Advanced Placement Program
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The Advanced Placement Program (also Advanced Placement, AP) is a United States program that offers high school students the opportunity to receive college credit for their work during high school. The not-for-profit College Board, which has run the program since 1955, develops and maintains courses in various subject areas, supports those who teach the courses, supports colleges as they define their policies related to AP grades, and develops and coordinates the administration of annual AP examinations. These activities are funded through fees charged to students taking AP Exams.
In 2002, over one million high school students participated in AP courses; over 90% of whom took the corresponding AP exam. Many high schools offer AP courses, though the College Board allows the home-schooled and others who have not taken a course at a high school to take the exam.
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AP exams
Each May, participating schools administer AP exams. They are an integral part of the program. With one exception, the exam combines multiple-choice questions with a free-response section in either essay or problem-solving form. The exception is Studio Art, where the exam is replaced by a portfolio assessment.
Each June, the free-response sections and the Studio Art portfolios are scored by thousands of college faculty and AP course teachers at the AP Reading. These scores are combined with the results of computer-scored multiple-choice questions, and converted into a grade on AP's five-point scale:
- 5: Extremely well-qualified
- 4: Well-qualified
- 3: Qualified
- 2: Possibly qualified
- 1: No recommendation
Many colleges and universities in the U.S. grant credits or advanced placement based on AP grades; those in over twenty other countries do likewise. Policies vary by institution. Most require at least a three to give a student credit. Others may only waive pre-requisites. Colleges may also take AP grades into account when deciding which students to accept, though this is not part of the official AP program.
Subject areas
The College Board offers AP exams in the following subject areas:
- Art History
- Biology
- Calculus AB: both differential and integral
- Calculus BC: superset of AB, covering functions of a single variable, including polynomials and Taylor series
- Chemistry
- Chinese Language and Culture (NOTE: New Course-first exam in May 2007)
- Computer Science A: object-oriented programming methodology; switched from C++ to Java for the 2003-4 academic year; includes studying the Marine Biology Simulation, a case study developed for the AP Program
- Computer Science AB: superset of A, with more formal and in-depth study of algorithms, data structures, design, and abstraction; also switched from C++ to Java for the 2003-2004 academic year; also includes study of Marine Biology Simulation
- English Language and Composition
- English Literature and Composition
- Environmental Science
- European History
- French Language
- French Literature
- German Language
- United States Government and Politics
- Comparative Government and Politics
- Human Geography
- Italian Language and Culture (NOTE: New Course-first exam in May 2006)
- Japanese Language and Culture (NOTE: New Course-first exam in May 2007)
- Latin (Vergil), based on the Aeneid
- Latin Literature, based on Catullus and one of the following (teacher's choice): Ovid, Cicero, Horace
- Macroeconomics
- Microeconomics
- Music Theory and Composition
- Physics B: Loosely for those pursuing majors in the life sciences, premedicine, and some applied sciences. Physics B tests a wider range of topics, but with less mathematical rigor.
- Physics C: Loosely for those pursuing majors in the physical sciences or engineering. The level C test requires the use of calculus, while the level B test does not. Because of its greater mathematical rigor, it does not test as many areas of physics. (Only mechanics and electricity and magnetism are tested, neglecting, for example, areas such as waves and optics).
- Psychology
- Russian Language and Culture (NOTE: New Course-first exam in May 2006)
- Spanish Language
- Spanish Literature
- Statistics
- Studio Art (2-D, 3-D, drawing)
- U.S. History
- World History
In 2003, trustees of the College Board approved in principle a plan for new courses in Italian, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian. The first of these was announced several months later: an AP course and exam in Italian Language and Culture, with the first examination in 2006. Refer to Course Listings from above.
AP Scholar Designations
Each year, the AP program recognizes students who have performed exceptionally well on AP examinations. Exams are taken in May and awards are usually granted in the following November. The following designations can be earned:
| Designation | Criteria |
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| AP Scholar | Grades of 3 or better on three or more AP exams. |
| AP Scholar with Honor | Grades of 3 or better on four or more AP exams and an average of 3.25 on all* AP exams taken. |
| AP Scholar with Distinction | Grades of 3 or better on five or more AP exams and an average of 3.5 on all* AP exams taken. |
| National AP Scholar | Grades of 4 or better on eight or more AP exams and an average of 4 on all* AP exams taken. Must be a student in the United States or Canada. |
| AP State Scholar | Top male and female student in each U.S. State (and the District of Columbia) ranked first by the greatest number of exams with a grade 3 or higher and then by highest average on all* AP exams taken. |
| Department of Defense for Education Activity (DoDEA) Scholar | Same as the AP State Scholar award except the student must attend a DoDEA school. Any recipient of this award must also at least meet the criteria for a AP Scholar. |
| AP International Scholar | Same as the AP State Scholar Award and DoDEA Scholar awards except the student must attend an American international school (which must also not be a DoDEA school). |
*Note: "All AP exams taken" refers to all AP exams taken in any year. It is not restricted to the year the award is issued in.
AP International Diploma
The AP program also awards the AP International Diploma for Overseas Study (APID) to students who have applied to colleges outside of the United States that have completed a sequence of AP exams with satisfactory grades. In particular, a student must earn a grade of 3 or better on five or more AP exams in three of the following five areas:
| English Language and Composition | English Literature and Composition | French Language |
| French Literature | German Language | Latin Literature |
| Latin: Vergil | Spanish Language | Spanish Literature |
| Chinese Language and Culture | Italian Language and Culture | Japanese Language and Culture |
| Russian Language and Culture |
| Biology | Chemistry | Environmental Science |
| Physics B | Physics C: Mechanics | Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism |
| Calculus AB | Calculus BC | Statistics |
| Human Geography | Comparative Government and Politics | U.S. Government and Politics |
| European History | U.S. History | World History |
| Macroeconomics | Microeconomics | Psychology |
| Art History | Computer Science A | Computer Science AB |
| Music Theory | Studio Art: 2-D Design | Studio Art: 3-D Design |
See also
External links
- The College Board's AP website for students and parents (http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/about.html)
- The College Board's website for AP professionals (http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/)