The AP program gives students the opportunity to take college-level courses while they are still in high school.
The AP program is run by the College Board, which develops the curriculum, creates and administers the exams, and provides support for teachers. The AP program gives students the opportunity to take one or more college-level courses while they are still in high school, and to receive college credit if they receive a score of 3, 4 or 5 on the AP test.
What AP Courses and Exams Are Offered?
The AP program offers 37 courses and exams across 22 subject areas. Schools vary in which AP courses they offer. In 2005-2006 the College Board offered AP Exams in Art History, Art: Studio 2-D Design, Art: Studio 3-D Design, Art: Studio Drawing, Biology, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Computer Science A, Computer Science AB, Economics: Macro, Economics: Micro, English Language & Composition, English Literature & Composition, Environmental Science, European History, French Language, French Literature, Geography: Human, German Language, Government & Politics: Comparative, Government & Politics: U.S., Italian Language and Culture, Latin: Catullus Horace, Latin: Virgil, Music Theory, Physics B, Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism, Physics C: Mechanics, Psychology, Spanish Language, Spanish Literature, Statistics, U.S. History and World History.

The College Board will add AP Exams and course descriptions in Chinese Language and Culture and Japanese Language and Culture in May 2007. Many schools offer college-level AP classes to prepare students for the AP exams, but students can take exams without completing a specific course. Taking AP courses helps students develop the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for a successful transition to college, and increases a student's likelihood of graduating on time. AP courses are generally demanding, and require a certain level of maturity and dedication for students to succeed.

ScoreRite specialty AP Subjects

Foreign Languages

The following strategies were developed by faculty consultants to prep you for exams

Listening

• Listen carefully to your teacher and to others who are fluent in the language who speaks at different speeds and with different accents. Tune in to foreign TV and radio programs whenever possible, and use recorded material such as DVDs and CDs. Even better, try to attend undubbed foreign films in commercial theaters. A school's language laboratory will also provide aural training, and should be used regularly.

• Many students feel natural inhibitions and hesitations in speaking, but try not to worry about how others may perceive you if you make a mistake. It is only with continued practice that you will begin to speak with facility. Therefore, participate in debates, discussions, dialogues, and skits as much as you can. In addition, practice in a language laboratory gives you the opportunity to compare your speech with that of a model speaker.
• The importance of thorough preparation for the speaking part of the exam should not be underestimated. You need to be familiar with the operation of recording equipment, and to practice recording your answers to questions. Ask your teacher or AP Coordinator to provide at least one trial run of the examination recording equipment and procedures before the actual test administration.

• We will read a wide variety of materials, such as literary prose, essays, poems, dramatic works, dialogues, cartoons, advertisements, book reviews, and journalistic material, including editorials. For the literature course, be sure to read and study all the works on the required reading list.
• When you read, look out for the grammatical cues of the text, such as verb tenses, and pay attention to factual information in the text (understanding who, what, when, where, why, and how). For the literature course, practice doing a close reading of selected passages for linguistic as well as stylistic analyses, such as recognition of register, tone, humor, irony, and narrative techniques.

• Of all the language skills, writing is considered by many teachers and students to be the most sophisticated. Unlike listening and speaking-which may be facilitated by having another person present-writing is usually practiced alone on subjects you have already discussed, heard, or read about. Because writing can be revised numerous times-and therefore progressively improved-in your classroom writing you may be expected to exercise greater accuracy, precision, and clarity than in oral performance.

• Before beginning to solve the free-response questions, it is a good idea to read them all to determine which ones you feel most prepared to answer. You can then proceed to solve the questions in a sequence that will allow you to perform your best.
• In the exam booklet there is an insert that contains the same questions without the blank answer spaces. This can be removed from the booklet and used for reference. No credit is given for anything written on the insert; be sure to write your answers and do all your work for each problem in the pages provided in the answer booklet.
• Show all your work; partial credit is given for partial solutions to problems. If the answer is not correct, you are not likely to receive credit for correct thinking if the person scoring the examination does not see evidence of this process on paper. If you do work that you think is incorrect, simply put an "X" through it, instead of spending time erasing it completely.
• Organize your answers as clearly and neatly as possible, showing the steps you took to reach your solution. If the faculty consultants cannot easily follow your reasoning, you are less likely to receive credit for it.
• Many free-response questions are divided into parts such as a, b, c, and d, with each part calling for a different response. Credit for each part is awarded independently, so you should attempt to solve each part. For example, you may receive no credit for your answer to Part a, but still receive full credit for Part b, c, or d. If the answer to a later part of a question depends on the answer to an earlier part, you may still be able to receive full credit for the later part, even if that earlier answer is wrong.
• It is not necessary to simplify all numerical expressions or to carry out all numerical calculations. You will generally receive most, if not full, credit for answers that contain expressions like sin 40° or in 2, or that contain symbols for irrational numbers.

• Answering essay questions generally requires a good deal of training and practice. Students too often begin to write immediately, creating a string of disconnected, poorly planned thoughts. You need to learn to attack questions methodically and to plan your answers before putting pencil to paper.
• Carefully analyze the question, thinking through what is being asked, and identify the elements that must be addressed in the response. Others require you to consider all the similarities between people or events, and then to think of all the ways they are different.
• After you have determined what is involved in answering the question, consider what evidence you can incorporate into your response. Review the evidence you learned during the year that relates to the question and then decide how it fits into the analysis. Does it demonstrate a similarity or difference? Does it argue for or against the generalization that is being addressed?
• Whenever you offer evidence to illustrate contrast or similarity, clearly state your intent. Then, with additional information or analysis, elaborate on the ways in which these pieces of evidence are similar or different. If there is evidence that refutes a statement, explain why it argues against the statement. Your answer should reflect an understanding of the subtleties of the questions.
• Begin writing only after you have thought through the evidence you plan to use, and have determined what your thesis statement will be. Once you have done this, you will be in a position to answer the question analytically instead of in a rambling narrative. You will also know whether you are going to argue on a side that supports or refutes the statement, and whether similarities outweigh the differences.
• Learn how to present your thesis statement: describe your overarching framework and then position your supporting evidence so that it is obviously directed to the question-not just a string of abstract generalizations. State your points as clearly as possible, not leaving it to the reader to infer what is meant or how something illustrates a point.
• If you have done the analytical work required prior to writing, you should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the complexity of the question. You should be able to state your thesis, introduce the elements that support the thesis, and demonstrate the logic that led you to link the elements in support of the thesis. By applying these ideas you will construct an excellent essay.