Director I, AP Computer Science Curriculum and Assessment

Director I, AP Computer Science Curriculum and Assessment 

College Board – AP & Instruction 

This is a fully remote role. Candidates who live near CB offices have the option of being fully remote or hybrid (Tuesday and Wednesday in office).   

This is a full-time role.  

About the Team 

The AP Curriculum and Assessment Team at College Board (90 staff) collaborates with colleagues across all aspects of the AP Program to develop, manage, and deliver AP’s 40 courses in a wide variety of subject areas. AP® is a rigorous academic program built on the commitment, passion, and hard work of students and educators from secondary schools and higher education. AP provides willing and academically prepared high school students with the opportunity to study and learn at the college level. AP’s content leads ensure that course curricula are aligned to higher education expectations and reflect the state of the art in the discipline, contribute to instructional resources and tools for teachers, and develop assessments that allow students in these courses to demonstrate their mastery of course content and skills. The Math and Computer Science department, which includes computer science, precalculus, calculus, and statistics, is currently made up of 10 people supporting 6 courses in the AP portfolio. 

About the Opportunity 

As the Director I, AP Computer Science you will be responsible for preserving and improving the quality and validity of the AP Program’s core deliverables within the subject domains of Computer Science Principles and/or Computer Science A: the exam, the course curriculum, and the professional development content. You are also responsible for item development and management from authoring to administration; training and collaborating with subject-matter experts (SMEs), typically college professors and secondary school teachers. You will train SMEs on assessment development protocols, translate between academics and technical experts (psychometricians), and collaborate to develop formative assessment materials and resources to support AP Computer Science teachers worldwide. You will serve as a point of contact in AP for committees and communities of subject-matter experts and will be responsible for the curriculum and assessment for AP Computer Science courses, and, in partnership with other AP teams, further the strategic growth of AP Computer Science courses across the globe. Additionally, you may have the opportunity to present, speak, and moderate dialogue with academic and membership audiences to ensure that ongoing change and improvement within AP courses and exams is understood, accepted, and supported in secondary and post-secondary educational communities.    

In this role, you will: 

Assessment Development and Scoring (45-75%)  

• Serve as an assessment leader for AP Computer Science courses (Computer Science Principles and/or Computer Science A), with primary responsibility for assessment development for AP Computer Science courses. 

• Be responsible for authoring/revising assessment content and training educator constituents to author assessment content, including selection of appropriate stimulus material, and application of best assessment practices. 

• Lead the development and management of assessment content (formative and summative) and scoring materials for AP Computer Science courses (Computer Science Principles and/or Computer Science A) through iterative review stages with multiple internal and external stakeholders, including the AP Computer Science Team, Assessment Production team, Test Development Committee, and the Chief Reader, as appropriate. 

• Lead the development of assessment forms for AP Computer Science courses (Computer Science Principles and/or Computer Science A), ensuring the AP Exam development aligns with approved curricula and test specifications. 

• Conduct multiple face-to-face, weekend meetings, and virtual meetings (during work week, evenings, or weekends) annually with the AP Computer Science Test Development Committees. 

• Train and directly supervise Test Development Committee members in AP Computer Science Principles as content development contributors and reviewers.  

• Facilitate the successful scoring of student responses for the AP Computer Science Exams at the annual scoring event in person and online—the “AP Reading”—and produce AP Reading publications materials for teacher and student use. 

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Assessment Quality and Process (10-25%) 

• Contribute to learning and best practices related to assessment by participating in regular discussions with other AP Curriculum & Assessment staff members on the current assessment standards and practices to build a set of common, shared beliefs about AP’s assessment directions within the larger educational and assessment community. 

• Support assessment workstreams within the AP Math and Computer Science department. 

• Contribute to processes for efficient, high-quality assessment development. 

• Contribute to initiatives to refine and improve question task models as well as exam design in collaboration with AP Curriculum & Assessment leaders and aligned to other College Board initiatives to achieve psychometric and disciplinary best practices on AP Computer Science exams. 

• Monitor and improve exam validity, security, reliability, fairness, and quality, as well as reader reliability in accordance with established Program thresholds for the AP Computer Science exams. 

• Collaborate with psychometrics and AP Curriculum & Assessment staff to establish fair, reliable, and valid cut scores for the AP Computer Science exams. 

Curriculum and Instruction (up to 30%; could be 0% in some years) 

• Collaborate with the AP teams dedicated to instructional design and product development to develop new products for AP Computer Science courses designed to address unmet teacher instructional needs, including developing prototypes, participating in small-scale market-testing, and creating models for subsequent development in conjunction with other AP workstreams.  

• Refine and improve the AP Computer Science Course Frameworks to ensure clear and explicit learning outcomes that align with strategic priorities, including ensuring college/disciplinary standards as well as expanding the scope of reaching a broader audience of AP students.  

Outreach and Constituent Engagement (up to 20%; could be 0%) 

• Serve as a recognized and trusted resource within the educator community by collaboration and engagement with the community to drive teacher satisfaction with AP Computer Science courses and their exams. 

• Represent and increase support for the AP Program’s mission among external stakeholders in AP Computer Science courses, through varied strategies inclusive of public/disciplinary presentations, direct outreach to teachers and educators (customer service inquiries, presence on AP Computer Science online teacher communities, etc.). 

• Collaborate with the AP Professional learning team to support AP Computer Science consultants and teachers. 

• Recruit educators for the AP Computer Science Development Committees and other opportunities to support AP Program. 

• Work with the AP Higher Education team to co-develop and implement plans to raise college and university awareness of AP Computer Science courses and exams, including recruiting college faculty to participate in the AP Reading, co-leading the planning and execution of discipline-specific AP Faculty Colloquia events, and supporting Visiting and Virtual Fellows Programs.  

About You 

You (have): 

• A Master’s degree in Computer Science, or a directly related discipline, and knowledge of current trends in the discipline (required), although a doctorate in the discipline is strongly preferred  

• Fluency in Java (required) and other programming languages 

• Experience in standardized assessment development (required) 

• Experience with digital assessment (preferred) 

• Teaching experience (preferred) 

• Superior oral and written communications skills 

• Excellent organizational and planning skills, including the ability to effectively handle multiple tasks simultaneously 

• Meticulous attention to detail, including the ability to closely proofread 

• Excellent skills in process and procedure implementation, including adhering to project plans and schedules, and maintaining project management documentation for tracking 

• Technical acumen and aptitude; proficiency with Microsoft Office and use of browser-based applications and tools 

• Excellent interpersonal and collaboration skills, including the ability to collaborate with staff at all levels 

• Contribute to a culture of timely and kind feedback, displaying openness to new ideas, approaches, and growth 

• Adapt to new circumstances and approaches 

• Effectively use data and relevant experience  

• Contribute to a culture of trust, respect, and belonging 

• Strong customer service orientation 

• Willingness to travel up to 6 times a year (domestic), with an additional 2 weeks in late May/June for the Annual “AP Reading” 

• Authorized to work in the United States 

About Our Process   

• Application review will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled   

• While the hiring process may vary, it generally includes: resume and application submission, recruiter phone/video screen, hiring manager interview, performance exercise such as live coding, a panel interview, a conversation with leadership and reference checks.    

About Our Benefits and Compensation 

College Board offers a competitive benefits and compensation program that attracts top talent looking to make a difference in education. As a self-sustaining non-profit, we believe in compensating employees equitably in relation to each other, their qualifications, their impact, and the relevant market.  

The hiring range for a new employee in this position is $96,000 to $135,000. College Board differentiates salaries by location so where you live will narrow the portion of this range in which you can expect a salary.  

Your salary will be carefully determined based on your location, relevant experience, the external labor market, and the pay of College Board employees in similar roles. College Board strives to provide our best offer up front based on this criteria.  

Your salary is only one part of all that College Board offers, including but not limited to:    

• A comprehensive package designed to support the well-being of employees and their families and promote education. Our robust benefits package includes health, dental, and vision insurance, generous paid time off, paid parental leave, fertility benefits, pet insurance, tuition assistance, retirement benefits, and more 

• Recognition of exceptional performance through annual bonuses, salary growth over time through market increases, and opportunities for merit raises and promotions based on increased scope of responsibility 

• A job that matters, a team that cares, and a place to learn, innovate and thrive 

You can expect to have transparent conversations about benefits and compensation with our recruiters throughout your application process. 

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