Advanced Placement Courses

AP® enables students to pursue college level studies while still in high school.  AP provides willing and academically prepared students with the opportunity to earn college credit, advanced placement or both. Taking AP courses also demonstrates to college admission officers that students have sought out the most rigorous curriculum available to them. Talented and dedicated SCA teachers help students in AP courses develop and apply the skills, abilities and content knowledge they will need later in college.

Each AP course is modeled upon a comparable college course, and college and university faculty play a vital role in ensuring that AP courses align with college level standards. Each AP course concludes with a college level exam developed and scored by college and university faculty members as well as experienced AP teachers. AP Exams are an essential part of the AP experience, enabling students to demonstrate their mastery of college level course work.

AP is accepted by most two and four year colleges and universities worldwide for college credit, advanced placement or both on the basis of successful exam scores. Universities in more than 60 countries recognize AP Exam scores in the admission process and/or award credit and placement for qualifying scores. Performing well on an AP Exam means more than just the successful completion of a course. Research consistently shows that students who score a 3 or higher typically earn higher GPA in college and have higher graduation rates than their not AP student peers.

AP® Courses offered at SCA:

Arts

• Music Theory
• Art History

English

• English Language and Composition
• English Literature and Composition

History and Social Sciences

• Geography
• United States Government and Politics
• United States History
• World History

Mathematics

• Calculus
• Statistics

Sciences

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Physics

World Languages

• French Language
• Spanish Language

Overview of AP Exam Scores:

Each AP Exam score is a weighted combination of the student’s scores on the multiple-choice section and the free-response section. The final score is reported on a 5-point scale. Although colleges and universities are responsible for setting their own credit and placement policies, AP scores signify how qualified students are to receive college credit or placement:

5 = extremely well qualified
4 = well qualified
3 = qualified
2 = possibly qualified
1 = no recommendation

The AP Program periodically conducts studies to compare the performance of AP students with the performance of college students in parallel courses. For most AP subjects, results indicate that:

• AP Exam scores of 5 are equivalent to grades of A in the corresponding college course.
• AP Exam scores of 4 are equivalent to grades of A-, B+ and B in college.
• AP Exam scores of 3 are equivalent to grades of B-, C+ and C in college.

AP Score Reporting:

AP score reports are provided in July to designated colleges, students, high schools and districts. The reports are cumulative and include scores for all the AP Exams a student has ever taken, unless the student has requested that one or more scores be withheld from a college, or canceled. Although most AP score reports are provided in July, some reports take longer to process because of problems with identification information or the late arrival of materials from the testing location. Students who have not received a score report by Sept. 1 should contact AP Services.

Reports, Services and Awards for Students:

Each student automatically receives an AP score report that lists the student’s cumulative AP Exam scores and any colleges to which his or her scores were sent. The following reporting services and awards are available to students.

• Scores by Phone: Students can get their exam scores by phone starting July 1.
• Additional Score Reports by Phone: Students can have a score report sent to colleges other than the one they specified on their AP answer sheet starting July 1.
• Score Withholding: Students can withhold one or more scores from the college specified on their AP answer sheet.
• Score Cancellation: Students can delete a score permanently from their records.
• Free-Response Booklets: Students can request their free-response booklets from the 2012 exam administration (booklets with unreleased questions will not be available to order). No comments, corrections or scores are included.
• Multiple-Choice Rescore Service: Students can request to have their multiple-choice answer sheets rescored by hand.
• AP Scholar Awards: Each September, through the AP Scholar Awards, the College Board recognizes high school students who have demonstrated exemplary college-level achievement on AP Exams. Certificates are sent directly to students who qualify, and a roster of award recipients is provided online to their secondary schools and districts.

For more information, visit:

www.collegeboard.org/apid (students). Students can find additional information on these score reporting services and awards in the Bulletin for AP Students and Parents, in the AP Student Pack and at www.collegeboard.org/apstudents