Advanced / AP / Gifted and Talented Placement

Middle School Advanced (formerly Pre-Advanced Placement) classes provide the foundation for entering the Pre-AP/AP program at the high school level.  In middle school, Advanced (formerly Pre-Advanced Placement) courses in the four core areas will cover grade level curriculum with greater depth and complexity.  These courses will NOT be accelerated and will provide more flexibility in course selection and student scheduling. A student profile that provides guidance criteria for Advanced (formerly Pre-AP) classes is available in the counselor’s office.  Students who enroll in Advanced (formerly Pre-AP) classes should be task committed and have good time management skills.

Advanced (formerly Pre-Advanced Placement) classes are also offered at the high school level and provide strategies and skills recommended to enter the Advanced Placement program.  Advanced Placement classes are offered in the four core areas as well as computer science, the Arts, and foreign languages. Students in Advanced Placement courses will be strongly encouraged to take an Advanced Placement examination in each course.  The fee per AP exam is approximately $94 and the fee per AP Seminar and AP Research are approximately $142. Significant fee reductions are available for students qualifying for free and reduced lunch. Check with your counselor to learn more about eligibility requirements for College Board fee reductions, state and district subsidies, and other support that may be available.  If students choose not to take the College Board exam they will be given a released version of the course’s Advanced Placement test.  The released version will be scored and provided to the student as feedback, but it will not be graded and factored into weighting for the course.  Of course, the AP College Board exam should be the goal of every student enrolled in an Advanced Placement course. Students enrolled in GT/Advanced(formerly Pre-AP)/AP courses are encouraged to carefully consider the academic load in which they are registering.  Students who enroll in Advanced Placement classes should be task committed, have good time management skills, and be able to handle the rigor of a college level class.

Advanced (formerly) Pre-AP and AP course instructors are required to receive gifted education professional learning in instructional strategies and the needs of the gifted. GT Advanced (formerly GT Pre-AP) and GT AP courses include increased content depth and complexity.

Gifted students at the middle school level are served through GT Discoveries, integrated English Language Arts Advanced and Advanced (formerly Pre-AP) Social Studies courses, and may also elect to enroll in Accelerated Math and Accelerated Science.  GT Independent Study is a middle school elective option.

Gifted high school students may enroll in GT English I Advanced, GT English II Advanced, GT AP Language and Composition (counted toward English III or English IV), and GT AP Literature and Composition (counted toward English IV).  GT AP Human Geography, GT AP World History, GT AP US History, GT AP Government, and GT AP Economics are also available to gifted high school students.  

ASPIRE Academy courses meet the needs of highly gifted students who require significant curricular modifications in the classroom environment. In addition to differentiation of the core curriculum, the ASPIRE Academy curriculum will be aligned to state and NAGC standards, incorporate and utilize resources that will add depth complexity and appropriate pacing through enrichment and extension.

Please click here for more information about GCISD's Advanced Academics program.