Transcript Advanced Placement Information Night

AP Courses at Castle
 English Literature – Beth Euler
 English Language – Fred Bracher
 US History – Emily Garrett
 Government – Emily Garrett
 Physics – Tom Dahlquist
 Calculus – Bruce Nance
 Chemistry – Pat Lockyear
 Biology – Jill Ohlsen
 European History – Geoff Bennett
Tonight’s Program
 Benefits of AP®
 College Expectations
 Skills needed in AP®
 Handling the Stress
 Earning College Credit
 Selecting the Right AP® Courses
 Academic Honors Diploma
 Valedictorian
Benefits of
®
AP
 Earn College Credit and Advanced Placement®
 Stand Out in the College Admissions Process
 Demonstrate your maturity and readiness for
college.
 Show your willingness to take the most rigorous
courses available to you.
 Emphasize your commitment to academic
excellence.
What is AP ?
®
 The CollegeBoard’s Advanced Placement ® program
enables students to pursue college-level studies
while still in high school. This is a national
program.
 Discussions are intense, probing, and demanding.
 AP ® classes teach students to analyze, reason and
understand the world from different vantage
points.
 AP ® students are required to think for themselves.
AP® Students succeed at College:
(Newsweek, October 2009)
 The average student now take 6 years and 7 months to
complete an undergraduate degree.
 College retention rates from first to second year stand at
65.7%. That means 34.3% of college freshmen do not
return.
 AP® students not only finish their freshman year, but also
average completing their degree in four years.
 Currently one in five college students arrive at college with
Advanced Placement ® credits amounting to a semester or
more of college-level work.
College Expectations
 A strong schedule is more important than a high
Grade Point Average.
 Colleges and universities examine a student’s
academic rigor before his or her G.P.A.
College Expectations
 Advanced placement classes are necessary for students
to be admitted to competitive colleges and earn
scholarships.
 Taking AP® courses is the key to helping students
transition to college.
AP® Skills
 Reading beyond comprehension
 Memorization is a given
 Interact with the text; read with a pen in hand
 Write with a Purpose
 You think about the best way to communicate your ideas
through written language
 You understand that different assignments require different
modes/styles of writing
 Ask questions
 You see connections between classes, readings, etc.
 Write these questions in the margin of your reading
 You approach the instructor with your questions
 You look up information on your own
Handling the Stressful Times
 Delay major decision making- especially when it comes to dropping
AP® courses
 Work with your student to resolve his or her concerns rather than
jumping to the conclusion that the class is not a good fit.
 Help your student:
 be a problem solver - teach your student how to approach a teacher
or counselor when there is a concern
 work through mistakes. For example, if a student falls behind on a
reading assignment, work together on a plan for managing the
make-up work.
 understand that he or she will adjust to the work load and
expectations
Handling Stress
 Recognize the value of the AP® course - not just the letter grade
 Students are often concerned that their grades will go down-
especially during the first few weeks of the course.
 An examination of transcripts of Castle students who have
taken AP® courses has shown that students’ grades stay
consistent with the grades the students were earning in their
classes prior to taking AP® Courses.
Earn College Credit and Advanced
Placement
Receive recognition from more than 3,600 colleges and
universities that annually receive AP® Exam scores.
Over 90% of 4-year colleges in the U.S. provide credit
and/or advanced placement for qualifying scores.
Earn College Credit and Advanced
Placement in Indiana
 PL 91 (HB 1135), signed into law 3/18/10 states:
 Starting with the 2011 Advanced Placement (AP) exams, students
who earn a score of 3 or higher shall receive college credit
towards their degree if they attend any Indiana public institution
of higher education; this includes all two and four year schools
and any accompanying satellites.
 •Indiana public institutions of higher education may require a
score higher than 3 to award credit for a course that is part of a
student’s major but the student will still receive elective credit
that counts toward their overall degree requirements to graduate
from college.
Taking the AP test
®
 Students should take the AP® test(s) that are given each
spring. These tests are created and assessed by the
National College Board. Students may earn credit or
advanced placement status for qualifying scores.
 Testing information is available on the West website. The
College Board website also provides information.
Selecting the Right AP® Courses
 Courses should be chosen on a students’ strengths,
interests, and college requirements.
 Students should have a healthy curiosity about the
course and be ready to work hard.
 Check the pre-requisites
Academic Honors Diploma
 The Academic Honors diploma instituted by the
Indiana State Board of Education is intended to bring
honor to those students who choose challenging
courses and accumulate 47 credits in high school.
 To be eligible for an Academic honors diploma, a
student must have a grade point average of “B” (3.0) or
above.
 The awarding of this diploma will be noted on the
student’s transcript. No grade lower than a “C” may
count toward the diploma.
Academic Honors Diploma
 Complete all requirements for Core 40.
 Earn 2 additional Core 40 math credits.
 Earn 6-8 Core 40 world language credits
(6 credits in one language or 4 credits each in
two languages).
 Earn 2 Core 40 fine arts credits.
 Earn a grade of a “C” or better in courses that
will count toward the diploma.
 Have a grade point average of a “B” or better.
Academic Honors Diploma
 Complete one of the following:
 Earn 4 credits in 2 or more AP courses and take
corresponding AP exams
 Earn 6 verifiable transcripted college credits in dual credit
courses from priority course list
 Earn two of the following:


A minimum of 3 verifiable transcripted college credits from the
priority course list,
2 credits in AP courses and corresponding AP exams,
 Earn a combined score of 1750 or higher on the SAT critical
reading, mathematics and writing sections and a minimum
score of 530 on each
 Earn an ACT composite score of 26 or higher and complete
written section
Valedictorian – Castle High School
 Beginning with the Class of 2015
 Valedictorian – Student with the highest GPA who has
taken at least 5 AP courses.
 Salutatorian – Student with the second highest GPA
who has taken at least 5 AP courses.
 * There may be ties.
QUESTIONS