Advanced Placement
What is Advanced Placement (AP)?
AP classes were created in the mid-1950s as a response to the widening gap between secondary school (high school) and college. A pilot program in 1952 had 11 subjects, but AP didn’t officially launch until the 1956 school year, when College Board took over the program and named it the College Board Advanced Placement Program.
The program expanded rapidly over the years. Now over 2.4 million students take AP exams every year in 38 subjects. It’s also much more common for students to take multiple AP classes over the course of their high school careers.
Who can take AP courses?
AP courses are open to all students with the prerequisite coursework who wish to take on the additional challenge of advanced academics. Students who choose to enroll, however, should be prepared for the increased academic challenge of these courses. AP courses concentrate on providing students with challenging college level academic instruction while preparing students for the AP exam associated with the course. PCSS’s Advanced Placement program includes service to identified academically talented students. AP courses earn weighted grade points.
Students are responsible for ensuring that the college that they are planning to attend will award credit for AP examination scores.
All students enrolled in an Advanced Placement class are required to take the exam.
Why take AP classes?
Taking an AP class (or several!) is a great way to challenge yourself academically and show colleges that you are serious about your education. An AP class on your transcript signals stronger academic training, especially with high passing scores of 4 and 5 on the test.
In particular, getting a 5 shows that you are more advanced in a subject than 80-90% of advanced students – which looks very impressive to colleges!
Since AP courses are challenging and require you to study for a comprehensive exam, they teach you skills that will help you in college classes. According to College Board, students who take AP exams get higher grades in college than those with similar grades who don’t take AP exams.
Taking AP exams is also a way to demonstrate real academic interest in a certain subject. For example, if you’re an aspiring engineer, taking AP Calculus and AP Physics and passing the exams proves to a college admissions committee that you are serious about engineering and have the skills to pursue it.
Some universities give credit for AP classes. For schools that accept the exams as class credit, it makes it possible to graduate college in a shorter amount of time, saving you money!
Why is taking the AP Exam required?
Students who register and pay for AP exams but fail to take the exam on the designated date forfeit the weighted points from any grade earned in the AP/IB course per TN High School Policy. Final GPA will be recalculated to reflect this reduction in weight before transcripts are sent to colleges and universities.
What are the exam fees and payment deadlines?
Exam fees for the AP exams must be paid during the first 6 months of school during the current school year due to exam ordering requirements. Counselors will provide fee information to all AP students, enrolled in courses at the beginning of the school year. The most recent AP exam fee was $95.00 per exam taken. Exam prices do increase minimally each year.
Payment deadlines are set by AP and communicated to students by their AP teachers at the beginning of the school year. A substantial late fee will be applied to all late payments. Payment plans are available but all payments must be completed by the first Friday following Winter Break.