1. Welcome to DCHS Advanced Placement Information Meeting 2008-2009

2. What is Advanced Placement? What is the Purpose? The College Board's® Advanced Placement Program® enables students to pursue college-level studies while still in high school. Based on their performance on rigorous AP Exams, students can earn credit, advanced placement, or both, for college. -- AP Program The purpose is to prepare students for challenging university study

3. Courses at Deer Creek AP Calculus AP Chemistry AP Physics AP English Language and AP English Lit AP French and AP Spanish AP Government AP Studio AP US History AP Biology AP Environmental

4. How does AP impact a student’s GPA in Deer Creek? Regular HS Curriculum A= 4.0 Pre AP Counts on a.5 Weighted scale A= 4.5 AP Counts on a 1.0 Weighted Scale A= 5.0

5. What’s the Difference between AP and Regular curriculum? AP is college level curriculum.

6. How do Students Get Credit? How important is getting credit on the AP Exam? Credit is determined by each receiving university. Getting credit should not be the sole focus of taking an AP exam. Gaining credit can be positive, but the goal is to be prepared for the rigor they will face at the university level.

7. How do I know what I need for a course to get credit? http://www.ou.edu/admissions/home/credit_b y_advanced/advanced_placement.html http://www.ou.edu/admissions/home/credit_b y_advanced/advanced_placement.html

8. So…why take AP if they run the risk of no credit? AP is about college preparation. Most universities will not count a course if it is in the students major line of study. However, the student is sitting in the course with 200 students and 50 have already taken the course through AP. Who do you think sets the curve? Which students don’t get weeded out of the Pre-med program?

9. Another factor to consider…. Students can often count the courses as elective credit. The elective credit may not help with their degree plan, but the credits will help establish a higher level status for the student (ie…Sophomore status) and priority enrollment to get in the courses that they need.

10. Sample Student Sally Henderson Wants to major in Chemical Engineering She sat for the AP Chemistry Test and received a score of 5 OSU has 3 different Chemistry 1 courses Basic, Intermediate, Honors The 5 counts for Intermediate Sally needs Honors for her Chemical Engineering Degree The AP exam is an elective, and it does not count for her science. Sally may not have science electives to take, so the credit helps with her advanced standing and preparation to compete at the highest level. However, it did not save her family money on the degree plan. 130 hours to graduate….she still needs 130 hours…. Sally will graduate with 140 hours because of her AP courses that were “extra” electives

11. What are the other options? Concurrent Courses If the student passes the course they get college credit. The rigor is not the same as AP. Recommended for courses that are not needed in the major line of study at college. No weighted credit is given in the GPA. Several available at DCHS as of this year.

12. CLEP Testing Students sit for the CLEP exams. If they pass the exams at the proficient level they receive college credit. Excellent choice for students who don’t pass the AP exam. Excellent choice for students who want to get a basic course, such as College Algebra, out of the way. Highly recommended for Foreign language Inexpensive

13. What is the passing rate nationally on AP exams? Each exam is a little bit different. The average is…. that around 60% of students taking the AP exams score a 3, 4, or 5 (considered passing)

14. What do our own results show? Students who score 30 or higher on their ACT take at least 3-4 AP courses. Most of our students scoring 30 or higher on their ACT have taken AP Chemistry, AP Calculus, and AP Biology. Students scoring 33 or higher also take AP English at DCHS.