Advanced Placement (AP)
All EDUHSD high schools offer a wide selection of honors and advanced placement (AP) courses. The AP Program is a cooperative educational endeavor of the College Board and high schools. These college-level courses provide high school students with the opportunity to experience challenging course material and demanding assignments which will help students develop critical thinking skills expected of college students. Types of AP courses vary by high school. Please contact your school counseling office for details on AP courses.
Advanced Placement serves three groups: students who wish to pursue college-level studies while still in secondary school, schools that desire to offer these opportunities and colleges that wish to encourage and recognize such achievement. It does this by providing practical descriptions of college-level courses to interested schools and the results of examinations based on these descriptions to the colleges of the students’ choice. Participating colleges, in turn, grant credit and/or appropriate placement to students who have done well on the examinations.
Honors classes are available for all students. Enrollment in honors classes is based upon specific site criteria which may include a letter of intent, examination, and evidence of the student’s skills and motivation.
An extra grade point is calculated in the college and cumulative GPA for students enrolled in junior and senior level Honors and AP courses (i.e. A=5.0, B=4.0, etc.). An extra point is calculated in the cumulative GPA (El Dorado Union High School District, not college) for students in freshmen and sophomore level honors courses. An extra grade point is awarded to International Baccalaureate courses from other districts. Some colleges and universities will give credit to students who have scored high on an advanced placement test. You can usually find this information through the institution directly or by using the AP Credit Policy Info search at www.collegeboard.com/ap/creditpolicy.
AP Testing
Examination fees of approximately $89 are charged for each exam. Fee reductions may be available through the school’s AP Coordinator. You must bring a valid photo ID with you to the exam.
For more information on Advanced Placement courses and testing please visit http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/about.html.