Welcome to the JHS Advanced Placement Information Night!

1. Welcome to the JHS Advanced Placement Information Night! We hope that this evening’s information answers question that you might have about Advanced Placement in general and also paints a picture of what is taking place at JHS in regards to AP

2. Agenda for the evening • What is AP? • What classes are offered at JHS? • Teacher comments and explanations • Why AP? • AP vs. Dual Credit classes • Testing • AP Potential and other tools

3. What is AP? • Advanced Placement classes are rigorous, college level courses that students have the opportunity to take at the high school level. The content and workload is demanding, and expectations are high for the students, teachers and the district in general. • AP courses are taught by instructors who have been trained by and who have submitted a syllabus to the Collegeboard. This is the same entity that puts on the SAT and PSAT.

4. At the end of the course students will take an exam on which they will receive a score on a scale of 1 – 5 with a score of “3” generally being considered a passing score. • These tests are given on specific days and specific times. In recent years the tests have been scheduled during the second and third week in May. • Students and schools will receive their scores in July. Schools receive reports showing their passing rates, and students can request their scores to be sent from the Collegeboard in a very similar manner to which they would request an SAT score.

5. JHS AP Class Offerings • JHS offers eight courses for the current school year. • AP World History is a Sophomore level class. • AP Language and Composition is a Junior level English course. • AP Literature and Composition, AP Calculus AB, AP Statistics, and AP US Government and Politics are Senior level courses. • AP Biology and AP Chemistry can be taken Junior or Senior year.

6. Future Courses • JHS will add AP Spanish Language for the school year 2014-2015. We added Spanish I at the middle school level which would allow students to have four full years of Spanish before enrolling in the course. • We are in the planning stages of offering AP Physics for the 2015 -2016 school year. • Where to go from here?

7. Teacher Comments and Explanations

8. Why AP?? • 85 Percent of selective colleges and universities report that a student’s AP experience favorably impacts admissions decisions. • Nationally one in five students who enrolls in a university will graduate with a four year degree within five years. The single biggest predictor of college success is taking rigorous coursework at the preparatory level. • Colleges with stringent entrance requirements often ask about the student’s history with AP. Most commonly those questions are intended to find out how many courses were offered and how many courses the student will have taken at graduation.

9. One of the supplemental requirements of earning an Indiana Academic Honors Diploma is to take to AP courses and to take the corresponding exams, or to take one AP course and one approved dual credit course, or to meet a certain benchmark on an SAT or ACT. • To qualify as a dual credit course it must be a course from the IDOE Priority list and must be offered by a preferred provider. • Since AP Courses are recognized nationally and sponsored by the Collegeboard as having passed a course audit they are easily understood by any college admissions office in the region or the nation.

10. AP vs. Dual Credit Courses • It is important to understand the difference between Advanced Placement and Dual credit courses. • AP courses are rigorous, college level courses that end in an exam that may lead to college credit depending on the score the student receives, and how the university that the student is going to attend takes that course • A dual credit class is the result of an agreement between a university and either a specific teacher, or a school in which the university approves a course as to having a syllabus similar enough to their own course that they offer college credit for the student who is taking the class in a high school setting.

11. Dual Credit at JHS • A list of dual credit courses can be found on the JHS website under Forms and Presentations. • The URL is http://www.jhs.gjcs.k12.in.us/GuidanceOffice/FormsandPresentations.aspx • It is also important to understand that there are several agreements in place, but the agreement with OCU is the agreement that defines our academic dual credit at JHS.

12. It is always up to the discretion of the university that the student attends as to if and how they will accept the credit coming to them • Dual credit agreements and regulations that go along with these agreements have evolved and changed since there inception. We continue to see a push from the state to encourage AP expansion and availability, while we also see indicators that it will become increasingly difficult to offer a wide variety of dual credit courses.

13. Testing • Taking the test is a mandatory part of course completion. • Tests are currently given, and have in recent years been given the second and third weeks in May. Dates are published on the AP Central website and are also posted on the AP Bulletin for Students and Parents. • Tests must be given on the scheduled date and at the scheduled time. There is an alternate date for late testing and a list of circumstances that are acceptable per the Collegeboard.

14. For the school year 2013-2014 the cost per exam is $89.00. • In previous years the state has paid the fee for exams in the areas of Math and Science. This has been approved for this year and we expect that to continue although legislative approval is needed each year. • Students who receive lunch assistance also receive a rebate, and in past years the federal government has paid the balance. • The Academic Honors Diploma component mandates that a student not only take the class, but that they also sit for the test. At this point they do not have to earn a passing score to be eligible for AHD.

15. Helpful Websites • Core Transfer Library • IU Transfer Service • Collegeboard AP Transfer Info