Advanced Placement courses are college-level courses offered by trained high school teachers in the regular high school setting. AP® courses guarantee rigor in our classrooms. The high school teachers who offer AP® courses are trained by The College Board to offer the course at a college-level and have a syllabus approved by The College Board. AP® courses are challenging and require significant study time on a daily basis. Assessments in these classes require sophisticated critical thinking skills. In May of each year, AP students take the AP® exam(s). Students who score at the 3, 4 or 5 level may be able to earn college credit for these courses taken in the high school. Policies for credit differ from college to college, so take care to check college admissions and credit policies.
Performing well on an AP® exam means more than just the successful completion of a course. Research suggests that students who complete an AP®
Coursework are:
- Better prepared for college-level work
- Stand-outs in college admissions process
- More likely to continue beyond their freshman year in college
- More likely to graduate within 4-5 years
- More competitive in qualifying for scholarships
There are currently 35 AP courses that high schools in the US may choose to offer. Not all courses are offered in each high school. Communicate with your local school’s counseling department to learn which of these courses are offered in your high school.
Arts
- AP Art History
- AP Music Theory
- AP Studio Art 2-D Design
- AP Studio Art 3-D Design
- AP Studio Art Drawing
Mathematics & Computer Science
English
Sciences
- AP Biology
- AP Chemistry
- AP Environmental Science
- AP Physics 1 (replaces Physics B and begins fall of 2014)
- AP Physics 2 (replaces Physics B and begins fall of 2015)
- AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism
- AP Physics C: Mechanics
History & Social Sciences
- AP Comparative Government & Politics
- AP European History
- AP Human Geography
- AP Macroeconomics
- AP Microeconomics
- AP Psychology
- AP United States Government & Politics
- AP United States History
- AP World History
World Languages & Cultures
- AP Chinese Language and Culture
- AP French Language and Culture
- AP German Language and Culture
- AP Italian Language and Culture
- AP Japanese Language and Culture
- AP Latin
- AP Spanish Language and Culture
- AP Spanish Literature and Culture
Advanced Placement Scholar Awards
The College Board recognizes several levels of achievement based on students' performance on AP Exams. The levels of achievement are listed below:
Students can qualify for the National AP Scholar Award by earning an average grade of 4 or higher on a five-point scale on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams.
Students can also qualify for the AP Scholar with Distinction Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams.
In addition, students can qualify for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams.
Students also have the opportunity to qualify for the AP Scholar Award by completing three or more AP Exams with grades of 3 or higher.
2018 Advanced Placement Fee Reimbursement
The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) strongly believes that all students should have equal access to the benefit of Advanced Placement (AP) coursework. With the switch to ESSA funding for the 2018 fiscal year, federal funds will go directly to the local school districts in the form of block grants. Please contact your district’s federal programs coordinator to ensure that funds are being allocated for your students’ AP exam fee reductions.
If you have additional questions, please contact Heather Morrison at hmorrison@ihl.state.ms.us.
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