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Advanced Placement Program

Advanced Placement Program
 
AP Coordinator, Todd Franklin 709-7827  todd.franklin@tumwater.k12.wa.us
For additional information about AP scores and reporting, go to: http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/exgrd.html
Connect to college success www.collegeboard.com
 
Frequently Asked Questions
 
What is the Advanced Placement Program?
The AP Program is open to any secondary school willing to offer AP Courses (to all students who are willing to accept the challenge of a rigorous curriculum), administer the AP Exams, and foster teacher development. Each fall, schools register for participation by obtaining a school code (if the school does not already have one) and submitting the AP Participation Form and Teacher Listing to the AP Program.  The College Board® Advanced Placement Program offers 35 courses in 19 disciplines.
 
How many colleges accept AP grades?
More than 90 percent of the colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, as well as colleges and universities in 20 other countries, have a policy granting incoming students credit, placement, or both, for qualifying AP Exam grades. The best source of specific and up-to-date information about an individual institution's policy is its catalog or Web site.
 
How many schools and students participate in the AP Program?
Nearly 60 percent of U.S. high schools -- approximately 14,000 in 2001 -- participate in the AP Program. In that same year, more than 840,000 students took 1.4 million AP Exams.
 
Why Take Advanced Placement Courses?
¨          90% of students who take AP courses rank those experiences as the most valuable of their high school studies.
 
¨          AP courses and AP examinations are the equivalent of college courses and examinations. Success on a single AP exam (scores of 3,4,or 5) may mean credit for a college course.
 
¨          66% of students nationwide who take AP exams earn a 3 or better.
 
¨          82% of college admissions officers rated “courses selected” as the most important criterion in admission decisions.  It was not class rank, or GPA, or SAT scores, it was the course of study elected by the candidate.
 
¨          A recent Department of Education report (Adelman) found that the best indicator of success in college is the rigor of classes taken in high school.
 
¨          Financial needs should not prevent a student from taking AP exams.  Between the College Board, state and federal programs, and local resources, we will do our best to provide financial assistance to students who are committed to the AP tests.
 
¨          For more information about Advanced Placement: http://www.collegeboard.org/ap or http://www.k12.wa.us/ap
 
Benefits of the AP Program
A steadily increasing number of parents, students, teachers, and school administrators are turning to AP as a model of educational excellence. Administrators say AP raises the bar for academic achievement in their schools, and they often see a diffusion of higher academic standards through the schools' entire curriculum. High schools that participate in AP set the pace in college preparation. Teachers benefit by participating in professional development workshops and Summer Institutes as well as from the opportunity to become "Readers" for the AP Exams. Many AP teachers derive enormous satisfaction from working in greater depth with a group of motivated students, and they appreciate the open dialogue and exchange of ideas with the diverse members of the AP community, which includes college faculty, school administrators, and other high school teachers. Students, of course, benefit by participating in a challenging and rigorous educational experience for which they may gain credit or advanced placement when they attend college.
 

 
Parental support you can give your student!
 
1)        Congratulate your son/daughter for taking the step of enrolling in a challenging, rigorous AP class.
 
2)        Assist your students with managing time and establishing a schedule for studying.
 
3)        Help your student avoid becoming over-committed.
 
4)        Assist with breakfast and lunch, ensuring your son/daughter is eating well.
 
5)         Insist your student stay after school and study in the library or with the AP teacher on occasion. Suggest the student work with a study group on a consistent basis.
 
6)        Communicate with the AP teacher or counselor if you believe your son/daughter needs extra help or is overly stressed.
 
7)        Obtain tutorial assistance, if needed.
 
8)        Encourage your student to take the AP test; it will boost the student’s self-esteem and assist him/her in preparing for college.
 
AP Coordinator, Todd Franklin 709-7827  todd.franklin@tumwater.k12.wa.us