Exciting Changes Coming To The Advanced Placement Program

(NAPSI)—The Advanced Placement (AP) Program gives students a chance to experience college-level classes in high school and opens the door to earning college credit before they ever set foot on campus. Students get to dig deeper into subjects they love, while building the skills and confidence they need to succeed in college. There are more statewide and system-wide AP credit policies than ever; over 99 percent of colleges have an AP credit policy in place.

And, regardless of a student’s AP Exam score, taking AP courses can have a positive affect on their college applications. Admissions officers understand that college faculty play a big role in developing AP courses, so they know students who took AP pushed themselves to take challenging, college-level courses.

New Resources

Beginning this school year, the AP Program is providing all AP students with free digital practice resources. A new question bank will help students master content and skills with real AP questions that their teacher assigns. Personal progress checks will give students real-time evaluations of their work with helpful score explanations. And, the tools are mobile-friendly—so they’re accessible anytime, anywhere.

Other Changes

To increase their chances of success, students can register for AP Exams beginning in the fall. The exams will still take place in May. More than half of schools that offer AP ask students to commit to taking the exam in the fall, boosting their chance of earning a score that translates to college credit.

The exam fee and the fee reduction aren’t changing for the 2019-20 school year. However, there are two new fees—one for late registration and another for canceling the exam. These fees encourage students to commit to the exams early and stay engaged throughout the year.

Schools will provide students with directions on how to register and will place the exam order for students.

Getting Ready

To access new online AP classroom resources and register for AP Exams this fall, students will need to join a class section online. That requires access to their College Board account. All College Board programs are connected through one account, so students who created one for AP, PSAT/NMSQT, SAT, or College Board Opportunity Scholarships, are all set. They’ll just need their user name and password to sign in.

Students who don’t have an account, can sign up at collegeboard.org/register. Parents shouldn’t create accounts for their students—and account information should be held in a safe place.

More Information

Students and parents can visit www.apstudents.collegeboard.org for additional information on the AP Program, AP credit policies, digital tools, and AP Exam registration.

 “The Advanced Placement (AP) Program gives students a chance to experience college-level classes and earn college credit while still in high school. This year, signing up for the classes is easier than ever. http://bit.ly/2k3D8DM”