What is Advanced Placement?

The Advanced Placement program is a sequence of college-level courses taught in high schools by high school teachers with specialized training.

• Offered at all Austin ISD high schools
• 33 courses offered
• Typically grades 11-12, offered district-wide
• Academically rigorous
• Weighted GPA
• College Board monitored and authorized curriculum
• Potential college credit based on student's performance on exam

Benefits of Advanced Placement

Students who take AP courses will challenge themselves, sharpen their academic skills, and learn to think independently. Studies have shown that students who take AP courses are:

• Better prepared academically for college admission on all measures of ability and achievement
• Able to perform significantly better over four years in college
• More likely to be leaders and have significant accomplishments.

What does Pre-AP Mean?

The Pre-AP program in Austin ISD is a level of challenging courses designed to teach students strong study skill and learning strategies. These courses build on the strengths of students and prepare them to experience success in Advanced Placement and other advanced academic courses.

• Typically grades 6-10, offered district-wide
• Teachers receive specialized training
• Academically challenging
• Emplhasis is on critical thinking, reading, research, writing, and as appropriate, advanced performance expectations

Students are encouraged to take Pre-AP courses prior to enrolling in AP courses. The strategies and skills students learn in Pre-AP courses help them acquire content knowledge, provide a foundation for college readiness, and prepare them for success in Advanced Placement courses.

AP Recruitment

AP Program Brochure	Programa de Colocación Avanzada	AP Program Guide
Navigating AP Central	Choose AP	An Invitation to Pre-AP and AP
Una invitación a la Pre-AP y de Colocación Avanzada	College and Career Readiness Standards	Catalog of Effective Practices
Fast Facts for Education Advocates

AP Audit

All schools wishing to label a course “AP” must submit the subject-specific AP Course Audit form and the course syllabus for each teacher of that AP course. Watch the AP Course Audit presentation for more information.

AP Ledger

The AP Course Ledger lists secondary school courses offered worldwide that are authorized to include the AP® designation when listed on students' transcripts. These courses were reviewed by the Advanced Placement Program® (AP) as part of the AP Course Audit for the academic years listed on the school's "Authorized AP Courses" page.

The AP® Course Audit was created at the request of both secondary school and college members of the College Board who sought a means for the College Board to:

• Provide AP teachers and administrators with clear guidelines on curricular requirements for that subject in order to be considered an authorized AP course
• Give colleges and universities confidence that AP courses are designed to meet the same clearly articulated college-level criteria across high schools.

A college faculty reviewer validates that each AP syllabus demonstrates how the course meets the curricular requirements for that subject in order to be considered an authorized AP course.

AP Digest

The AP Digest is an Advanced Placement student resource that provides pointers for five skill sets: thinking, literacy, communication, planning, and studying. These skill sets are critical for students to be successful in AP classes a as citizens of the 21st century.

Thinking Skills 10 Habits of Highly Effective Brains Feed Your Brain Improve Your Mind by Reading the Classics Improving Memory Learning in a Media Age Mind Tricks Thinking like a Genius	Literacy and Communication Skills 14 Words that Make All the Difference 100 Words to Know Effective Ways to Build Your Vocabulary Media Literacy The Rhetoric of Causes Vocabulary: An Ongoing Process Vocab Wow! Ways to Improve my Vocabulary World Nomad Language Guides
Planning Skills Education Pays Off Picture the Future	Study Skills History and Social Science AP Test Taking Math and Science AP Test Taking Overcoming Test Anxiety Study Groups Pointers for Study Groups Study Tips

AP Coordinators