The Advanced Placement (AP) Program at Richmond Hill High School

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The Advanced Placement (AP) Program at Richmond
Hill High School
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ABOUT AP

• Started in 1955, the College Boards Advanced
  Placement Program enables students to pursue
  College/University level studies while in high
  school.
• The College Board is a not-for-profit
  organization that also offers SAT exams. While
  they are centered in the U.S., they now have an
  International presence (see next slide)
• Richmond Hill HS was one of the first schools in
  the YRDSB to offer AP and has grown into one of
  Ontarios leading AP schools ?12 courses offered
  and over 200 students
• writing AP exams.

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• APs Global Presence (2013)
• 140 Countries 18,000 Schools
• 2 million Students
• Nearly 4 million Exams
• 34 University-Level Courses and Exams
• Over 4,000 Participating
• Universities and Colleges

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AP _at_ RHHS

• RHHS COURSES AP EXAMS
• Gr. 11 English English Language Composition
  Gr. 12 English English Literature
  
• Biology (Gr. 11 12) Biology
• Physics (Gr.11 12) Physics B
• Chemistry (Gr. 1112) Chemistry
• Calculus (Gr. 11 12) Calculus AB BC
• Computer Science (Gr.11 12) Computer
  Science A
• Gr. 12 Data Management Statistics
• Gr. 12 Microeconomics Microeconomics
• Gr. 12 Psychology Psychology
• Gr. 12 World Issues Human Geography
• Gr. 12 French French
• Requests to write AP exams not offered by
  our school
• are dealt with on a case by case basis.

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Frequently Asked Questions About AP

• How Does a Student Take AP courses and Write AP
  Exams at RHHS?
• AP courses are offered in Grades 11 12. The AP
  Program is an extension of the Gifted program
  from Grades 9 10. Therefore, Gifted and
  Enriched students simply transition into AP
  courses, provided they maintain high grades. AP
  courses are not only for Gifted students,
  however. Any enrolled RHHS student is eligible
  for AP courses (if space is available) and can
  write AP Exams. See next question for more
  details.
• Students then sign up for AP exams during the
  school year. AP exams are written in May and are
  separate from the exams students write in January
  and June.
• How Does a Student Apply for AP courses?
• Students will require Subject-specific teacher
  and Guidance approval before being accepted into
  an AP course. This occurs during the Course
  Selection process early in Semester 2.
• Any student who is enrolled in our school can
  request to take an AP course provided they have
  demonstrated an ability to perform in
  pre-requisite courses.
• Please check with our Front Office or Guidance
  department to learn more
• about our schools admission requirements.

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• Do students have to take all AP courses available
  in the school?
• No. Students are able to pick and choose the AP
  subjects theyd like to take in other words,
  they are never forced to take an AP course. For
  example, Joe can take AP Chemistry, but not AP
  Biology.
• Do students need to take an AP course in order to
  write an AP exam?
• Yes. If our school offers the corresponding AP
  course, students must be enrolled in it in order
  to write its AP exam. However, students can write
  other AP exams that are available but that are
  not offered as courses at our school. In this
  case, they will need to self-study, hire a tutor,
  etc.
• Past RHHS students have requested to write
  additional AP exams such as US History, Physics C
  and Statistics.
• Do students need to write the AP exam once
  enrolled in the AP course?
• Students are highly encouraged to write the AP
  exam if they are taking the AP course. However,
  we are aware that from time to time students,
  parents and teachers will feel that this is not
  the best choice for them.

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• How much do AP Exams cost?
• Each AP Exam is 120, which covers the cost of
  the exam and fees for proctors who are hired to
  supervise. This cost is reviewed on an annual
  basis.
• When are AP Exams written and when are results
  received?
• AP Exams are typically written in the first two
  weeks of May a schedule is distributed at the
  beginning of the school year. Students receive
  their results in early July. Exams scores are now
  available on-line a student needs to simply
  create an account with AP.
• How do universities receive AP Exam results?
• Students are responsible for forwarding their AP
  Exam scores to universities once you receive
  them. RHHS is not involved in this. Universities
  handle this in their own way so it is up to
  students to understand the process for the
  schools to which they are applying. Remember, a
  student does not have to send results if
  unsatisfied with them.

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• BENEFITS OF TAKING AP COURSES
• AND WRITING AP EXAMS
• Credit Standing or Advanced Placement in
  University
• Most major Canadian universities offer students
  credit standing for AP exams with scores of 4 or
  5. For example, Sara writes the AP Psychology
  exam, receives a 4 and sends her result to York
  U. who then grants her a credit. This credit can
  then be used toward a first-year Psychology
  course or even toward an elective.
• The Admissions office of every university has
  their own guidelines for granting AP transfer
  credits. As with sending scores, it is a
  students responsibility to educate themselves of
  these policies.
• Experience Increased Confidence
• Students who take AP courses and write AP Exams
  have already demonstrated an ability to handle
  university level academic material before
  stepping into a university classroom.
• University Success
• Year after year, data proves that AP students
  achieve a higher level of University success than
  non-AP students.
• STUDENTS APPLYING TO U.S.UNIVERSITIES/COLLEGES
  
• ARE HIGHLY ENCOURAGED TO WRITE AP EXAMS.

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AP and College Success
Students who take AP courses and exams are much
more likely than their peers to complete a
Bachelors Degree in four years or less. Source
Camara, Wayne. (2013). College Persistence,
Graduation, and Remediation. College Board
Research Notes (RN-19). New York, NY College
Board.
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• AP in Canada Effective 2013
• 17,000 students
• More than 27,000 AP exams in Canada
• Almost 600 Canadian high schools with AP exams
• More than 325,000 Canadian students have
  written AP exams since 1989
• 100 Canadian Universities received 17,000 AP
• exams in 2013
• More than 300 Canadian Schools use Pre-AP
  Programs (similar to RHHS Gifted program)

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• AP Exams Grade Scale Ranges from 5 to 1
• Grade Meaning
• 5 Extremely well qualified
• 4 Well qualified
• 3 Qualified
• 2 Possibly qualified
• 1 No recommendation
• More than 200 AP exams were written by RHHS
  students last year.
• 49 achieved a 5 score and 80 received 4 or
  better!

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• AP CANADA - Student Awards
• The AP Program offers several AP Scholar Awards
  to recognize high school
• students who have demonstrated college-level
  achievement through AP Exams.
• AP Scholar Granted to students who receive
  scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP
  Exams
• AP Scholar with Honour Granted to students who
  receive an average score of at
  least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3
  or higher on four or more of these
  exams
• AP Scholar with Distinction Granted to students
  who receive an average score of
• at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and
  scores of 3 or
• higher on five or more of these exams
• National AP Scholar Granted to students in
  Canada who receive an average
• score of at least 4 on all AP Exams
  taken, and scores of 4 or higher on five
  or more of these exams

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• Advanced Placement (AP)
• vs.
• International Baccalaureate (IB)

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• AP IB
• Minimal Upfront Cost - High annual cost (to
  both
• (120 / exam) parents and schools)
• Learning Expectations - Expectations separate
  from
• complement Ontario curriculum Ontario
  curriculum
• Freedom students can select - Highly
  prescriptive
• courses and exams to write (regarding
  course options
• and submit to Universities university
  submissions)
• Advanced standing in University - Restrictive
  advanced standing
• Acknowledged by almost 4000 - Acknowledged by
  approx.
• universities around the world 700
  universities
• - 1.97 million students writing - 120,000
  students writing
• 3.46 million exams 250,000 exams