THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT PROGRAM

1. THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT PROGRAM It’s not just an examination. It’s not just a course. It’s a program.

2. THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT PROGRAM • College-level courses taught in high schools by high school teachers • 35 courses offered in 20 subject areas • In 2005, more than 1.2 million students took over 2.1 million AP Examinations.

3. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AP AND HONORS? • AP courses are designed and updated annually to reflect what’s being taught in cutting-edge college courses. • High school teachers must receive specialized training to teach an AP course. • Students receive an external evaluation—the AP Exam—which is scored by college faculty from around the world who verify that the student has mastered college-level studies.

4. ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMINATIONS • Administered in May • Approximately three hours long • Composed of multiple-choice and free-response questions • Free-response questions scored by college professors and AP teachers in June • AP Examination scores range from 1 to 5

5. ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMINATIONSINTERPRETATION OF SCORES • 5 – EXTREMELY WELL QUALIFIED • 4 – WELL QUALIFIED • 3 – QUALIFIED • 2 – POSSIBLY QUALIFED • 1 – NO RECOMMENDATION

6. WHO RECEIVES AP EXAM SCORES? • AP Score Reports are sent in July to students, high schools, and colleges designated by individual students • High school principals receive a special AP Score Report in August for all classes in which five or more students completed the AP Examination.

7. AP CREDIT AND PLACEMENT POLICY INFORMATION • Colleges and universities throughout the world offer credit and/or placement for qualifying Advanced Placement Exam scores. Information about AP credit and placement policies at many colleges and universities is now available on the College Board’s web site: • www.collegeboard.com/ap/creditpolicy

8. UNIVERSITY INFORMATION

9. BENEFITS OF AP PROGRAM – THE AP EFFECT ON STUDENTS Students who complete AP courses are: • better prepared academically • more likely to choose challenging majors • likely to complete more college level work • likely to perform significantly better than students who did not take AP courses • more likely to graduate with a double major • twice as likely to go into advanced study

10. RESPONSBILITIES OF AP STUDENTS • A willingness to actively engage with sophisticated concepts • A willingness to be judged by rigorous, college-level standards • A willingness to complete longer and more complex nightly assignments • A willingness to complete the AP Examination in May

11. FINAL THOUGHTS • Many students take five or six years, and sometimes even longer, to earn their bachelor’s degrees at public colleges and universities. • Students who take AP courses and exams are much more likely to graduate in four years.

12. WHAT’S WRONG WITH TAKING MORE THAN FOUR YEARS? • The typical college cost per year for a four-year public institution is $7,662 for in-state students and $18,529 for out-of-state students. • Students who take longer to graduate from a public college or university typically pay between $8,000 and $19,000 for each additional year. • Students attending private institutions who take longer than four years to graduate might expect to incur $26,197 for each additional year it takes to earn a bachelor’s degree.

13. ADDED BENEFITS • Taking AP increases eligibility for scholarships and makes candidates more attractive to colleges. • 31 percent of colleges and universities consider a student’s AP experience when making decisions about which students will receive scholarships. • 85 percent of selective colleges and universities report that a student’s AP experience favorably impacts admissions decisions.