Advanced Placement
Advanced Placement (AP) is a program created by the College Board that allows high school students to enroll in advanced courses that can earn them college credit or demonstrate their readiness for more challenging college coursework. With a diverse curriculum that includes thirty-nine subjects ranging from English and history to mathematics and sciences, AP courses are designed to provide a rigorous, fast-paced academic experience. Students take optional exams each May, which are necessary to earn credit, with scores graded on a scale from 1 to 5. Many colleges and universities grant credit for scores of 3 or higher, though some require a 4 or 5.
The program aims to enhance college readiness by enabling students to engage in college-level material while still in high school. However, access to AP courses can be inequitable, as not all schools offer them, and participation rates for underrepresented groups have historically been low. To address these disparities, the College Board has initiated policies to broaden access to AP classes. Students may also explore alternative programs, such as the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program or dual-enrollment classes, which offer similar opportunities for advanced study. Overall, participation in AP courses is linked to better preparation for college and higher graduation rates, though the demands of these courses require careful consideration of each student's capacity to balance academic and personal commitments.
Advanced Placement
Advanced placement (AP) is a College Board program that allows students to take special high school courses to earn college credit or show potential to take more advanced classes in college. Advanced placement courses give students an idea of what college-level courses are like because they move at a fast pace and require significant time outside the classroom to conduct research and study. The College Board’s AP Program includes thirty-nine courses with topics ranging from English, history, math, sciences, world languages and cultures. The exams are held each May but are optional. However, students must take an exam to receive credit for a class. These exams test everything taught in the AP class that year and scores are ranked on a scale of 1 to 5, with a score of 3 being designated as "qualified" and a score of 5 being "extremely well-qualified" according to College Board. While many colleges and universities grant credit or let students bypass entry-level courses if they score a 3, other schools only accept a score of 4 or 5. In 2025, the standard fee to take an exam was set at $99. Exams are scored by AP teachers and college professors who teach in that subject area. In 2024, the AP exams with the highest number of qualified examinees and above were AP Chinese Language and Culture, AP Research, AP Seminar, AP Spanish Language and Culture, AP Drawing, AP 2D Art Design, and AP Calculus BC. The AP exams with the lowest pass rate in 2024 were AP Physics 1, AP Environmental Science, AP English Language and Composition, AP Latin, and AP Human Geography. In 2024, more than three million students in grades nine through twelve participated in AP exams, according to the College Board.
Background
The College Board is a non-profit organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1900 and became known for administering the SAT. The College Board has run the AP program since 1955. During the Cold War, Americans feared that their students might lag behind those in the Soviet Union. They were looking for a way to give American high school students a way to take college-level courses that they would not have to repeat after enrolling in college. The AP program was developed based on research conducted by the Ford Foundation about America’s brightest students. It studied student achievement at three prep schools and found that many of the high school students there were prepared for college-level work. AP students initially paid $10 to take an exam and received a score on a scale of 1 to 5. The AP program was at first implemented nationally in ten subjects: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English, History, French, German, Spanish, and Latin. In the twenty-first century, the College Board provides guidelines to teachers in thirty-nine subject areas. The number of AP exams taken has steadily increased in the decades since then. For example, in 2003, 1.1 million students took an AP class, but by 2024, over 3 million students had taken a class.
A new course was added during the 2022-2023 school year: African American Studies. This was the first new AP course since 2014. About three hundred colleges accept the program for credit.
Overview
Students opt to take AP courses for several reasons. First, having taken these courses enhances the college application since they show that a student was given an academic challenge. According to the College Board, those who take AP courses develop the skills to get higher grades in college. Admissions counselors look for good grades and academic rigor when evaluating college applicants. Second, passing AP exams demonstrates that a student is serious about a particular subject or field. Thirty-nine AP subjects are available to study, so students can choose a subject that interests them. Third, some colleges provide credit for AP classes that enable students to finish college earlier, while other colleges use the scores to place students in higher-level classes. Lastly, because AP courses require independent work, they show that a student is ready to transition from being a high school senior to a college freshman.
Experts advise students to be aware that AP courses are strenuous and could lead to overextending oneself. Before students take an AP course, they should consider how much time they need to devote to regular high school classes as well as extracurricular activities.
If a student is applying to the most competitive colleges in the nation, taking seven to twelve AP courses might boost the student’s chances of being accepted. Even some selective state schools choose applicants who have taken four to six AP classes. A College Board study found a positive correlation between students who have taken AP classes and four-year-college graduation rates. This study likely shows that students who have taken AP classes are better prepared for college. However, this correlation may exist because an AP student may enter college with more credits and is therefore more likely to graduate in four years.
While participation in AP courses is positive overall, some students do not have access to AP courses because their high school does not offer them. Furthermore, in schools that do, Black and Latino student participation has historically been low, particularly in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) courses. Individual departments, schools, and districts set the standards for who can take AP courses, which often include earning certain test scores, class grades, or grade point average (GPA). College Board has made efforts to broaden enrollment, such as adding an Equity and Access Policy Statement in which they "encourage the elimination of barriers that restrict access to AP for students from ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups that have been traditionally underrepresented." Some schools have, in turn, made AP courses open-enrollment, meaning any student who is interested can take the class. However, logistical and staffing issues sometimes make such enrollment offerings difficult.
Students whose high schools do not have AP courses can study the courses independently. However, this can be challenging both logistically and academically as students would need to teach themselves. Two alternative programs are available to many students. The first is the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP), which is comparable to the College Board AP program. Both programs boast high levels of academics that are rigorous and recognized by most colleges and universities. However, important differences exist between the two programs. The AP program does not have extracurricular requirements for participation while the IBDP does. In the IBDP, coursework is graded throughout the year, while AP courses have only an exam at the end of the year. Also, AP exams are graded by the College Board, and IBDP work is graded by educators around the world at the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). In addition, the content of IBDP courses is more in-depth, while the AP courses’ goal is to have students learn in a fast-paced environment. The second is dual-enrollment classes. These classes are often run by local community colleges or universities or colleges that have developed curriculum to pair with high school students for this purpose. Often, students are required to pay per credit, though sometimes the school or district covers this cost. While dual-enrollment courses are designed with high school students in mind, they mimic entry-level college courses. Students who complete the course can earn the associated number of credits, often three or four per course. Each course is typically a semester long. Many students will enroll in an additional course for a second semester or two courses will be tied together so students can complete a full year in that subject area. In this way, they can sometimes earn six to eight credits over the course of the year. While these credits can easily transfer to the affiliated college or university, schools in other states may have different requirements. These courses are taught by teachers in the high school who have master's degrees in that subject area.
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