Pre-AP is based on the following two important premises:

The expectation that all students can perform at rigorous

academic levels and achieve academic excellence.

The belief that we can prepare every student for higher

intellectual engagement by starting the development of

skills and acquisition of knowledge as early as possible.

The middle and high school years are a critical time to

impart higher learning and deeper understanding of curricular content.

Pre-AP courses provide middle and high school students with the “active, high-level learning” needed to develop skills and study habits and learn the concepts they will need to successfully complete AP® coursework.

Pre-AP courses:

Help students develop their potential in the classroom and beyond

Help improve writing skills

Help students shape goals

Challenge students, but also make them realize they can excel if they put their mind to it!

Typically grades 6-10, offered

district-wide

Academically rigorous

Weighted GPA

Focus on strategies to develop skills

necessary for success in AP classes

Teachers trained in strategies

during College Board Institute with

required renewal of training every 5

years

Campus Pre-AP Coordinator

assigned at each school

o Advanced Placement Program (AP) courses are college-level courses offered in high school. AP courses reflect what is taught in top introductory college courses.

o The AP program exposes high school students to the rigors of college work and high standards while the students are working in the more nurturing confines of the secondary school setting.

o At the end of courses, students take

AP Exams—standardized exams that

measure how well students have

mastered college-level course work.

o Students who do well on AP Exams

can earn credit and/or placement into

advanced courses in college.

Typically grades 11-12, offered district-wide

Weighted GPA

Academically rigorous

College Board Monitored and Authorized Curriculum

Potential College Credit

Teachers attend College Board Institute at a university with required renewal of training every 5 years

Campus AP Coordinator assigned at each high school campus

AP courses typically demand more of students than regular courses.

Classes tend to be faster-paced and cover

more material than typical high school classes.

More time, inside and outside of the classroom,

is required to complete lessons, assignments and

homework.

AP teachers expect their students to think

critically, analyze and synthesize facts and data,

weigh competing perspectives, and write clearly

and persuasively.

oArt History

oBiology

oCalculus AB

oCalculus BC

oChemistry

oChinese Language & Culture

oComputer Science A

oEnglish Language & Composition

oEnglish Literature & Composition

oEnvironmental Science

oEuropean History

oFrench Language & Culture

oGerman Language & Culture

oGovernment & Politics: Comparative

oGovernment & Politics: United States

oJapanese Language & Culture

oLatin

oMacroeconomics

oMicroeconomics

oMusic Theory

oPhysics B

oPhysics C: Electricity & Magnetism

oPhysics C: Mechanics

oPsychology

oSpanish Language & Culture

oSpanish Literature & Culture

oStatistics

oStudio Art: 2-D Design

oStudio Art: 3-D Design

oStudio Art: Drawing

oUnited States History

oWorld History

★ Gain the edge in college preparation

• Get a head start on exactly the sort of work you will confront

in college

• Improve writing skills and sharpen problem-solving techniques

• Develop the study habits necessary for tackling rigorous

course work

• Improve your SAT performance by course selection

★ Stand out in the college admissions process

• Demonstrate maturity and readiness for college

• Show willingness to push yourself to the limit

• Emphasize your commitment to academic excellence

★ Broaden your intellectual horizons

• Explore the world from a variety of perspectives, most

importantly your own

• Study subjects in greater depth and detail

better prepared academically

more likely to choose challenging majors

likely to complete more college-level work

likely to perform significantly better than

students who did not take AP courses

more likely to exercise leadership

more likely to graduate with a double major

twice as likely to go into advanced study

Facts About the Advanced Placement Program, 2002

AP Exams are administered by schools

worldwide each May.

Exams usually last around three hours.

Each AP Exam contains:

Multiple-choice questions

Free-response questions (essay, problem-

solving, oral response)

Most two- and four-year colleges and universities in the United

States offer credit or advanced placement for qualifying AP

Exam scores:

Credit: Students earn credit toward their college degrees.

Advanced placement: Students can skip introductory courses

and move directly into higher-level classes, and/or fulfill

general education requirements.

AP Exam fee for 2013 is

$89 per exam.

For students with financial

need, the College Board

provides a $28 per exam

fee reduction.

Students can talk find out

more about exam fees

and payment options

from their campus AP

Coordinators.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Strongly

Agree

Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly

Disagree

Admissions(selectiveinstitutions)

Admissions(non-selectiveinstitutions)

“We look favorably on

students who have

taken AP courses. The

presence of AP courses

is a sign that a student

has chosen to

challenge him/herself.”

-AP Admissions Officer

Online Bulletin Board

AP students statewide in Texas earn higher GPA’s and have higher four-year graduation rates when compared to students with similar SAT scores and socioeconomic backgrounds who did not take AP courses and exams.

Study by Hargrove, Godin, Dodd; University of Texas

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

<850 860-

970

980-

1080

>1090

Standard HSCourse

AP CourseOnly

AP Course andExam

SAT Score Category

First

-Year

GPA

www.collegeboard.com

First-Year College GPA

College credit earned through AP Exams allows students to move into upper-level college courses sooner, pursue a double major, and gain time to study and travel abroad.

“As a freshman, I was able to skip general

education requirements and head straight

into the higher-level classes I wanted to

take. Taking AP Exams literally saved me

semesters of time.”—Brent Wiese,

University of Iowa

1. Search by college or university name or by letter of the alphabet.

2. For each school, you will see:

A link to the college’s own Web page that details its AP credit and placement policies.

A statement by the college or university about its AP policy.

Information about AP credit and placement policies at many colleges and universities is available at www.collegeboard.org/apcreditpolicy.

Students who take AP courses and exams are much more likely than their peers to

complete a college degree on time.

Only one in four students who enter college complete a

bachelor’s degree in four years.*

A recent study** showed that students taking AP courses

and exams were much more likely to earn a college

degree in four years.

For example, AP English Literature students had four-year college graduation rates that were 62% higher than

students that had not taken AP English Literature. * IPEDS database, 2008

** Linda Hargrove, Donn Godin, and Barbara Dodd, “College Outcomes Comparisons by AP and

Non-AP High School Experiences.” The College Board, 2008.

Students who take five years or more to graduate can spend $21,500 for each additional year in college.* The average college cost per year for a

four-year public institution is $21,447 for in-state students.

Costs include tuition and fees, room and board, transportation, and other expenses.

*SOURCE: The College Board, Trends in College Pricing 2011, Figure 1 ** Unpublished institutional research, Crux Research Inc. March 2007

31% of colleges and universities consider a student’s AP

experience when making decisions about which

students will receive scholarships.**

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, research.stlouisfed.org, 2011 (via Weakonomics blog)

Shaded areas indicate US recession

Accept the challenge of Pre-AP and AP courses

Read on a daily basis

Complete and turn-in assignments on time consistently

Study – take responsibility for your own learning

Get help – from parents, teachers, mentors

Set high goals, apply to competitive colleges

Always give 100% effort

Reap the benefits

Provide quiet time and place for doing homework and studying

Supervise homework Eliminate distractions during study

hours (TV, radio, video games, internet chat, cell phones, etc.)

Follow district attendance recommendations and requirements

Make sure children get enough sleep and adequate nutrition

Monitor student employment, balance economic need with student performance

Encourage children to take Pre-AP courses as seriously as AP courses

Support and encourage children as they struggle to achieve

Explain how middle and high school success is directly related to future success

Encourage children to read through modeling and discussion

For additional information on Pre-AP

and AP courses, please contact

your student’s campus Guidance

Counselor, AP Coordinator, or visit www.collegeboard.org/apstudents