About AP

The Advanced Placement Program offers qualified students the opportunity to take rigorous, College Board approved, college level courses in high school that help satisfy the District graduation criteria and the opportunity to earn college credit.  Each university sets its own policy regarding college credit for AP courses based on AP exam scores.

Teachers of AP Courses create a course syllabus that is authorized by the College Board which includes exam preparation and the use of college level text materials.

The office provides assistance to teachers towards receiving College Board authorization for their course.

SRC policy states that every Advanced Placement student must take the AP exam for that course. The Office of Secondary School Reform covers the cost of these exams.

AP CONTACTS:  Vera Da Vinci, Progam Manager  :  Janiece M. Frisby, Assistant (Intern)

AP Facts

Advanced Placement Facts

• The AP Program offers 34 courses in 22 subject areas.
• Twenty-eight (28) different courses at 56 high schools will be offered this year
• Five (5) Saturday AP courses are currently offered at the Education Center, 440 N. Broad St.
• All students taking AP courses must take the corresponding AP Exam in May 2011. The District will pay the cost of the exam for students enrolled in an AP course under a College Board AUTHORIZED teacher and who are NOT covered by a fee waiver.
• Students sign an AP Student Exam Expectations Agreement in which the student commits to wise time management, applied study effort, parent guardian awareness and preparation assistance, and the committment of school's AP Administrator to provide a "fair and Secure" facility for exam administration.
• AP college level courses include reading and writing assignments that are more complexand require more time to complete than assignments in basic courses, but completion of an AP course is rewarded with higher course weighting, which is reflected in the student's Grade Point Average (GPA).  College credit may be offered for high scores on an AP Exam, but acceptable scores differ with each college/university.
• 85% of selective colleges and universities indicate that a student's AP experience "favorably impacts admissions decisions."
• 31% of colleges and universities factor a student's AP experience into decisions about which students will receive scholarships.

Saturday and Summer AP

• Currently, eligible and interested SDP students may take one (1) AP class on Saturdays and during the Summer Program.
• A variety of courses are offered depending on student interest and teacher availability.

AP Benefits

Benefits of Taking Advanced Placement Courses

• Helps prepare you for college by experiencing a college-level exam evaluated by college and university professors and AP teachers using college-level standars while in high school
• Boost your chances for college admissions and credit with YOU controlling which schools receive your exam grade(s)
• Research shows that AP students have a higher retention rate in college completion
• Most colleges grant credit or upper-level course placement, or both, for qualifying AP exam grades
  • Qualifying grades on an AP exam are 3, 4 or 5

AP Demographic Statistics

Statistics

• In May of 2010, over 5,730 AP exams were taken by Philadelphia high school students.
• Eighty-five percent (85%) of students who take an AP course will attend college
• Sixty-one percent (61%) of students who take two or more AP courses graduate college in four years
• Over 90% of the nation's colleges and universities have an AP policy granting incoming students credit, placement, or both for qualifying APExam grades.
• Around 60% of U.S. high schools participate in the AP Program.