Advanced Placement (AP)

  • What is the Advanced Placement (AP) Exam?

    Taken each May by students all over the world, the AP Exam is the final step after a year of hard work in an AP class. These standardized exams are designed to measure how well a student mastered the content and skills of the course — a successful score could even earn a student credit and advanced placement in college.

    What does an AP Score Mean?

    An AP score is a weighted combination of your scores on the multiple-choice section and on the free-response section. The final score is reported on a 5-point scale as follows:

    5 = extremely well qualified
    4 = well qualified
    3 = qualified
    2 = possibly qualified
    1 = no recommendation

    Many colleges and universities grant credit and placement for scores of 3, 4 or 5; however, each college decides which scores it will accept.

    Did You Know

    • The number of WCASD students scoring a 3 or better on an AP exam has grown by 55% since 2011.
    • AP exam participation has risen by 41% in the WCASD since 2011.
    • The total number of AP exams taken in the District has risen by 57% since 2011.
    • The total number of AP Scholars has increased by 200% since 2011.

    AP Exam Participation

    The following chart reflects student AP participation in the WCASD.

      2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
    Total AP Students 692 749 747 854 908
    Number of Exams 1,335 1,757 1,484 1,641 1,878
    Number of Exams
    3 or Better    		 1,130 1,443 1,206 1,344 1,492
    % of Exams
    Scored    3 or Better    		 84.67% 82.13% 81.3% 81.97% 79.4%


    AP Equity and Excellence

    Report displaying the percentages of a school or district's entire 10th, 11th and 12th grade classes who scored a 3 or higher on at least one AP Exam and the percentage of the senior class that scored a 3 or higher on at least one AP Exam during high school.

      2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
    Graduating Class Summary 33.2 31.3 32.9 33.2 40.7

    The numbers above represent the percentage of each graduating class
    scoring 3 or higher on at least one AP exam during high school.

    AP Scholars

    There are two steps to calculating  AP Scholar Awards:

    • The student's average AP score is determined based on all exams taken this year and in previous years
    • The student's exam scores are checked to see which ones count toward the various AP Scholar Awards

    A student must meet all criteria to be eligible. For example, a student who has a 3.25 AP score average but only received a 3 or higher on three exams will not receive the AP Scholar with Honor Award because the minimum requirement is a score of 3 or higher on four or more exams.

    Exams taken multiple times only count once; the highest score will be used for the award calculation.

    The AP Scholar Awards are academic distinctions that students may cite among their credentials on applications, resumes and so on. Students do not receive any monetary award from the College Board.

    Award Levels Criteria
     AP Scholar  Granted to students who receive scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams.
    AP Scholar
    with Honor    		 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.
      2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
    National AP Scholars:
    (avg. of 4 on all exams,
    and on eight or more of
    these exams)    		 19 21 29 18 27
    AP Scholars with Distinction
    (avg. of 3.5 on all exams and
    3 or better on 5 exams)    		 92 128 117 117 146
    AP Scholars with Honor
    (average score at least 3.25 on all
    exams and 3 or better on 4 exams)    		 54 66 60 68 57
    AP Scholars
    (score 3 or better on 3 exams)    		 86 84 92 124 126