Advanced Placement Program - What Is It, Why Take AP, and How Results Work

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Gloria

Advanced Placement Program booklet explains how AP college-level courses and May exams work for high school students. It covers course expectations, the rationale for taking AP exams, exam format and scoring scale, and how AP grade reports and credit policies are accessed through College Board. It also outlines benefits for students and parents, guidance on course selection, and how AP coursework supports long-term academic success, including summarized Walton AP exam results by year.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages37

Reading Time1 h 33 min

AccessFree to download

What is the Advanced Placement (AP) Program?

What are AP courses?

Why take an AP Exam?

AP exam grading scale and reporting

Measuring Success

Walton AP exam results (2019-2023)

AP Information for Students

Why participate?

AP Information for Parents

How AP benefits families

Students and Parents

Planning schedules and course descriptions

Advanced Placement Program What is the Advanced Placement (AP) Program? Advanced Placement (AP) is a program for college-level courses and exams that gives high school students the opportunity to receive advanced placement and/or credit in college. About 1.2 million students participate in the AP Program each year, usually through an AP course. Walton offers 35 AP courses. What areAP courses? AP courses are introductory college courses, so they are not easy, but neither are they impossibly difficult. AnAP course will be more demanding than a regular high school course. They often require more time and work, but the AP courses give you greater depth. A student should realize that taking an AP class is a serious commitment. Students should give careful thought to which and how many AP courses to take in one year. The purpose of this booklet is to help students clearly understand course requirements and expectations. Why take anAP Exam? Satisfactory grades on AP examinations offer many benefits which may enhance your applications for college admissions, placement, and scholarships. You may also receive college credit based on your AP scores. If a student does not take the AP examination, they will receive honors credit instead of AP credit on their transcript. AP exams are administered each year in May. An exam contains both multiple-choice and free-response questions that require essay writing, problem solving, and other skills. Every examination receives an overall grade on a five-point scale. Scale: 5-Extremely well qualified 4-well qualified 3-qualified 2-possibly qualified 1-no recommendation Advanced Placement Program AP Grade Reports are available electronically through the student’s College Board account in early July, and if the student has requested it, to the designated colleges. Each college decides how much credit to award for AP scores. You can find this information for the college(s) you are interested in by using the AP Credit Policy search at [www.collegeboard.com/ap/creditpolicy](www.collegeboard.com/ap/creditpolicy). The Hope of the Future For students from many backgrounds, the challenge of AP courses helps to focus students’ interests as they begin to plan for their future. In fact, recent research following AP students into college shows that these students are more likely than other students to take additional courses in the academic departments for which they received AP credit, and to major in the subject of their AP coursework. AP courses, modeled on rigorous, evidence-based standards, give students the preparation they need to not only enter college but to graduate. Research has shown that 45 percent ofstudents who take one AP Exam graduate on time from college and 61 percent of students who take two or more AP exams graduate on time from college. Measuring Success | Walton AP Exam Results | | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | | AP International Scholars | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | | AP Scholars with Distinction | 366 | 361 | 327 | 328 | 341 | | AP Scholars with Honors | 148 | 126 | 127 | 106 | 159 | | AP Scholars | 207 | 180 | 189 | 192 | 199 | | Capstone Diplomas | 10 | 11 | 20 | 17 | 11 | | AP Seminar and Research Certificate | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | | AP Candidates | 1395 | 1290 | 1226 | 1207 | 1276 | | AP Exams Scored | 2981 | 2728 | 2772 | 2577 | 2806 | | Percent AP Scores of 3+ | 90.47 | 86.51 | 89.31 | 93.45 | 93.65 | AP Information for Students AP can change your life…and you don’t have to be one of the top students in your class! Through college-level AP courses, you enter a universe of knowledge that might otherwise remain unexplored in high school; through AP Exams, you have the opportunity to earn credit or advanced standing at most of the nation’s colleges and universities. Why Participate? With 35 courses to choose from, AP offers something for everyone. The only requirements are a strong curiosity

FAQs

What is the Advanced Placement (AP) Program?

The AP Program offers college-level courses and exams that allow high school students to receive advanced placement and/or credit in college.

Why should a student take an AP exam?

Satisfactory AP exam grades can enhance college applications and may earn college credit. Students who do not take the exam typically receive honors credit instead of AP credit on their transcript.

How are AP exam results reported and used for college credit?

AP Grade Reports are available electronically in early July through the College Board account, and colleges may receive them if requested. Each college decides how much credit to award, which can be found using the AP Credit Policy search.

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Gloria