The Advanced Placement Program® (AP) enables willing and academically prepared students to pursue college-level studies while still in high school. The program consists of college-level courses developed by the AP Program that high schools can choose to offer, and corresponding exams that are administered once a year. There are 38 AP courses in seven subject categories. Each of the 38 exams has its own unique requirements; however, almost all the exams have several things in common:

• Most exams are two to three hours long. 

• The first part of the exam usually consists of multiple-choice questions.

• The second part of the exam usually consists of free-response questions that require you to generate your own responses. Depending on the exam, your responses could be in the form of an essay, a solution to a problem, or a spoken response.

Benefits

Taking AP courses and exams can help students:

• Stand out on college applications. AP courses on a student’s transcript show that they’ve challenged themselves with the most rigorous courses available to them. And success on an AP Exam shows that they’re ready for college-level coursework.

• Earn college credit and/or skip introductory courses in college. Most four-year colleges and universities in the United States—as well as many institutions in more than 100 other countries—grant students credit, placement, or both for qualifying AP Exam scores. 

• If you want to know who will accept your exam score and how many credits you will receive, use this search tool. >>> Search credit policies by college <<<

Expectations

It is the policy of West Monroe High School that students enrolled in any Advanced Placement (AP) course are required by WMHS to take the associated AP Exam in May.  If a student does not participate in the AP exam the student will not receive the AP designation on the transcript and this could potentially delay them from receiving their diploma.  Every student’s situation is unique, therefore it is the responsibility of the student to know the consequences of any decisions they choose to make.

AP students are required to submit schedule changes and follow all the deadlines posted by the guidance department. Students will not be moved out of an AP class sections unless there is a conflict with their schedule like all other WMHS students. Dropping courses because a student does not want to take the class anymore is not a valid reason according to their policy. 

Student failing to make payment for their AP exam deposit, or the full payment of the exam, will not be allowed to take the AP exam for that course in May.  This will not have any impact on their class schedules or change them in any manner.  However, the student's transcript will be changed to reflect the regular course offering instead of the AP course. The student will also not receive the difficulty factor for the course.  The student will remain in the class for the normal scheduled period and still be required to complete the assigned coursework and curriculum taught by the teacher.

Contact Information

AP Coordinator  |  Mr. Lovelady  |  zacharylovelady@opsb.net

WMHS Testing Coordinator  |  Mrs. Rawls | mrawls@opsb.net