AP is a subsidiary of the College Board. The College Board is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to connect students to college success and excellence. In addition to AP, the College Board is known for administering the SAT and PSAT exams.

The Advanced Placement program began after World War II in an effort to provide an opportunity for high school students to experience college-level academic rigor. AP curricula is developed by experts in the field, including active college professors, and are designed to emulate the content and skill expectations of a typical college course. 

All AP courses offered in high schools must be approved by the College Board through a process called the AP Audit. This ensures that students nationwide are held to a consistent academic standard.

Students in AP courses are encouraged to register for AP Exams. AP Exams happen every year in May. Students who score well on AP Exams may be eligible for college credit depending on the policies of the college or university they will be attending. Please see the BHS AP Exam Information page for more details.

AP courses at BHS offer students a number of benefits:

• Explore subjects of student interest to a greater extent and with more rigor.

• For GPA grade-weighting purposes, AP courses count as Honors-level courses (this is true for IB as well).

• Develop strong learning habits, stamina, and study skills.

• The opportunity to earn possible college credits via the AP Exams.

• Students who take AP courses/exams can sometimes skip introductory-level courses in college.

• For more information about the benefits of AP, check out the College Board's AP website.

BHS offers the following AP courses this year:

• Art & Design

• Calculus AB

• Computer Science A

• Computer Science Principles

• English Language and Composition

• European History

• Physics 1: Algebra Based

• Statistics

• United States Government & Politics

This is a common question that we get quite often! 

Both AP and IB (International Baccalaureate) are programs designed to encourage students to challenge themselves academically, but they have slightly different approaches: 

• AP is designed to replicate a typical college-level content learning experience. Think of it as a college class being taught in a high school.

• IB courses are designed to explore subjects in-depth, and focus on critical thinking and communication skills. Think of it as a high school class that prepares students for college.

But there are a lot of commonalities between AP and IB. These include:

• Both are considered honors-level classes.

• Both encourage students to work hard and to develop college-ready skills.

• Both allow students the opportunity to take Exams that can earn them college credit.

We think AP and IB are both valuable additions to a BHS student's learning experience. There is an AP class for everyone and an IB class for everyone, and we encourage our students to explore both AP and IB opportunities at BHS!