The Advanced Placement Program ® at Athens High School

Advanced Placement Program ® (AP ® ) courses give you a head start on college. Taking the end-of-course AP Exam sends a powerful message to colleges and universities that a student is ready for them, and can enable students to gain admission, college credit, and placement into advanced courses.

Did you know... If you earn a high school diploma, you’re likely to earn $7,000 more annually than students who don’t complete high school. But if you earn a bachelor’s degree in college, you’re likely to earn $22,000 more annually. Source: U.S. Department of Education, 2000

AP and College Success ™ Students who take AP courses and exams are much more likely than their peers to complete a bachelor’s degree in four years or less. Source: Camara, Wayne (2003). College Persistence, Graduation, and Remediation. College Board Research Notes (RN-19). New York, NY: College Board.

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. 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.

Why take the AP Exam? Most of the nation’s colleges and universities, plus colleges and universities in 24 other countries, grant students admission, credit, and/or placement for qualifying AP Exam grades. For example, at Princeton, students can use qualifying AP Exam grades to: Graduate in three or three-and-a-half years Enter upper-level courses Fulfill a foreign language requirement

Increase your options College credit can allow you to move into upper- level college courses sooner, pursue a double major, and gain time to study and travel abroad: “As a freshman, I was able to skip general ed requirements and head straight into the higher- level classes I wanted to take. Taking AP Exams literally saved me semesters of time.” —Brent Wiese, University of Iowa

Save money If you earn a qualifying grade on an AP Exam, you can receive credit for the equivalent course at thousands of colleges and universities.

AP Exam fees There is an $83 fee for each AP Exam, which the College Board uses to: 1) develop, print, ship, and score the exams 2) subsidize teacher training 3) develop classroom resources 4) support educational initiatives

AP courses offered by Athens High School: AP Spanish AP History AP Calculus AP English 11 & 12 AP Biology

About AP English 11 The course focuses on grammar to help students do well on the ACT. Students are taught analysis strategies and rhetorical devices in literature. They are introduced to aspects of logic, research, and application of these in college level essays. Two college texts are used in addition to the American literature text. Depending on the university a student chooses, he or she may receive three to six hours of college credit. The summer reading assignments and writing are due the 1 st day of the fall school term.

About AP English 12 Students are challenged to think analytically about literature and write in response to their analysis. Over the course of the semester students cover 10 novels, write 1-3 essays per-week and read over 30 major works before the AP exam.

About AP Spanish The AP Spanish Language course covers the equivalent of a third-year college course in advance Spanish composition and conversation. It stresses oral and listening skills, written composition (formal and informal) and grammar. Participation and the use of Spanish is a component of their grade. This course seeks to develop language skills that are useful in themselves and that can be applied to various activities rather than to the mastery of any subject matter. Extensive training in the use of all language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing) must be an integral part of the Advanced Placement Language course.

About AP History Students will develop a meaningful understanding of the political, social, diplomatic, economic and cultural/intellectual history of the United States. Also develop an appreciation and understanding of the fundamental issues and themes in U.S. history. Students will learn to master a broad body of historical knowledge, form and support a well articulated argument, improve writing, research, and critical thinking skills.