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The Advanced Placement Program, commonly called AP, is a program that offers college level courses at high schools across the United States and Canada.

History

The College Board, a non-profit organization which has run the AP program since 1955, develops and maintains college level courses in various subject areas. In addition, it supports teachers of AP courses, supports universities as they define their policies regarding 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 2006, over one million high school students took over two million AP examinations. Many high schools in the United States offer AP courses, though the College Board allows any student to take the examination without participating in the course. Therefore, home-schooled students and students from schools that do not offer AP courses have an equal opportunity to take the examination. As of the 2008 testing season, exams cost $88 each, though the cost may be subsidized by local or state programs. Financial aid is available for students who qualify for it; the exam reduction is usually $5 per exam.

On April 3, 2008, College Board announced that AP courses in Italian, Latin Literature, French Literature, and Computer Science AB will be discontinued after 2009 .

Scoring

AP tests are scored differently from the A-F grading scale common in the United States. They are scored on a numeric scale, 1 to 5, with a score of 3 considered passing and the following general meanings:

• 5: Extremely well-qualified
• 4: Well-qualified
• 3: Qualified
• 2: Possibly qualified
• 1: No recommendation

These scores are obtained with a bell curved grading scale - thus students are scored competing against each other rather than on a set standard.

These scorings are used by some colleges to exempt students from introductory coursework if they demonstrate mastery through an AP test. Each college's policy is different (see link below), but most accept scores of 4 or 5, and some accept scores of 3. On the student's college transcript, the course is given a simple CR or other generic grade to indicate that the student has received credit for the course, although some colleges and universities will award an A grade for a 5 score.

In some high schools with an exam exemption policy, an AP Exam can be taken in place of the school's final exam and the final grade given to the student in that case is the final quarter/semester grade without the exam. The AP exam is rarely used as a course grade because the AP exam scores are published in mid-July, while many schools issue their final grade earlier in the year. Some teachers encourage success on the AP test by offering after-the-fact grade boosts for certain scores.

Some schools, however, have policies that allow the AP Exam grade to override a grade earned in the course. A typical scale is as follows:

• 5: A
• 4: B
• 3: C
• 2: D
• 1: F

Individual teachers may have their own policy in this respect.

This is usually only used when an exam grade's letter value is greater than that of the grade earned in the course.

Exam subsidies

Recognizing that the cost could be an impediment to students of limited means, a number of states and municipalities independent of the College Board have partially or fully subsidized the cost. For example, the Los Angeles Unified School District, the Hawaii Department of Education, and the Edmonds School District currently allow Advanced Placement students who enroll in the free school lunch program to take AP exams at a lower cost. In addition, some school districts, such as Broward County Public Schools and Springdale Public Schools, offer free tests to all students enrolled in any Advanced Placement class.

See also

• Education in the United States
• Education in Canada
• Advanced Placement Awards

Notes and References

1. About the College Board
2. The History of the AP Program
3. The Advanced Placement Program
4. Program Summary Report 2006
5. AP Fact Sheet
6. AP: Frequently Asked Questions
7. AP Language, Computer Courses Cut

McCauley, David. 2007. The Impact of Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment Programs on College Graduation. Applied Research Project. Texas State University. http://ecommons.txstate.edu/arp/206/