From Misses to Moves: Using AP® English Mock Exam Data to Drive Instruction

Note: This event was originally scheduled for April 15, 2026, and has been rescheduled to September 9, 2026

Each year, thousands of AP® English Language and AP® English Literature students complete Mock Exams, giving us a valuable national snapshot of where students tend to struggle—and what those struggles can teach us about instruction. Designed by high school and college experts and scored by trained AP® readers—with no AI used in scoring or feedback—these exams provide an authentic look at student performance. In this session, we’ll dig into Multiple Choice results from last year’s Applied Practice Mock Exams to identify the skills and question types that proved most challenging, consider what those patterns reveal about student thinking, and translate those findings into classroom-ready approaches for the year ahead.

Whether you regularly give Mock Exams, are considering one this year, or don’t use them at all, this session is designed for you. Rather than generic test-prep advice, we’ll use authentic student performance data from both AP® English Language and AP® English Literature to anticipate common areas of vulnerability and identify practical instructional moves you can build into your teaching from the beginning of the year—strengthening students’ reading, analysis, and reasoning over the next nine months.

We will review AP® English Language results from 6:00–6:30 PM, followed by AP® English Literature results from 6:30–7:00 PM.

Facilitator: Dr. Brandon Abdon 

Dr. Brandon Abdon is a former English teacher who has been doing instructional design, school coaching, and professional development around the intersection of composition, literacy, literature, pedagogy, and technology for over a decade. A fellow of the National Writing Project, Brandon believes in the power of writing daily in the classroom.  He also knows that all students have a path to literacy when engaged and challenged suitably.  He likes to read and play sports but does both of them slowly and only one of them well. He has been married to his brilliant wife, Angela, since 2008 and has two sons, Hilton and Dorian.

He has consulted for or served in some capacity with a number of organizations, including the National Council of Teachers of English, the National Writing Project, the Bluegrass Writing Project, the Kentucky Council of Teachers of English, the National Math-Science Initiative, and others.  In addition to consulting and professional development, he has been on staff with the College Board’s Advanced Placement Program and Savvas K-12 Learning Services (Formerly Pearson K-12 Learning Services).  While at the College Board, he led the development of the current course and exam descriptions for both Advanced Placement English courses, including creation of course skills, revision of exam guidelines, and the development of analytical scoring.

Along with experience in an array of organizations, he holds advanced degrees in both English and Education - including a Doctorate in English Pedagogy - and certification as both a teacher and an administrator.  During his full-time work in high school classrooms, he was recognized with the National Council of Teachers of English “High School Teacher of Excellence” award in 2010.  He has also worked at the University of Kentucky and Georgia State University teaching courses including English Composition 1, Introduction to Literature, Literature for Teachers, Composition for Teachers, and others.