Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course credit to students who obtain high scores on the examinations. The AP curriculum for each of the various subjects is created for the College Board by a panel of experts and college-level educators in that field of study.
AP tests are scored on a 1 to 5 scale as follows:
- 5 – Extremely well qualified
- 4 – Well qualified
- 3 – Qualified
- 2 – Possibly qualified
- 1 – No recommendation
The multiple-choice component of the exam is scored by computer, while the free response and essay portions are scored by trained Readers at the AP Reading each June. The scores on various components are weighted and combined into a raw Composite Score. The Chief Reader for each exam then decides on the grade cutoffs for that year’s exam, which determine how the Composite Scores are converted into the final grades. During the process, a number of reviews and statistical analyses are performed to ensure that the grading is reliable. The overall goal is for the grades to reflect an absolute scale of performance which can be compared from year to year.
There are currently 38 courses and exams available through the AP Program. A complete list of courses can be found below:
- AP Art History
- AP Biology
- AP Calculus AB
- AP Calculus BC
- AP Chemistry
- AP Chinese Language and Culture
- AP Computer Science A
- AP Computer Science Principles
- AP English Language and Composition
- AP English Literature and Composition
- AP Environmental Science
- AP European History
- AP French Language and Culture
- AP German Language and Culture
- AP Government and Politics: Comparative
- AP Government and Politics: United States
- AP Human Geography
- AP Italian Language and Culture
- AP Japanese Language and Culture
- AP Latin
- AP Macroeconomics
- AP Microeconomics
- AP Music Theory
- AP Physics 1
- AP Physics 2
- AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism
- AP Physics C: Mechanics
- AP Psychology
- AP Research (Second part of the AP Capstone program)
- AP Seminar (First part of the AP Capstone program)
- AP Statistics
- AP Spanish Language and Culture
- AP Spanish Literature and Culture
- AP Studio Art: 2-D Design (Soon to be AP 2-D Art and Design)
- AP Studio Art: 3-D Design (Soon to be AP 3-D Art and Design)
- AP Studio Art: Drawing (Soon to be AP Drawing)
- AP United States History
- AP World History (Soon to be divided into two courses: AP World History: Modern, AP World History: Ancient)
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Placement