fours, threes, twos and ones, the rough equivalent of college A's, B's, C's, D's and F's. Figuring out what the numbers mean is fun. Why, for instance, did 36 of the 52 students taking AP European History at Lackey High School in Charles County get ones (the worst grade), but only 10 of the 30 students taking AP World History? Was the world history teacher better?
Remember, classroom teachers do not write or mark these exams. They cannot hide their flaws with easy questions and generous grades. Students at the school who know the teachers will have clues to what happened, and some questions of their own.
I have long thought that families should be able to see this stuff. I e-mailed the spokespeople of the local school districts asking if and how outsiders could get the information. I assumed that most would say it is not public or that they haven't thought about it, or that they would simply not reply. I was wrong. A few districts have the data on their Web sites. Others seem willing to give it to anyone who asks.
Stafford, Carroll and Frederick county school officials say they will give the subject-by-subject results to anyone who contacts them. Officials from Fairfax and Fauquier counties say they will do the same, except for very small AP classes where the results would make it too easy to figure out who did well and who didn't. Falls Church says it can't give out the numbers from its small high school because the IB classes are also small and make it possible to identify individuals.
Other districts are further along. Arlington County testing director Kathy Wills put the subject-by-subject results online before she retired last year. Charles and Montgomery counties have their AP subject results for each school on their Web sites. Alexandria posted not only its results, but a detailed analysis. Prince William and Howard counties say their numbers should be online soon. Other districts haven't replied.
The reports take you beyond the school course guide. They suggest which courses might be best for you and your family members. They are puzzles that, for the first time, everyone has a chance to solve.
Read Jay's blog every day at http://washingtonpost.com/class-struggle.
Follow all the Post's Education coverage on Twitter, Facebook and our Education web page, http://washingtonpost.com/education.
Jay Mathews
| January 20, 2010; 10:00 PM ET
Categories: Extra Credit | Tags: AP subject results, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Washington area schools, rating teachers
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This a good information to provide folks but it should come with caveats.
It would be helpful to have national pass rates for the various subjects along with national score means. The temptation will be for people to take the pass rates at face value without asking some additional questions. For example, the national pass rate in 2009 for European History was about 67% whereas for World History it was only about 50% (the examples you used). The mean for EH was 2.92 and for WH was 2.63. So in the example you gave, it MIGHT mean that the difference between the two teachers was even greater than what the raw pass rates suggest.
OTOH interpreting scores across subjects can get tricky for a variety of other reasons. For example, if some subjects at a school are open enrollment whereas others have GPA requirements or other sorts of restrictions, pass rates are really not all that comparable. At my last school, AP US History was open enrollment whereas AP Psych was not. Not surprisingly, we had much higher pass rates in AP Psych because (a) the national rates are much higher anyway and (b) we had restricted the range of students taking AP psych.
Also, there may be a bit of self-fulfilling prophecy going on because "everyone knows" Mrs. Rabbit is a fabulous AP English Lit teacher and certain types of kids sign up for her class but avoid Mr. Turtle's AP English Language class. So it's helpful to realize that the students who enter the classes (even at the same school) may be very different.
Again, I think it's great that you are publicizing this data, but unfortunately as you know from your rankings, people tend to look only at the bottom line and ignore grain of salt advice.
Posted by: patrickmattimore1 | January 20, 2010 11:20 PM | Report abuse
Good Post patrickmattimore1. Just to add - don't forget the afterschool / weekend AP prep classes as well as the private tutors for all the BCC, Blair magnet, Churchill, RM magnet, Whitman, Wootton, and WJ students paid by their MD JD MBA CPA PhD six figure Mothers and Fathers. Yo Gburg, Crimestein, El Wheatón eat your heart out.
Posted by: motherseton | January 21, 2010 2:14 AM | Report abuse
"...don't forget the afterschool / weekend AP prep classes as well as the private tutors for all the BCC, Blair magnet, Churchill, RM magnet, Whitman, Wootton..."
Hmmm...my kid goes to one of these schools and has taken several AP and now all IB classes and I don't know anyone in an AP prep class or who gets private tutoring for the tests (I didn't even know you could get tutoring for AP tests). Am I missing something? By the way, my kid has all 5s on the AP tests. I think its the quality of the schools and the students.
Posted by: commentator3 | January 21, 2010 6:56 AM | Report abuse
The reason that World History gets higher AP grades than European History is that the European History test is very broad and tough. It is a more concentrated and specialized course. Also European History is often taught in the early years of high schools and thus lower grades.
Also five is very difficult to get. The proportion of 5s is significantly lower than the proportion of As is a typical four year college course. Five is also very tough to get in AP Calculus.
Posted by: peterroach | January 21, 2010 8:18 AM | Report abuse
"Having trouble finding Montgomery's" AP results? You will also have "trouble finding Montgomery's" 2009 results on gifted and talented screening--after it has been convincingly demonstrated that the program is unevenly implemented, and the identification process seemingly flawed (see http://www.examiner.com/x-29782-DC-Gifted-Education-Examiner).
Educational outcomes must be measured by meaningful indicators, preferably ones that are outside the influence of the school system. Now, if I could only convince you to drop the easily manipulated "AP participation" statistic in your rating system, I can boast you have joined me on the "dark side!"
Posted by: DC_Gifted_Education_Examiner | January 21, 2010 8:29 AM | Report abuse
AP results for Montgomery County can be found here:
Posted by: susan507 | January 21, 2010 8:31 AM | Report abuse
Thank you for this tip. We move frequently and it is sometimes difficult to judge the quality of the education offered and the caliber of the students at a particular school. This is a great tool to assist in the analysis.
Posted by: mpmiles | January 21, 2010 9:14 AM | Report abuse
PGCPS has an old report:
Posted by: edlharris | January 21, 2010 10:01 AM | Report abuse
While it would be good to use this information for future students and also to assess teacher effectiveness, it's easy to loose sight of the fact that a 3 for a lot of schools is not going to get the student credit. The AP tests provide a great assessment of the student's understanding of the subject matter, but at a school like UVa, to receive credit for a course a student most score a 4 or 5 on the exam. If available, a better alternative in Virginia is Dual Enrollment courses. The Commonwealth of Virginia has an agreement between the state universities and the community colleges where those courses are counted toward credit (since they are college level courses and most times taught at the local CC) if the student passes the class.
If the idea of an AP class is to get college credit, it helps to understand the scoring requirements of the colleges your students are looking at.
My son was able to take 8 AP and 2 DE classes in his 4 years of high school. He ended up with college credits for 4 of the AP classes (he got 3's on the other 2 exams and didn't get the credit) and received credits for both DE courses.
While the 2 AP classes weren't wasted, he is now sitting in two classes that he has basically already taken. It's great for the GPA, but does have its drawbacks.
Posted by: thensell | January 21, 2010 10:44 AM | Report abuse
Peterroach's comments are entirely false: "The reason that World History gets higher AP grades than European History is that the European History test is very broad and tough. It is a more concentrated and specialized course. Also European History is often taught in the early years of high schools and thus lower grades." Typically AP European History scores for the national average are between 15-20% higher. The amount of material covered in European History covers a much shorter time period and the European History course is typically offered only to 11/12 grade students. In contrast, AP World History national pass rates are typically only 50% and this course is most often taught at the 10th grade level (Fairfax,Loudon, Arlington, Alexandria, etc.).
MORE IMPORTANTLY... Jay has done the AP program and AP courses a great disservice with this article. Jay claims that ALL students will benefit by taking AP courses, regardless of whether or not they pass the exam. He, through his "Challenge Index," ranks schools based only on the NUMBER of AP exams that they give, NOT the scores that students receive for this very reason. Then, in this article, Jay pushes parents to investigate into how each school's AP programs are performing. While I don't disagree that teachers should be accountable for their scores, there are many factors that make up how students perform on AP exams. As patrickmattimore1 explained, an outsider has no knowledge of national averages, how students are selected to be in the classroom, how long the teacher has been teaching the course (as would be expected a first year teacher may have lower scores than a teacher who has taught the course many years). Jay's article encourages parents to look at the bottom line of pass rates and to teacher or school shop in an attempt to get their children into a school or class that has the highest pass rates. As a teacher with over 10 years of experience both teaching AP courses and grading the national exams for ETS, I feel that Jay has once again written an article simply to "stir the pot" and gain attention, while failing to look at the more broad effects of what he is encouraging. My courses pass rates are well over 90% (40% higher than the national average) consistantly. I have nothing to fear from people researching my students' scores. However, I think what Jay is proposing will only lead to less effective teachers and less effective AP courses.
Posted by: edspecialist | January 21, 2010 10:48 AM | Report abuse
Good points. All of the additional points made by wise commenters here have merit, and I have discussed in the past, but it wasn't possible to get them all into a 700-word column. For edspecialist, I am trying to inform people. All new information, as you say, stirs the pot, but my experience with parents and students looking at these programs is that they are more than smart enough to figure out what information works for them and what information in unimportant. The broad effects of increased participation in AP and IB courses and tests seem pretty clear, both from the messages I get from parents and students and from the data available. We have more kids being challenged in high school, one of the least challenging parts of our education system, and more of them getting passing marks on AP and IB exams. You notice I was not emphasizing passing rates so much in this piece as I was emphasizing the number of 1s, the bottom score, in AP. We have data showing that even students who get 2s tend to do better in college than students who do not take AP. But 1s don't give you any advantage, and it is unusual to see so many 1s, as I noted in this piece, in an AP test at a suburban school. The reasons for this can be, as you and Patrick and other smart readers say, very numerous. I have run across every variety mentioned, and several more. But the poor beknighted parent will have no chance to even look into the possible reasons if she doesn't know that the course her son wants to take has had an unusual number of 1s, thus the importance of writing the column so people know how to get the info.
For thensell, keep in mind that the vast majority of first year college students who might get some benefit from credits for AP courses do not attend UVA or schools like it. They attend community colleges and big state universities, where the rules for AP credit are usually more generous.
I also share commentator3's puzzlement at the notion of widespread tutoring and prep sessions for AP tests. I have not run into much of that in suburban schools. (Some low-income urban schools do it with very beneficial effect for kids who come into these courses not nearly as well prepared as suburban kids.) The tutoring and prep in the burbs is most often directed at making sure the kid gets a good grade on his report card (over which AP tests usually have no influence) or a good score on the SAT or ACT.
My thanks to susan507 for that link to the Moco web site. If it checks out I will add it to the piece. Same to edlharris for that PG link.
Posted by: Jay Mathews | January 21, 2010 11:14 AM | Report abuse
The Montgomery County link provided by Susan507 works great. I have added it to the piece and deleted a phrase I had had about my trouble in finding a link for subject by subject results per school in Montgomery. The PG link provided by edlharris was, as he said, an old one, for 2007, and does not provide subject by subject results. The PG public information people have not responded to my request for information on this, and did not respond when I sent them a draft of the column.
Posted by: Jay Mathews | January 21, 2010 11:36 AM | Report abuse
Jay, you report on test scores that have high "interest value" to readers. Please be careful in how you set readers up to interpret the scores.
To lead with the question of why AP scores in one subject are higher than in another subject you need to consider many things.
1) are the scores from different tests equated? (probably not. different content area tests--even if within the same general subject area of history--are probably different wrt likelihood of passing or failing).
2) were the children in each course "comparable" -- meaning, did they come in with similar levels or variability in prior knowledge?
To ask the provocative question: "Is teacher A better than teacher B" can set teachers up for very unfair comparisons.
Please be careful!
Posted by: Magoo1 | January 21, 2010 11:46 AM | Report abuse
As an AP English Lit teacher, I wholeheartedly support publicizing AP scores to parents and members of the community. Mr. Matthews is correct when he states that a student who achieves a score of "2", which is not considered a "passing" score, is considered an AP success in the sense that they are statistically far more likely to do well in college than a student who did not attempt the AP challenge. Parents deserve to know both their child's school's scores on various exams and what those scores mean.
Posted by: cmerry | January 21, 2010 11:56 AM | Report abuse
So Montgomery County told you their AP scores were on their website? Well, not exactly. "SOME AP score percentages are in a report" is more like it. MCPS has redacted the information and is only showing % scores for the "15 most popular" AP exams.
What about the rest of the exams??
Want to see ALL the AP results for your local high school?
We have as many as we could obtain on the Parents' Coalition website.
AP score information for all exams given at a school are sent to colleges each year in your student's MCPS transcript package, as part of the college application and printed on a SCHOOL PROFILE SHEET.
Colleges are routinely given this detailed information.
Ask MCPS' Public Information Office for it? They have said in the past that it doesn't exist in response to public information requests.
I believe this is the first year that limited AP score information by 5,4,3,2,1 has been released by MCPS. And even then, there is still a lot that is being withheld unless you take a look at your school's College Profile Sheet.
The Parent's Coalition pulled these sheets in the summer of 2008. Ask your local school for their most recent School Profile Sheet for the 2009 scores for the complete score report.
Posted by: jzsartucci | January 21, 2010 12:02 PM | Report abuse
The article and comments already posted are both helpful. Knowing that the information is available allows parents to ask informed questions when considering schools. Other good questions may be:
How long has the teacher been teaching the AP course?
Has the teacher been an AP reader?
Has the teacher been to AP workshops/institutes relevant to the particular course?
Is there actually an AP course at the school, or do students take the exam at the end of a non-AP course?
Posted by: Thinking123 | January 21, 2010 12:10 PM | Report abuse
I am sorry to see that the Post (and Newsweek) continue to publish this list - based on the number of tests taken at a school divided by the number of seniors.
As this has been around for awhile, you would think that an analysis of how schools that rank high on this list do in terms of what the list purports to rank: success in college!
How about a study of how students from these "best high schools" do compared with others *in actual college work*?
You see, the AP number used here is an input -- the output is college performance. The inference is that since in the past students who took AP tests did better in college -- was drawn from a time when only qualified students took the tests.
Today, with such lists, you have schools eliminating creative honors classes and often forcing large numbers of kids, ill-prepared as they may be, into AP courses so that their schools get better rankings on this list.
What SHOULD be done, of course, is a study to determine if all this tracking of many students into AP actually created increased college success -- that is the output.
Posted by: rayburt456 | January 21, 2010 12:14 PM | Report abuse
For a good example of the information that your local high school has on AP scores, look at the Blair High School Profile Sheet on the Parents' Coalition website. Blair is probably putting out the most AP exam information to colleges of any MCPS high school. (Scores by class, scholar info)
Note Blair shows scores for 31 AP exams.
MCPS is only putting out data in a report for 15 AP exam subject areas.
Posted by: jzsartucci | January 21, 2010 12:14 PM | Report abuse
Why do we have to protect individual's scores so much that we can't release data? Everyone can see who the fastest or slowest runner is in gym class, and the top times will get put in the paper, but we have to hide who got the 1 or the 5 on the AP test? Maybe part of the problem with a lack of respect for academics is that you get public recognition for being a good athlete, but a good test score is a secret.
On the other hand, just the final score is poor way to evaluate the effectiveness of a class. If you had data on how well prepared students were coming into the course, you'd have a better idea of how much they gained from the course. Pre-test, post-test. Simple concept, not applied often enough.
Posted by: staticvars | January 21, 2010 12:16 PM | Report abuse
"I have added it to the piece and deleted a phrase I had had about my trouble in finding a link for subject by subject results per school in Montgomery."
Please ask the MCPS Public Relations office directly where the "link" is for subject by subject for ALL exams for all high schools. We'd all like to know. Thanks!
You will have to ask them as our Superintendent is in Kentucky this week.
Posted by: jzsartucci | January 21, 2010 12:17 PM | Report abuse
It's been several years since I took AP courses and exams (nearing two decades, to be sure), but I do recall that the difficulty varied greatly across several of the exams regardless of the subject matter and teacher effectiveness.
For example, the AP History exam in 1993 focused on topics which my basic history classes had covered in great detail--no need for the AP class itself on that one, and if anything, that teacher was pretty ineffective in her role--yet students from our school did very well on it. The AP Biology exam was very well-covered by the materials in our AP Biology course (and we had a very effective teacher, too); again, many 5s all around. Yet the AP Chemistry exam had large sections which were covered in Chem I, and which AP Chemistry students hadn't really seen for more than 2 years (a lot of questions on freezing & boiling point elevation/depression due to different solutes, for example, and very little on topics like enthalpy). I think of the few to take that exam at our school, I got the highest score with a 4 for that reason. AP Calculus using the "AB" version of the exam (vs. the "BC" one--no clue if they still break it down that way, but none of us took the BC exam) was a piece of cake despite our teacher having taught herself the material, often only the day before presenting it to us in class.
And AP English... well, the capstone essay question dealt with works of comedy, which we simply didn't study in a single course, as our teacher focused largely on tragedies. Yet we as a school did well nonetheless (I got a 5, as did several of my classmates), largely because of that teacher's effectiveness even though the subject matter didn't well-match the exam.
I suspect the exams, though covering the same broad topics every year, do vary significantly enough that that class-to-exam meshing could be thrown off, as it was for our AP Chemistry exam, and that the gestalt of subject material covered in similar courses can make up for poor teaching (as it did in our AP History exam). And, of course, one year might simply have a "harder" exam than another.
So simply looking at scores doesn't give a great picture of the school's ability to prepare students for those particular exams... just how well the students did that particular year on those particular exams.
Posted by: exerda | January 21, 2010 1:13 PM | Report abuse
Mr. Matthews,
You're contradicting your core message when you ask schools to display AP and IB test results. Matthewsian philosophy suggests that High School students expose themselves to advanced level academics, regardless of how they score on the test. Teachers have lowered and in some cases removed restrictions to entering these rigorous classes. Opening the floodgates has, at least for now, led to a lower over all score report at some schools. Schools are rightfully fearful of releasing their scores because they've been following your philosophy. Please understand, sir, that you can't have it both ways.
Posted by: hokiematt10 | January 21, 2010 1:20 PM | Report abuse
Huzzah! Huzzah! Thank you for this. Please share all of the other secret, semi-secret or just not well known information like this. It's all valuable and useful.
Thank you so much!
Posted by: LoveIB | January 21, 2010 1:25 PM | Report abuse
Just looked through the MCPS data and it made one of my worries about data vs. facts real. If you compare the scores on AB and BC calc, what conclusion can you draw? You have to make the assumption that the students taking the AB test aren't as good...but they don't have data on that. Need some on the ground facts to make decisions- or more data on the pre-coursework knowledge of the kids going in.
Posted by: staticvars | January 21, 2010 1:48 PM | Report abuse
I love hokiematt10's post, but he or she should be warned that true Mathewsians spell it with only one T. That mistake could get you thrown out of the cult. I know it seems like I am contradicting myself, but I am not. I am a journalist, hoping to get as much useful information to readers as possible. I thought it was very useful to tell readers which schools were working hardest to get average kids into challenging college-level courses, which research showed helped them do well in college. Thus the Challenge Index. But it was also clear to me as I got deeper into this that although in general an AP or IB course was better for a student than a regular course, even AP and IB had some disappointing teachers who dumbed down their assignments and tried not to let anyone know that most of their kids were getting 1s on the exam. In a suburban school with well-prepared kids, that was a red flag I thought people should see. In the urban schools that interest me most, new AP programs often have most of the kids getting 1s, and in those cases it is best to focus on which schools are reducing the number of 1s and increasing the 2s and 3s and so on over time, as their teachers improve and as their lower grades work harder to prepare kids for AP. Its complicated, but I discovered long ago that most readers are smart and can handle the complexities, as the posts above prove once again.
Let me assure Rayburt456 that the latest data on the effect of AP course and test taking on college success is very recent, including thousands of students who entered college in the 2000s, long after the movement to open AP to all gathered steam in the 1990s. The best data is from Texas. Here is a column I did on it:
Posted by: Jay Mathews | January 21, 2010 1:59 PM | Report abuse
Some classes are better than others. Scores fluctuate some from year to year when you look at AP scoring data. Also, depending on your district -- some districts decide consiously to limit who is allowed to get into an AP course while some allow a wider array of kids because they beleive being in that class is beneficial even if the kid does not score high on the exam. It shows up in the overall spread of scores.
There is actually good research to back that idea up when you look at success rates in college. Studetns who take the course, and the exam --even oif they score a 1 -- do better overall than kids who do not take the clas or take it and not the exam.
Also, and interesting correlation to look at is the student scores across other exams -- if the student got a 1 in this exam, what did they get in others?
ETS makes correlations between AP and PSAT scores as well. there are predictors of performance.
And a last thing - ETS instituted about two years ago a requirement that any school that wants to use "AP" in a course title and have their blessing has to undergo a review process. AP reviews your school and if it meets their criteria it gets AP certification.
Posted by: John1263 | January 21, 2010 2:26 PM | Report abuse
You do not need to know individual student AP scores, only the average score for any particular AP Test and number of students taking the test. You keep dancing around this error in your "Challenge Index." Without incorporating the average AP score and number of students taking the AP test in your Index the only challenge is believing its validity.
Posted by: waxtraxs | January 21, 2010 6:34 PM | Report abuse
Jay said, "...Montgomery counties have their AP subject results for each school on their Web sites..."
Still no link to substantiate that statement. Has the $10 million Montgomery County Public Schools PR department been unable to supply the link to validate what has been printed in this Washington Post article?
Posted by: jzsartucci | January 21, 2010 6:47 PM | Report abuse
Gee, that's funny; my daughter's private school took pains to publish its AP course results, by teacher and class. I sent her to private school for social, not academic reasons, but there was a feeling that one had more input into these sorts of things. Ask for them, parents!
Posted by: bhrgarden1 | January 21, 2010 6:49 PM | Report abuse
Jay..the earliest list of yours i could find was published in 2003 -- did you produce a national list before then?
Why do I ask? Because your response above suggests newer data than the famous DOE study and you point to one with 2002 grads. If your first list came in 2003, then it's fair to say schools didn't have a chance yet to work to get higher placement on your list by removing all barriers to AP classes and encouraging (requiring??) kids to take more and more of them.
Bottom line...if your first list did come out in 2003...the real answer is about how all kids with AP backgrounds do...not just the ones qualified in the good ol' pre-list days.
Posted by: rayburt456 | January 21, 2010 7:38 PM | Report abuse
I teach AP. Some of my best students don't take the test. The tests are are very expensive, especially if the student is taking more than one. Also, there is some gamesmanship going on: Retaking the entry level college course after high school AP gives a real benefit in a very hard major and some colleges may not accept the AP course in their major.
Posted by: altaego60 | January 21, 2010 7:50 PM | Report abuse
In our experience at Blair and Richard Montgomery, we were given the previous year's AP and IB results at Back-to-School night. These were *department-wide* numbers for all students who took AP Basketweaving (or BC Calc, IB HL European History, etc.) the previous year, broken down by # of students at each score level and the % of students scoring 3 or higher.
We could see that in one class, 93% passed with a 3 or better, but we could also see that only 15% got a 5, 26% got a 4, and 52% got a 3. It gave us an idea as to where the class was being pitched -- and that if a kid wanted a 5, he would have to really work to maximize what he got out of the class (or buy/borrow a study guide to fill in the gaps).
We couldn't tell if one AP Calc class did better than another, which for better or worse preserved some anonymity for students and teachers. (This is fine by me.)
You betcha MCPS knows how those scores break down among each high school. They pay the College Board good money for that data!
Posted by: rlwasserman | January 21, 2010 8:43 PM | Report abuse
What about Loudoun County?
Posted by: pfallsgirl | January 21, 2010 9:15 PM | Report abuse
AP Teachers do their best to fit it all in, often at a break neck pace, but once the kids enter the test, the teachers can only wash their hands and hope for the best.
No college 101 course would test students on material not presented in class.
AP Tests are an abnormality in educational assesment.
In what other realm would parents or students honestly accept being tested on material that is a mystery all year long?
Posted by: hatchlaw | January 21, 2010 9:15 PM | Report abuse
Hokiematt is correct that Jay is contradicting himself, but I would imagine that he doesn't concern himself with the same stance from day to day.
He gave a talk at our school, and he was well recieved...and then he kept talking and the crowd turned on him.
I think his goals is to just get people talking, and asking questions, which is never wrong, but the answers to those questions are never simple either.
Posted by: hatchlaw | January 21, 2010 9:29 PM | Report abuse
When I taught Calculus BC my pass rate was 95%. For my AP English Literature class, my pass rate is 88%. We have an open-door policy where even freshmen and sophomores sign up for the class. I don't think I am any better at teaching math than I am at teaching literature.
Posted by: ericpollock | January 22, 2010 5:36 AM | Report abuse
I suspect that it's been said before but it is a huge (and unwarranted) leap from knowing test results to concluding that one teacher is more effective than another. First, test results reflect many factors, only some of them relate to the teachers. Second, test results reveal something about teaching effectiveness only when one can be certain that all the other factors are more or less the same. If teacher A and teacher B taught the same pupils under the same conditions and so on, one might have some basis for using test results to compare their teaching effectiveness. Otherwise any differences are just as likely to result from some other variable.
Posted by: Jphubba | January 22, 2010 10:27 AM | Report abuse
I would love to know the scores for individual students. Of course, I need not know their names. Perhaps each student could be given an individual ID number (different than their student ID).
Why do I want this data? Because I think it would more accurately reflect the "success" of the AP program.
MCPS currently reports data based on the number of tests taken (28,575) and the number of tests scored at 3 or above (20,648). That can be (and is) easily misconstrued as the number of STUDENTS taking AP tests and the number of STUDENTS earning 3 or above on a particular test.
In fact, many students take multiple exams, so ONE student might score 3 or higher on THREE or more exams, for example. That means fewer STUDENTS (perhaps many fewer) are actually passing AP exams.
In addition, while MCPS touts the fact that a "record-setting" number of AP exams were taken in 2009, it ignores the fact that percentage of exams scored at 3 or higher has pretty steadily declined since 2005
Overall, the percentage has dropped from 77.0% in 2005 to 72.3% in 2009.
By subgroup, the results are:
African-American: 53.7 to 47.6
Hispanic: 65.8 to 55.3
White: 81.3 to 77.9
Only Asian students were fairly consistent over the years: 76.8 to 76.6
Why are the percentages falling? Are the kids taking the tests unprepared? Are the teachers teaching the courses qualified to teach a "college-level" class? These types of questions aren't asked if MCPS manipulates the numbers in order to tout only "good" news.
I understand that it is the MCPS PR department's job to put a positive spin on all developments, but it is a disservice to the community to ignore data that don't "fit" the spin.
Posted by: daveairozo | January 23, 2010 10:56 AM | Report abuse
Jay said, "...Montgomery counties have their AP subject results for each school on their Web sites..."
And...still no link to substantiate that statement.
Has the $10 million Montgomery County Public Schools PR department been unable to supply the link to validate what has been printed in this Washington Post article?
Jay, why are you misleading readers when MCPS has put out information on less than half of the AP exams given? Does that really serve your readers?
Posted by: jzsartucci | January 23, 2010 1:40 PM | Report abuse
Would love your response to the issues raised in this video from yesterday's New York Times. http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/01/24/opinion/1247466680941/op-ed-advanced-pressure.html
Posted by: rayburt456 | January 26, 2010 8:48 AM | Report abuse
Did Howard County provide any indication of a date by which they planned to post the data? I am very interested in seeing it.
Posted by: wpreader11231 | January 27, 2010 4:55 PM | Report abuse
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How to make good habits for Success
One of the most common habits that make life miserable is to not be where you are.
What do I mean by that?
That your body is right here, right now. But that your thoughts are elsewhere in time and space.
They are in the past, reliving an old, painful memory. Or replaying an argument – that you still want to win – for the hundredth time.
Or your thoughts are in a possible future. Worried and stressed about what may happen at work or in your relationship. Or trying to plan for every possible scenario and through that hoping to fully control the future.
And the more time you spend in the future or past, the more you – in my experience – tend to also:
Be ineffective. Making decisions becomes very hard if you second-guess yourself all the time or become paralyzed by all the possible outcomes. And overthinking zaps so much energy that you lose motivation to take action.
Miss life as it happens. If you are not fully here in this moment then it is very easy to miss and to not fully enjoy a victory or simply a beautiful, fun or small moment in life.
Maybe you cannot spend all of your time in the now. Because there are things you can learn from reexamining your past. And there are things you sometimes need to plan for in your future.
But the kind of obsessive or addictive way to spend so much time in a regular week in the past or future can be replaced with something smarter, more helpful and happiness-friendly.
Three habits that have helped me a lot to make that shift into being much more mindful are to:
- Slow down.
Start your day with doing whatever you do first in your morning slowly.
This will make it easier and more natural to keep a slower pace and to focus fully on what you are doing for the rest of your morning. And starting your day in this way will often prevent you from going into your own most common thought loops that cause worry, anger or sadness.
Plus, doing something in a calm and relaxed manner is often the quickest way to do something well.
And you can of course slow down what you are doing at any time during your day to get your mind back to what your body is doing.
- Tell yourself: Now I am…
I often tell myself this silently in my mind: Now I am X.
And X could be that I am brushing my teeth. Doing the dishes. Taking a walk and listening to the sounds around me.
Just reminding myself of this helps my mind to stop wandering and it brings my focus back to just that one thing I am doing right now and nothing else.
- Disrupt your thoughts + quickly reconnect with the here and now.
If you are a regular reader then you know that I like to use a stop-word or phrase to silence the inner critic.
This works well for getting back to the present moment too.
When you catch yourself going somewhere else in the past or future with your thoughts then – in your mind – shout: STOP!
Or: No, no, no, we are not going down that road again!
Then, right away after you have disrupted those thoughts find your way back to the present moment by either focusing only on what is going on around you right now with all your senses – the sights, the sounds, the smells and so on – or by focusing 100% on your breaths going in and out of your body.
Do either of those things for just 1-2 minutes.
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subset: commoncrawl


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This ice cream is every kiasu's parent's answer to a healthy midday snack
Guilt-free low-calorie ice creams? Yay or nay? Let's find out.
There is just something about ice cream that everyone loves. Icy, sweet and absolutely divine; it sluices over your tongue and into your throat, inducing that feel-good sensation. Kids adore them and adults, too, fall for its charm. Mums and dads, if your little one often craves for sweet treats like ice cream, you might be pleased to find that there is a healthier option for them out there — Callery's Ice Cream.
Homegrown Singaporean Ice Cream With Reduced Calories
Callery's Ice Cream is Singapore's first "reduced-calorie" ice cream, developed by graduates from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with backgrounds in culinary arts, pharmaceuticals and engineering.
Together, they scoured the world for the best ingredients, dived deep into the science of food and ice-cream.
The makers prides themselves on providing the best of both worlds — Opulent Taste, Minimal Calories.
Besides, they are made from fresh ingredients that are sourced responsibly, so you can be assured of the premiumness of them. Callery's has even been awarded the Healthier Choice Symbol.
But before you become skeptical about whether "healthy" desserts and great taste can co-exist, read on.
Callery's Ice Cream: Making The Calories Count
A general comparison of 1 serving of Callery's Vanilla Bean ice cream to other regular premium vanilla flavoured ice creams:
|Calories (kcal)
|Fat (g)
|Sugar (g)
|Callery's Vanilla Bean
|Regular Premium Vanilla Ice-cream
|115 – 250
|6.6 – 16.0
|12 – 20
**Compared to regular Premium ice-cream. Based on per serving of regular premium full-dairy ice-cream with 260-300 calories, 20-25g sugar and 16-19g total fat content.
If we were to compare again, to a popular ice cream brand, for example, there is indeed a stark difference in the calorie, sugar and fat content.
The amount of calories contained in a single scoop of Callery's ice cream can range between 59 ~ 72 calories depending on the flavour you choose; between vanilla, strawberry and chocolate.
On the other hand, similar flavours from a popular ice cream brand can range between 240 ~ 260 calories.
Even other low-calorie ice cream brands such as Dreyers, contains 100 calories in its creamy vanilla flavour, which is still higher than Callery's at 59 calories — that's equivalent to an apple.
Still, despite cutting calories and sugar levels by about two-thirds, Callery's ice cream still tastes as good as regular ice creams out there. And that leads us to think: is this too good to be true?
Natural Sweetener Used In Callery's Ice Cream
So what's their secret? It all lies in the use of a natural sweetener in Callery's ice creams called erythritol.
Erythritol is a naturally occurring sweetener found in fruits and vegetables that tastes almost like sugar, has no side effects, and contains ALMOST ZERO in calories.
According to a study by Int J Dent., erythritol has been reported to have approximately 60 to 80% of the sweetness of sugar. And unlike other sugar replacements like xylitol and sorbitol, it does not cause bloatedness nor affect blood sugar levels.
That makes Callery's ice cream safe for diabetics and even children due to its low-calorie, sugar, and even fat content.
Especially with the rise of chronic metabolic diseases in recent years, especially diabetes mellitus in Singapore and the Asian population, Callery's ice cream has come timely. And that is also what motivated the makers of Callery's to create these low-calorie ice creams.
The whole idea is to provide a safe and healthier option for those who love sweet treats but are unable to enjoy them.
Oral Health Benefits For Kids
Interestingly, while erythritol is known for its nutritional benefits, it also presents "a number of beneficial oral health effects", according to the same study involving 485 children who consumed erythritol candies.
As compared to other sugar replacement groups like xylitol and sorbitol, these children who frequently consumed erythritol candies experienced a higher reduction in dental plague. That also means a slow down of tooth decay. Isn't that great news for parents whose kids love ice creams or sweets?
After all, who can resist a good scream-worthy ice cream?
What Are The Flavours, How Much, And Where To Get Them?
Callery's Ice Cream comes in three delectable flavours that comes in pints: Vanilla Bean, Belgian Dark Chocolate or Strawberries and Crème.
Vanilla Bean (473ml, $16.90)
(77% Less Calories | 77% Less Sugar | 77% Less Fat)
Savour the flowery top note, with a full-bodied nuttiness that lingers on the palate. The vanilla flecks are something to experience too, with a slight 'crisp' that tells you that this is the real deal.
Belgian Dark Chocolate (473ml, $16.90)
(72% Less Calories | 80% Less Sugar | 71% Less Fat)
Indulge in the most opulent dark chocolate ice-cream in the form of an incredibly rich and addictive concoction that leaves you wanting more.
Strawberries and Crème (473ml, $16.90)
(76% Less Calories | 77% Less Sugar | 75% Less Fat)
Let strawberries, or Fraise in French, take center stage in this fresh-tasting ice cream, paired with premium cream for the perfect ballet of flavours on your palate. These 'raw' strawberries, any fresher, you would have to visit the farm yourself!
Callery's Ice Creams are also available at honestbee, RedMart, FairPrice Finest stores, Oddle, Grab Food and Deliveroo.
For more information on Callery's Ice Cream, check out their website at www.callerys.com.
All images are credited to Callery's Ice Cream.


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In Mississippi, as well as every other state, many couples seek the protections and predictability that can often be offered by entering into a contract prior to marriage, commonly referred to as a prenuptial agreement. While prenuptial agreements are generally valid and enforceable, there are exceptions that a client needs to be aware of as to the terms of that agreement prior to entering into such an contract.
The Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled that any prenuptial agreement is enforceable just as any other contract. However, the execution of the agreement must be deemed to be fair. The general consensus is that fairness indicates that the agreement has to be entered into voluntarily and with full disclosure of both the husband and wife's financial assets. It's clear that fairness can encompass many different ideals; however, the providing of entire disclosure as to the parties' finances and/or the knowledge of each other's financial state is a paramount concern when entering into a prenuptial agreement. Fairness can also be affected by whether or not the parties are represented by counsel, or whether the parties had time to review the agreement prior to its execution. In other words, if either party is under duress in signing the prenuptial agreement, it is possible that the court may invalidate certain terms or conditions contained in the prenuptial agreement. The education of the parties is also a factor in whether or not the agreement was sufficiently explained or so complicated that an explanation as to the terms was necessary. It is important to note that execution of the agreement could be considered fair by a chancery court even in the case that either side is not represented by counsel.
Our general advice to any client who is seeking the protections of a prenuptial agreement is to contact an experienced Mississippi attorney who is able to guide you through the potential landmines that can occur in the prenuptial contracting process. It is also important that clients recognize that prenuptial agreements have to be consistent with public policy and cannot fly directly in the face of clear statute in state of Mississippi. Some examples of a prenuptial agreement being deemed invalid by chancery court would include not only cases where the contract between the husband and wife are directly inconsistent with Mississippi statute, but also when the parties have contracted to a matter which is deemed at odds with public policy. Although public policy exceptions are less likely to occur, it is important to note that a court always has the ultimate say in determining whether or not the terms of the contract are fair and just. A court could also deem certain terms under a prenuptial agreement be deemed unconscionable. All of the laws and regulations related to any contract also apply to prenuptial agreements. Therefore, prenuptial agreements are not given specific immunity from being deemed invalid by a court simply because the parties agreed to the terms.
If you need assistance in drafting a prenuptial agreement, we are equipped to assist you in that process. We are able to help you consider the factors that may not have been considered to this point, and will be able to draft the contract in such a way that it will be deemed most likely valid if it were challenged in the event of a divorce or separation. If you need assistance with any of these matters, call the Law Offices of Matthew Poole, 601-573-7429.
Law Office of Matthew Poole
Tags: Advice, agreement, attorney, enforce, lawyer, prenup, valid


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Kelsi Monroe has one of the biggest, juiciest asses in the business today. We caught up with her while exercising, we followed her magnificent ass for as long as we could. Then, it was time to take her back to set. There we snuck in the showers as she was getting ready and got more amazing footage of that booty. Kelsi loves to fuck, so she rushed my boy Tony Rubino to the set were she began to choke and suck that cock until her mouth couldn't take anymore. Her pussy and asshole were next. Tony pounded that pussy and asshole before busting all over that pretty little face of hers.
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Lahore (Staff Report): The Pakistan Meteorological Department predicted on Sunday that another spell of rain and snow is expected to hit the country between Monday and Thursday.
Met has predicted that the new wave of rain and snowfall will be much more intense than the previous.
According to Met, a strong westerly weather system of winds has entered Balochistan which would trigger cold and rain in parts of the country.
The rainwater could cause flooding in nullahs and streams of Balochistan, the Met warned.
The mountains of Quetta, Zhob and Kalat are also likely to be blanketed in snow during the coming week. Heavy snow is expected in the mountains in Murree, Galyat, Hazara, Malakand and Kashmir.
Besides, landslides are feared to occur in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir.
The Met has advised people to follow the precautionary measures directed by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)/National Highway Authority (NHA) for travel during rain.


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Sweeping Comp Reforms Should Curtail Costs, Claims
After years of clamoring for relief from expanding workers' compensation claims, payouts and premiums, Missouri employers are heralding legislative changes that may signal a growing trend by business to curtail runaway insurance costs in the workplace.
Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt, a Republican, signed the revised law in March with changes taking effect Aug. 28, 2005. While Missouri is not the first to legislate workers' comp reform, it appears to be part of a movement fostered by a growing pro-business environment that also targets fraudulent claims practices. Just last year, California revamped its workers' compensation program, and the Insurance Information Institute reports that Texas, West Virginia, Maryland and Oklahoma are tackling similar workers' compensation problems.
Strict rules, fewer claims
While workers' compensation laws vary from state to state, the Missouri amendments signal some of the changes other state legislatures may want to consider. Missouri business owners are anticipating lower insurance premiums once the new laws take hold, possibly as early as next summer. Meanwhile, lawyers and employers across the state expect the number of workers' comp claims to drop and the size of awards to shrink.
Fundamental changes to the older law include specific revisions in legal language. Previously, the courts liberally applied or interpreted the old Missouri workers' comp laws, finding in favor of the employees and granting compensation accordingly. Now an impartial standard of review will apply when weighing evidence. This is expected to level the playing field for employers. The changes specify a strict interpretation, rather than the more liberal standard that has been applied in such cases since 1993–the last time Missouri legislators addressed worker compensation laws.
Accidents and injuries
The new Missouri legislation narrows the definitions of work-related accidents and injuries, and it spells out issues affecting an aging work force. These reforms are designed to distinguish conditions that are truly a by-product of work as opposed to general health issues.
As redefined by the 2005 amendments, a compensable injury is one that has arisen out of, and in the course of, employment. An injury by accident is compensable only if the accident was the prevailing (primary) factor in causing both the resulting medical condition and disability. These amendments substitute the "prevailing factor" standard for the "substantial factor" standard that was adopted in 1993.
Another significant change is the new statutory definition for accident, now defined as "an unexpected traumatic event or unusual strain identifiable by time and place of occurrence and producing at the time objective symptoms of an injury caused by a specific event during a single work shift. An injury is not compensable because work was a triggering or precipitating factor." This language marked the return of the "unusual strain" standard that governed workers' compensation cases prior to 1993 in Missouri and limited a compensable accident to a specific or discrete work event.
Life takes it toll
The amendments also incorporate the prevailing factor standard in occupational disease cases. Gradual deterioration or progressive body degeneration caused by aging or the normal activities of day-to-day living will not be compensable, the Missouri legislature ruled. Under the amendments, an "occupational disease due to repetitive motion is compensable only if the occupational exposure was the prevailing factor in causing both the resulting medical condition and disability."
The 2005 amendments add a notice requirement in occupational disease cases. Thus, the burden of relating an employee's health conditions to his or her employer will be greater –an employee has 30 days from the day of diagnosis to report the condition to his or her employer.
The new law also is expected to put the brakes on claims for accidents that occur while an employee is driving a company car. Accidents that occur when an employee is driving to or from work in the company car are not compensable. The change should limit employers' exposure and cost.
Ultimately, the movement to objective, standard and impartial determinations and the enforcement of strict penalty measures should redefine employment costs and liability. The goal is to maintain protection for employees whose injuries truly are the result of their employment.
Employee responsibility
While employers have been forced to comply with more on-the-job safety provisions over the years, employees in Missouri are now more accountable for failure to follow safety rules and policies.
Missouri also clamped down on alcohol and drug use at the workplace, specifying penalties ranging from a 50 percent reduction in compensation up to total forfeiture, depending upon the circumstances of the injury and the employer's adopted policies on a drug-free workplace.
Finally, the new law addresses both credits for prior workers' compensation settlements and objective standards for determining disability. The employer/insurer shall receive a credit for any prior settlement and awards, diminishing any subsequent compensation owed for a latter accident.
The amendments also stress the importance of objective medical findings versus subjective medical complaints. It appears that injuries under this provision will need to be substantiated by demonstrable findings and diagnostic tests, reducing the amount of permanent disability awarded based on subjective complaints.
Whether or not other states follow Missouri and California's path remains to be seen. But voices of business leaders grow louder as they seek reform for workers' compensation insurance programs that are becoming increasingly burdensome to finance.
Michael Banahan and Robert Hinson are lawyers with Evans & Dixon LLC, a St. Louis-based law firm with offices in Kansas City and Springfield, Mo., as well as Leawood, Kan. E&D is engaged in the practice of workers' compensation and civil litigation defense in the states of Missouri, Illinois and Kansas. For more information, visit www.evansdixon.com, call (314) 621-7755, or e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com or firstname.lastname@example.com.
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Adolfo Perez
Carnival Cruise Line has announced it will now pay travel agents commission on Future Cruise Credits applied to new bookings effective immediately.
The new commission structure calculates commission based on the value of the cruise prior to the application of the Future Cruise Credit. Previously, the line calculated commission on these bookings after a Future Cruise Credit was applied. CCL says the new commission program adds incremental earning opportunities for the line's travel agent partners.
"Our team is always listening and looking for ways to offer the best sales and service support we can to travel agents and this commission enhancement is a reflection of that goal," said Carnival's Vice President of Sales & Trade Marketing Adolfo Perez.
"We value the hard work travel agents put into booking their clients, which is why we've increased the commission for these types of bookings."


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By: Elena Grace Flores
Hillary Clinton already apologized and taking full responsibility for her carelessness in using her private email while handling highly confidential matters while serving as secretary of state under the Obama administration.
However President Rodrigo "Rody" Duterte has yet to realize that his "shoot to kill" order for suspected drug criminals when jeopardizing the lives of arresting policemen would be used in favor of the real big-time drug lords. Now, conniving police officers can freely shoot those whom they think have links to the illegal drugs bosses.
President Rody Duterte himself uncovered the 5 generals suspected to be drug lord coddlers earlier. It is not far from reality that many policemen loyal to them if guilty would use their new power to further protect their masters. This is why almost every corners of the city is not anymore safe from the shooting spree of the police – and what's pathetic is that; they are protected by the new President despite not admitting into it – just simple common sense.
Reference: https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/statement-by-fbi-director-james-b.-comey-on-the-investigation-of-secretary-hillary-clintons-use-of-a-personal-e-mail-system
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Volume 4 // Number 1 // Article 4
AgrEvo: From Crop Protection To Crop Production
Jos Bijman
LEI, the Netherlands
AgrEvo is a German producer of crop protection products. In 1995 it made the strategic decision to shift from crop protection to crop production, with the help of biotechnology. It acquired Plant Genetic Systems (PGS), a successful plant biotechnology company, and started a round of acquisitions in the international seed industry. The company soon found out that biotechnology brings many new uncertainties in strategic decision-making.
Key words: innovations; pesticides; plant biotechnology; seeds; strategy.Hoechst Schering AgrEvo GmbH (or AgrEvo) was a German manufacturer of chemicals for crop protection until 1995. Its main products were herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides, used in the production of all major field crops as well as for fruits and vegetables. AgrEvo also produced pesticides for non-agricultural uses, particularly to control insects in human environments. In addition, the company was selling seeds, both for horticultural and agricultural crops. For maize, canola, and soybeans, AgrEvo had developed genetically modified varieties.
The central element in AgrEvo's strategy was to transition from a crop protection to crop production company. AgrEvo no longer just wanted to sell pesticides but also to become a provider of productivity enhancing solutions to the farmer. Biotechnology was seen as the major element in this strategic reorientation, as the focus of crop protection shifted from the chemical molecule to the genetic constitution of the plant itself. Expanding into the seed business was a necessary step in the implementation of this long term strategy.
As an independent company, AgrEvo has only existed for 5 years. It was established in 1994 when two German producers of chemicals and pharmaceuticals, Hoechst and Schering, merged their crop protection divisions into a new joint venture. Both companies wanted to benefit from economies of scale in marketing and research and development (R&D). In 1999, AgrEvo's majority shareholder, Hoechst, merged with the French pharmaceutical and chemical company Rhône-Poulenc to become Aventis. As a result, AgrEvo and Rhône-Poulenc Agro have been combined into Aventis CropScience. This article presents an analysis of AgrEvo before the merger.
Main Products And Markets
In 1999, AgrEvo was the fourth largest producer of crop protection products, after Novartis, Monsanto, and Zeneca. In the European market, AgrEvo was the second largest supplier of pesticides, with a market share of approximately 12 percent. In 1998, AgrEvo had a turnover of 2.1 billion Euro (table 1). The company invested 247 million Euro in R&D, which is about 12 percent of sales.
Table 1. Key Figures (Million Euro).
Herbicides were AgrEvo's main product, representing 42 percent of turnover (table 2). AgrEvo had a share of 8 percent in the world herbicide market. Forty percent of AgrEvo's herbicide production was sold in Europe. For sugar beet and cereal herbicides the company was the market leader in Europe. AgrEvo was particularly strong in grass-herbicides for cereals, with products like Puma/Excel and Illoxan. For sugar beet, the main herbicide sold was Betanal.
Table 2. Sales by main product group (1998).
A very important herbicide for AgrEvo's biotechnology ambitions was Liberty. This product was a new formulation of the non-selective herbicide glufosinate, that AgrEvo and Hoechst had been selling under various brand names since 1984 (e.g., Basta, Ignite, Finale and Challenge). The old glufosinate products were particularly used on fruit and vegetable crops, but Liberty can be used on transgenic field crops, thus, greatly expanding its potential market.
Seeds/Crop Improvement was the biotechnology and seeds business of AgrEvo. This product group was newly formed in 1997, after the acquisition of Plant Genetic Systems and the shift of Nunhems Seeds from parent company Hoechst to AgrEvo. Although this business activity accounted for only a small percentage of AgrEvo's turnover, it was considered the main strategic growth area. The main crops in this group were canola (oilseed rape), maize, soybean, and vegetables.
Biotechnology Strategy
AgrEvo's innovation strategy can be summarized by the following statement by Dr. G. Prante, AgrEvo's Chief Executive Officer (CEO),
We have taken the strategic decision to develop from a plant protection enterprise to a company offering farmers products for enhancing the productivity of plant production through innovations in chemistry, biotechnology and plant breeding. (Bijman & Bogaardt, 2000, p.11)From the early 1980s, when the first results of biotechnology research become known and a bright future for this new key technology was forecasted, Hoechst has been active in this type of research. As a pharmaceutical company, it heavily invested in biotechnology R&D, particularly in the United States (US). As a major producer of agrochemicals, research on plant biotechnology was only a small step to make. Hoechst had both in-house research and research contracts with small biotechnology companies. For instance, research on glufosinate-tolerance was contracted at PGS.
The importance of seeds for the biotechnology business was already acknowledged in the 1980s. In 1985, Hoechst took a minority share in, and started research collaboration with, KWS—the largest German agricultural seed company. In 1986 Hoechst had acquired Nunhems Seeds, a Dutch vegetables seed company.
In 1995 AgrEvo took the strategic decision to become a serious player in the global plant biotechnology industry. Several developments led to this decision. First, Hoechst had built up biotechnology expertise and saw good commercial prospects. Second, the market prospects for agrochemicals, particularly in Europe and North America, were not very promising. Third, major competitors, particularly Monsanto and Novartis, were all heavily investing in biotechnology and seeds. Fourth, the herbicide-resistance technology developed by PGS for Hoechst/AgrEvo's broad-spectrum herbicide glufosinate was ready for commercialization. Therefore, AgrEvo decided to expand not only in biotechnology but also in seeds as it acknowledged that for commercialization of biotechnology products access to seeds was indispensable.
The 1996 acquisition of PGS (for 436 million Euro) was a major step in implementing the new strategy. Plant Genetic Systems brought to AgrEvo extensive knowledge of plant biotechnology as well as plant breeding. Plant Genetic Systems was one of the most successful dedicated biotechnology firms. It was already established in 1982 by a group of researchers from the University of Gent, Belgium. These scientists were among the first in the world in 1983 to develop a genetically modified plant. Based on its expertise in genetic engineering, PGS had built up a very good intellectual property position. By cross-licensing patents and genes, PGS also had broad, low-cost access to other biotechnologies. Plant Genetic Systems' biotechnology research has been focused on three main application areas: weed control, insect control, and hybrid breeding. The resulting products are named LibertyLink, StarLink and SeedLink, respectively.
LibertyLink refers to crops with genetically engineered glufosinate tolerance. The first LibertyLink canola varieties were introduced by PGS in Canada in 1995. In 1997, LibertyLink maize varieties were introduced in the US. AgrEvo does not have its own maize breeding program in North America, but uses alliances with all major maize seed companies. In Europe, AgrEvo has several LibertyLink crop varieties approved under Directive 90/220, particularly oilseed rape and maize, while others are pending approval. Importation of grain derived from LibertyLink maize was approved by the European Union in 1998.
Starlink refers to genetically engineered crops which produce their own insecticide (Bacillus thuringiensis crystal protein). Starlink maize has been grown in the US since 1999. AgrEvo only provides the technology which local seed companies incorporate in their varieties. Since 2000 Starlink maize has been withdrawn from the US market.
SeedLink refers to hybrid seeds obtained by genetic engineering. For the commercialization of its hybridization technology, PGS had decided to start its own breeding program for canola in Canada. No hybrid canola existed, while research had shown that substantial yield enhancements were possible by planting hybrid varieties instead of conventional varieties. Since 1997, SeedLink canola hybrids have been grown by farmers in Canada and the United States.
Expansion In Seeds
By taking over PGS, AgrEvo acquired its own seed business for field crops. This was the beginning of a rapid expansion in the seed industry, in order to gain access to elite germplasm for incorporation of its technology. In the words of an AgrEvo manager, "You have to have an envelope to send your post." A plant biotechnology company that wants to commercialize its proprietary technology and genes can potentially follow three paths: it can set up a new breeding program (as PGS did for canola); it can contract with seed companies; and it can take over seed companies. AgrEvo is following all three routes, depending on the exigencies of the crops and the particular market situation.
For example, in 1997 AgrEvo established an international cotton seed joint venture with Cotton Seed International (CSI) of Wee Waa, Australia. The new company, called AgrEvo Cotton Seeds International (ACSI), is based in Memphis, Tennessee, US. AgrEvo owns 51 percent of ACSI, and CSI owns 49%. ACSI develops cotton varieties for the US and other markets.
In 1998, AgrEvo wanted to acquire the American seed company Cargill Hybrid Seeds North America (for $US 650 million).1 By acquiring Cargill, AgrEvo would have obtained direct access to the North American corn market. However, due to a legal dispute between Cargill and Pioneer Hi-Bred International about infringement of patents, the acquisition was cancelled.
Also in 1998, AgrEvo acquired the rice breeding program and associated assets of the Brazilian seed company Granja 4 Irmaos. Granja was the leading producer and supplier of rice seeds in Brazil at the time, while its affiliated company, Josapar, was the country's largest rice grain retailer. Granja was developing hybrid rice in collaboration with the French national research institute CIRAD.
In 1999, AgrEvo acquired the Indian Proagro Group of companies which comprised Proagro Seed Company Ltd., Proagro-PGS India Ltd., Hybrid Rice International, and MISR Hytech. The Proagro Group was the second largest seed company in India, ranking number one in hybrid corn, millet, and forage sorghum, and second in sunflower and grain sorghum. The Proagro Group was also developing hybrid rice, cotton, oilseed rape, and vegetables for India and other markets in Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa.
This same year, AgrEvo acquired the Brazilian seed companies Sementes Ribeiral and Sementes Fartura, as well as the corn research company Mitla Pesquisa Agricola. Ribeiral and Fartura were formed in 1973 and 1976, respectively. Mitla was formed in 1993 as the joint corn research company of Ribeiral and Fartura. Mitla was a foundation corn seed company engaged in the breeding and development of proprietary corn parent lines. The combined turnover of the three companies in 1998 was approximately US$9 million. Together the companies accounted for approximately 8% of the Brazilian hybrid corn seed market. They also produced soybean and sorghum seed for the Brazilian market.
AgrEvo has also expanded in vegetable crops. In 1997, Nunhems Seeds was shifted from the parent company Hoechst to AgrEvo, and AgrEvo acquired the American company Sunseeds Corporation. Sunseeds produced hybrid vegetable seeds and had 300 employees worldwide. It had a fully owned subsidiary in India and joint ventures in China and Chile. It occupied a leading market position in the field of carrots and onions in the US. It also sold seeds for fresh and processed tomatoes, melon, watermelon, and cucumber. Nunhems and Sunseeds became the two business units of the holding company Nunza. In 1998, Nunza acquired Leen de Mos, a Dutch vegetable seed company, strengthening its market position in seed sales for cucumber and lettuce. In India, Sunseeds India was integrated with Proagro-PGS to create a single joint venture—Nunhems-Proagro. With the 1999 acquisition of Proagro by AgrEvo, the company was fully integrated in Nunza. Also in 1999, Nunza acquired Rio Colorado Seeds, located in California which specializes in hybrid onion seeds. In 1998, Nunza was number four in the worldwide vegetable seeds market, with approximately 900 employees, of which 275 are located at Nunhems in the Netherlands.
Living In A Different World
The strategic transition from crop protection to crop production brought major changes for the organization and decision making within AgrEvo and brought new challenges for its relationship with various stakeholders. Although the company had only been formed in 1994, its constituent parts had a long tradition in developing, producing, and marketing crop protection products. Decision making on new pesticides was routine, the company knew which tests to do and what information to provide to regulators. Legal requirements were clear and similar all over the world. While government policies to protect human, animal, and environmental health resulted in ever stricter requirements for new pesticides, and thus higher R&D and registration costs, AgrEvo managers considered this trend as predictable. They anticipated future developments in government regulation of the pesticide market, and installed strict go/no-go decisions early in the product development process.
On the biotechnology side, the learning curve on how to deal with regulation has been much steeper. The rapid strategic shift to become a plant biotechnology company brought different types of uncertainty to AgrEvo decision makers, "different requirements in different countries, low transparency of the (political) decision making process, adding new requirements all the time, approval at one level of regulation and prohibition at another, etc." (Bijman & Bogaardt, 2000, p.18). These uncertainties made decision-making on biotechnology innovation extremely difficult.
In 1989, Plant Genetic Systems had its first field trials with genetically modified plants in France, the US, and Canada. Particularly among farmers did PGS not see a different attitude between Europe and North America. But the regulation that was decided upon for these field trials, and for further introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), turned out to be very different on both sides of the Atlantic. In America there is the so-called deregulation since 1993—once a product is considered safe, further activities with this product do not have to be approved, and labeling and segregation is not needed. AgrEvo favors this type of regulation because it looks at the product and not the technology. In Europe, on the other hand, a GMO remains a GMO even when it is approved. This leads to the demand for labeling and for repetitive approvals for products derived from the GMO crop. These differences in the type of regulation between Europe and North America have made it very difficult for AgrEvo to decide what products to develop. Because of international trade in agricultural products, the European regulation on approval, labeling, thresholds, and segregation (or the absence of definite regulation) has even influenced AgrEvo's innovation activities in the North American market.
One of the organizational effects of focusing on biotechnology and the introduction of genetically modified crops has been the strengthening of central decision-making. Because the main agricultural crops are traded internationally, decisions about the marketing of transgenic crop varieties have to take into account the regulatory affairs concerning biotechnology in other countries. Local decisions on crops can have global repercussions. Even when a product is not exported, the influence of pressure groups campaigning against biotechnology encourages AgrEvo to take a global perspective in deciding whether to market a transgenic crop. Thus, the worldwide debate on the merits of biotechnology, and the activism of globally operating non-governmental organizations (NGOs) like Greenpeace, have even shifted marketing decisions from the local and regional affiliates back to headquarters in Frankfurt. This re-centralization of decision-making has been a major cultural change within the company.
AgrEvo's strategic reorientation from crop protection to crop production seems a logical one from a technological point of view. Biotechnology has opened up new opportunities to shift crop protection from chemicals back to genetics and to new combinations of the two. However, biotechnology has also brought many new uncertainties to the company. While the success of a new pesticide basically depends on two criteria, governmental approval and farmer uptake, the success of a genetically modified crop variety is contingent upon the formal or informal approval of a large range of stakeholders. Different regulatory requirements in different parts of the world have to be complied with, various national and international NGO's have to be pleased, and all firms in the agrifood production and distribution chain have to give their consent. While farmers may be the primary clients of AgrEvo's products, whether they will grow transgenic varieties is mainly determined by food processors and food retailers, who ultimately listen to consumers.
1 One US$ equals 1.08 Euro (in 2000).
AgrEvo. (1998). AgrEvo 1998 annual report. Berlin, Germany: AgrEvo.
AgrEvo. (1997). AgrEvo 1997 annual report. Berlin, Germany: AgrEvo.
Bijman, J., & Bogaardt, M.J. (2000). AgrEvo Monograph. Netherlands: Agricultural Economics Research Institute. Available on the World Wide Web at: http://technology.open.ac.uk/cts/pita/AnnC4-mono-agrevo.pdf.
European Commission (EC). (1990). Directive 90/220/EEC on the Deliberate Release into the Environment of Genetically Modified Organisms.
Suggested citation: Bijman, J. (2001). AgrEvo: From crop protection to crop production. AgBioForum, 4(1), 20-25. Available on the World Wide Web: http://www.agbioforum.org.
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10 Essentials for Successful Retirements
Source:Yahoo Finance
Day after day brings new headlines of problems and pitfalls for retirees. We save too little and can't afford to stop working. We make poor investment decisions and don't know how to get the most out of our shrunken nest eggs. Social Security benefits may be cut. Medicare benefits also face trims. The national ship of state is going down the tubes in so many ways, and no one will be handing out life preservers to older citizens as the ship sinks.
Maybe these are all true and worrisome trends. Nonetheless, people will retire, and many of them will enjoy terrific lives in their later years. They will join millions of other Americans who have managed to do the same. What are their secrets? Here, culled from research studies and retirement experts, are 10 essentials for successful retirements.
1) Planning. Successful retirements rarely happen by accident. They require planning, and it should begin well before retirement begins. Younger people do not need to have any detailed plan for their later years. Heck, many probably don't know what they'll be doing next year. But they should set up tax-favored retirement investments, contribute enough to trigger the top employer match, and place their money in stable and safe investments. Older people should begin in their 50s to ask questions about the adequacy of their retirement funds. They also should attack some of the big retirement issues -- where do they want to live, how do they want to spend their time, and the like. At whatever age retirement becomes financially viable or physically necessary, they should have a more detailed plan and ways to achieve it.
2) Budgeting. Most people overestimate their retirement income and underestimate their retirement expenses. Well before the regular paychecks stop, many successful retirees will have taken a hard-nosed look at their retirement income and expense needs. Expense budgeting is crucial. Once the income and expense sides of your personal ledger have been completed, you can see if there's a gap that needs to be closed. Most likely, it will be closed by trimming expenses. Many experts say it's a good idea to look at your locked-in sources of retirement income --Social Security and traditional pensions -- and match this amount to your fixed expenses -- mortgage, utilities, insurance, fixed debt payments, operating expenses for your car, and basic household costs for food and other necessities. Then, look at the likely income stream from your investments and use those funds for discretionary spending on vacations, restaurants, and the like. This way, if returns on your investments don't fare as well as you thought, you won't have to eat into your investment accounts to pay expenses. When markets recover, you can resume your spending.
3) Homework. Retirement is many things but a life of leisure usually must be preceded by a lot of homework. This is particularly true when it comes to healthcare costs. The average 65 year old couple will spend $250,000 on health care during the rest of the their lives -- the single largest unknown expense for most people. Medicare was complicated enough before health reform was enacted. Anyone planning to retire in the next several years should spend time understanding how the new law might affect them. Other areas that can benefit from some study: how healthy is the economy of the area you're thinking of choosing for your retirement home; what are the state and local tax rates in that area; what are state estate taxes like; do you have a good approach to spending down your assets in retirement, and, what is the best strategy for you about when to begin claiming Social Security benefits.
[See 15 Tasks to Become Retirement Ready.]
4) Realism. None of the planning, budgeting, and homework you do will provide the basis for a successful retirement unless you're realistic in your assessments and assumptions. Most people, for example, actually retire several years before they earlier said they would. Likewise, they say they will continue to work well past their 65th birthday. They don't. You need to be honest with yourself.
5) Balance. The key to a lot of good things in life is a sense of balance. Successful retirements involve a good balance between expectations and reality. This doesn't mean sacrificing your dreams. It does mean road-testing your dreams to see what it would take to make them possible.
6) Health. No surprise here. Good health is the "knock on wood" wish of every retiree. What's different today than a generation ago is the widespread recognition that good health is no accident but the probable result of good diet and exercise habits. These habits need to start now, not when you're 70 years old, although it's never too late to begin. It's been proven that strenuous exercise, with heavy weights and sweat-inducing cardiovascular workouts, can help even people in their 80s and 90s. Investing in good health is as important as socking money away in retirement accounts.
7) Family and Friends. As people look forward to their later years, the priorities that loom largest tend to be people, not possessions or unshared travel experiences. As with your health, good relations with friends and family members need to be developed and nurtured over time. If there are people you know you want to spend time with when you're retired, figure out what you need to do today to enhance the odds you will have the strong bonds you desire in the future. Having honest conversations with children is crucial, especially when it comes to issues surrounding grandchildren. Maybe you want to live close to grandchildren and see them a lot. Do your kids feel the same way? Do they expect you to be constantly on call to be free babysitters? How would you feel about that? Do you expect your kids to be constantly on call to help you out with household chores and errands? Make sure you're all on the same page before taking important actions you might later regret.
8) Socialization. Loneliness is a killer for older people. This is especially true for men, who are seen in surveys to have harder times than women making friends, and tend not to ask for help or reach out to loved ones. If you don't have a rich circle of family and friends, and aren't likely to build one before retirement, perhaps a senior community makes sense. Even if you don't need help due to physical ailments, you might need the structured social support services that a retirement community can offer. Don't be in denial on this one. Looking through scrapbooks of old family pictures gets, well, old after a while.
9) Legacy. People who are happy in retirement frequently have taken care of major life decisions rather than leaving them to some future date. Uncertainty is stressful, and stress should not be a sought-after condition at any stage in life and especially not in retirement. Questions about passing on wealth and possessions should be decided when you're healthy, and should be discussed with family members and other loved ones. Maybe your daughter doesn't really want your wedding china. That doesn't mean she's a bad person. Maybe you think leaving college money for grandchildren is a great idea. But you should discuss it with your kids. If you trust your children, perhaps they should control these funds. Where do you want to be buried when you die, or do you even want to be buried? If you're married, do you and your spouse agree on these matters? These are discussions you should have.
10) Acceptance. With due apologies for being presumptuous, let me suggest that we all have made many, many mistakes by the time we retire. Often, the people we'd view as the most successful are the hardest on themselves as they approach and enter retirement. Maybe it's workplace failures. Or personal relationships. Often, it's the quality of parenting. Whatever it may be, carrying this baggage around with you during retirement is a heavy, heavy burden. It's nearly impossible to win the blame game. If you play the comparison game, you can always find someone who did things better than you. You may need professional help with this, but forgiving yourself for being human can be a liberating act as you approach retirement and your later years.


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This week we are attending to some faults on a Caterpillar 980G loading shovel. The hitch bearings are badly worn and we have to 'line-bore' the trunion plates to accept our manufactured weld-in bushes. When this is finished the replaceable bushes and bearings can be fitted. All-in-all a time-consuming and expensive repair, this could have been avoided with a more diligent maintainance regime.
Cab removed and inspecting damage.
Setting up line boring tool.
Steel swarf details the amount of steel removed.
Machine should be ready by the end of the week, following refurbishment of the loader frame quick-release latch.


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Cherry Log Hanging Bird Feeder, The Original Natural Log Seed Feeder, Medium Bird Feeder
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Wonderful long lasting functional Bird Feeder. This feeder is available in both Cherry & Black Walnut & in various sizes. We have been making this feeder for close to 10 years & have made many chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers, house finches, goldfinches & other birds very happy. All our wood is responsibly gathered by us from fallen trees. It's the ultimate functional up-cycle! The Medium Feeders are approx: 10" L x 5-6" diameter. Holds about 3 cups of seed.
***Please note, all feeders are one of a kind & will vary slightly.
General care info:
Get ready to be mobbed by your local bird population!
~ Take your bird feeder home, tip with opening facing up to fill with seed (we recommend black oil sunflower), enjoy the birds! No other care is needed.
~ Please note the feeder sides may open up a bit with changes in humidity, and small cracks will appear on the ends of the feeder over time. These changes are normal, and since the ends are nailed in place, will not affect functionality.
~ The chain can be unclipped on one side for putting over a tree limb, etc.
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Fresh cut fries tossed in extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, parsley and topped with feta cheese.
Offering a variety of delicious wraps. Using our prepared marinated meats, seafood and vegan options.
Tenderized Octopus grilled and tossed in a lemon olive sauce
Marinated grilled shrimp that can be topped on a variety of our dishes.
Tender lamb chops marinated and grilled to perfection.
Layers pasta, meat sauce and topped with creamy cheese Bechamel.
Hand rolled grapes leaves. This recipe is from the island of Rhodes.
Traditional Greek salad severed with our famous dressing and topped with our chicken souvlaki.
Fresh Rapini sautéed in garlic and Olive oil. It will have your mouth watering.
We use our time honored recipes to bring these Greek delights to you.


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The Muir Woods Experience is a 4 hour retreat from city life into tranquility and relaxation.
Golden Gate Bridge
Perhaps San Francisco's most famous landmark. The Bridge connects San Francisco to California's northern counties. With its tremendous 746-tall towers, sweeping main cables, signature "International Orange" color, and Art-Deco styling, it is a sensory experience featuring color, light, and sound. This tour stop includes a Bridge Photo Experience at the Round House.
Eight miles north of San Francisco across the bay is a tiny bayside community named Sausalito, meaning "Little Grove of Willows." This Mediterranean-style community that is often compared to the French Riviera. Sausalito has a wonderful selection of restaurants and shops lining its scenic marina.
Marin Headlands
The Marin Headlands is a hilly peninsula famous for their views of the Bay Area, Golden Gate Bridge, and the Pacific Ocean. The explosion of wildflowers in the spring and raptor (birds-of-prey) migration in the fall fill the headlands with year-round excitement. Try to spot other wildlife including: deer, mountain lions, bobcats, foxes, pelicans, harbor seals and grey whales.
Muir Woods
Featuring breathtaking views, scenic winding roads, and majestic towering redwood trees, Muir Woods is a must-see tour stop for anybody seeking fresh air and quiet respite.
Muir Beach Overlook
Featuring a spectacular overlook trail, Muir Beach Overlook is ideal for whale watching and observing monarch butterflies.
Call T3's Reservation Center at
between 8:AM & 8:PM PST.