Advanced Placement (AP) Courses
What are Advanced Placement courses?Advanced Placement courses are high school courses that are taught with a college level curriculum. Teachers wishing to teach AP courses must apply to the College Board. After the College Board has reviewed the course syllabus and materials (making sure that it is suitably rigorous), the teacher is permitted to teach the AP course.
AP courses are known for their advanced degree of difficulty (in both rigor and content), and students that pass AP exams with a score of 3, 4, or 5 often receive college credit for the subject that they tested in (please note: not all colleges and universities accept AP Test scores in lieu of classes taken at their institutions, so students should check with any institution of higher learning that they are interested in attending before taking exams). Currently, students usually take the AP course equivalent in place of the standard high school course (i.e.: they take AP Chemistry in place of Chemistry). When the AP program first began, however, students took the AP classes after taking the standard class in order to deepen their knowledge of a subject more thoroughly. Based on the course credit requirements (and unique interests) of each individual student, either option is appropriate for enrolling in an AP course. Current*, approved AP courses in TTUSD**:AP Art Studio AP English Literature
AP Biology AP Environmental Science AP Calculus AB AP European History AP Calculus BC AP Government AP Chemistry AP Gov. & US Politics AP Economics AP Macroeconomics AP English 11 AP Microeconomics AP English 12 AP Music Theory currentlyAP Eng Language & Composition AP Physics B AP Eng Literature & Composition AP Psychology *Please note: Some of these courses are currently taught at only one or two of the three high schools in TTUSD. Also, some of these courses are on a cycled loop (i.e.: they are taught every other year, or every three years, etc.) in order to ensure full classes. **Please note: In the past, TTUSD has taught a number of other AP courses that are not featured here because they are no longer taught. An AP course may be discontinued for a number of reasons, the most common being: 1) Lack of student interest. (2) We no longer have highly qualified teachers to teach the program. (3) We no longer have funding for the course, etc. |
Some Common Misconceptions about AP:1. There is a misconception that the students who were GATE-identified at a younger age are now our "typical" AP students.
--AP is not a synonym for "GATE" at the high school level. Students who were identified as "GATE" students at younger grades would often benefit from the rigor and intensity of an AP course, but data shows that most TTUSD AP students were not identified GATE at a younger age (approximately 67% of AP students were not identified GATE students at an earlier age). How can this be? Researchers such as Carol Dweck, Dan and Chip Heath, et al. suggest that students who work hard at school, have good study habits and work ethic, can often perform at the same (if not higher) levels as students that have been deemed to have higher natural (academic) behaviors over time. 2. Taking large numbers of AP courses and exams is the best way to get into a "good" school after high school.
--This is a very common misconception because it is sometimes accurate, and sometimes inaccurate. Some colleges and universities like to see that high school students have challenged themselves with rigorous courses in conjunction with balancing a busy extra-curricular calendar. These institutions are often extremely excited when potential students have passed (especially with a 4 or 5) multiple AP exams. Other colleges and universities, however, are neither impressed nor unimpressed with AP courses (since schools can no longer test students in order to allow them entrance to the class), and they do not accept passing scores in lieu of taking basic undergraduate requirements. This is why it is imperative that students research their potential school choices in order to determine their stance on the AP exam and classes (some schools will not accept a weighted GPA either). 3. AP courses are supposed to be taken in place of the standard courses, not in addition to.
--Deciding whether or not a student should take an AP course in addition to or in place of the standard course is a decision that has many variables, and each student should consider this decision individually. While this is not an exhaustive list of considerations, these are a few important things to think about before making a decision: 1. Does the AP class that the student wants to take have any pre-requisites? 2. Do the colleges/universities that the student wants to attend have any requirements surrounding AP courses? 3. Is this a subject that the student has a particular desire to go deeper into the learning on? Or is this in place of a regular requirement only? 4. Does the student need more credits in this subject? 5. Does the class fit into the student's schedule? Etc. |