Director, AP Music Theory
College Board – AP & Instruction
Location: Remote
Type: Full time, permanent
About the Team
The AP Curriculum and Assessment Team at College Board (65+ 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 Course Leads and Assessment 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 English, World Languages, and Arts department, which includes English Literature, English Language, Spanish Language, Italian Language, French Language, German Language, Chinese Language, Japanese Language, Latin, Music Theory, Spanish Literature, and Art and Design is currently made up of 25 people supporting 14 courses in the AP portfolio.
About the Opportunity
As the Director, AP Music Theory, you are responsible for ensuring the quality and validity of assessment content for the AP Music Theory exam. The Director, AP Music Theory may provide assessment development support in other related subject areas. The Director, AP Music Theory is responsible for all item development and management from authoring to administration; training and collaborating with subject-matter experts (SMEs), typically college professors and secondary school teachers. S/he/they train SMEs on assessment development protocols, translates between academics and technical experts (psychometricians), and collaborates to develop formative assessment materials and resources to support AP Music Theory teachers worldwide.
In this role, you will:
Assessment Development and Scoring - 60%
Develop, review, and approve AP Music Theory exam content in collaboration with AP Assessment C+A staff and ETS, ensuring the exam development aligns with approved curricula and test specifications
Support the authoring/revising of assessment content and training educator constituents to author assessment content, including selection of appropriate stimulus material, and applying best assessment practices
Support the development and management of all assessment content through iterative review stages with multiple internal and external stakeholders, including the Assessment Production team, Test Development Committee, and the Chief Reader
Support the development of all assessment forms, 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 each of the committees within the Director’s stewardship as well as other committee meetings in the discipline as needed
Support the successful scoring of student AP Exams at the annual scoring event in person and online—the “AP Reading”—and produce AP Reading publications materials for teacher and student use
Curriculum and Assessment Quality and Process - 40%
Contribute to current research and best practices related to assessment; participate in regular discussions with other AP Curriculum & Assessment 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
Contribute to processes for efficient, high-quality assessment development
Refine and improve question task models as well as exam design in collaboration with and aligned to other College Board initiatives
Monitor and improve exam validity, reliability, fairness, and quality, as well as reader reliability in accordance with established Program thresholds
Recruit, train, and directly supervise Committee members in AP Music Theory as content development contributors. Liaise with key internal stakeholders (AP Publications, AP Project Management, and AP Professional Development staff) to execute project plans
Assist efforts to recruit college faculty and experienced AP teachers to serve as AP Readers; co-lead the planning and execution of discipline-specific AP Faculty Colloquia events
Serve as a recognized and trusted resource within the AP Music Theory community to drive teacher satisfaction with the AP Music Theory exam.
About You
You have:
A Master’s degree in Music Theory or a directly related discipline and knowledge of current trends in the discipline (required), although a doctorate in the discipline is strongly preferred
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 deal with staff at all levels
Willingness to give, accept, and address constructive feedback with positivity
Strong customer service orientation
Willingness to travel up to 6 times a year (domestic), with an additional 2 weeks in May/June for the Annual “AP Reading”
Eligible 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, 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 $80,000 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.
About Our Culture
Our community matters, and we strive to practice and improve our culture daily. Here are some headlines:
We are motivated to positively impact the educational and career trajectories of millions of students a year.
We prioritize building a diverse and inclusive team where every employee can thrive, and every voice is heard.
We welcome staff to join any or all six of our affinity groups: ARISE (Alliance for Asian Retention, Inclusion, Success, and Engagement; DIASPORA (Alliance for Pan-African Success and Achievement); Pride (alliance for LGBTQ+ staff and allies); Resilience (alliance for Native staff and advocates); SALSA (Staff Alliance for Latinx Success and Achievement); and WIN (Women’s Impact Network).
We value learning and growth; we offer formal and informal ways to lead through your superpowers, sharpen your strengths, and meet your development goals.
We know that our impact is strongest together. Our College Board Cares program offers all staff up to $1,000 annual match against partner non-profit organizations.
We offer a transparent approach to promotions and merit raises, annual performance-based bonuses, and how to grow your career here over time.
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