AP Glossary

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AP Tutors

An AP Tutor is someone who is qualified to teach an Advanced Placement (AP) course. AP courses are designed to give students the opportunity to earn college credit while they are still in high school.

AP Worksheets

AP worksheets are designed to help students prepare for AP exams. AP exams are college-level exams that high school students can take to earn college credit. AP exams are offered in a variety of subjects, including English, math, science, history, and foreign languages.

AP Perfect Score

An AP Perfect Score is the highest possible score on an Advanced Placement (AP) exam. It is a score of 5 on all sections of the exam, including the multiple choice, free response, and performance tasks.

AP Daily Videos

AP Daily videos are a series of short, on-demand videos created by experienced AP teachers and hosted on the college board website. AP Daily videos cover the content and skills for all 39 AP courses.The videos are typically 3-5 minutes long and cover a specific topic from the AP course curriculum. They are often accompanied by practice questions and other resources to help students learn and master the material.

AP Classroom

AP Classroom on the College Board website is a free online resource for students taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Each AP subject has its own classroom where you can find the daily videos, assignments, and reports. It provides students with access to a variety of tools and resources to help them succeed in their AP classes and exams.

AP Central

AP Central is the website from the College Board that provides resources for students, teachers, and administrators involved in the Advanced Placement (AP) program. AP Central includes information on AP classes, exams, and college credit and placement. It also provides resources for teachers to help them teach AP classes and for administrators to support AP programs in their schools.

AP Alumni Network

The AP Alumni Network is a community of former AP students who are passionate about the Advanced Placement (AP) Program and interested in sharing their experiences with policymakers to increase educational opportunities for students nationwide.

AP Capstone

AP Capstone is a rigorous two-year program for high school students that equips students with the essential skills and knowledge for success in college and beyond. The program emphasizes the development of transferable critical thinking, research, collaboration, time management, and presentation skills.

AP Classroom Resources

AP Classroom resources are a suite of online tools and resources designed to support AP teachers and students in their teaching and learning.

AP Self Study

AP Self-Study is the process of preparing for an AP exam without taking the corresponding AP course. This can be a great option for students who want to earn college credit, challenge themselves academically, or explore a subject that is not offered at their school.

AP Course Grades vs AP Scores

The main difference between AP course Grades and AP scores is that grades are a measure of a student’s performance in the AP course over the school year, while scores are a measure of a student’s performance on a single standardized exam at the end of the year. AP course Grades are part of your GPA and provided by the school you are studying in and AP scores are provided by The College Board.

AP Exam Calculator policy

AP Exam Calculator policy refers to the use of calculators on AP exams. The College Board permits the use of calculators on some AP exams such as AP Physics, Calculus, Statistics, etc.

AP Scholar Award

The AP Scholar Award is an academic distinction awarded to high school students who have demonstrated exceptional college-level achievement through their performance on multiple AP Exams.

AP Course and Exam Description

An AP Course and Exam Description (AP CED) is a document published by the College Board that provides an overview of the content and assessment format for all 39 AP courses.

AP Classes

Advanced Placement (AP) is a college-level class that is conducted by the College Board. The term “AP class” is often used interchangeably with the term “AP Course“.

AP Textbooks

AP textbooks are college-level textbooks that are used by students who are enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) courses. There are no official textbooks. The courses are designed to be more challenging than regular high school courses and are intended to prepare students for college-level work.

AP Results

AP results are the scores that students receive on AP exams. AP exams are scored on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score. AP results are typically released in July, about two weeks after students take their AP exams. Students can view their AP results online through their College Board account. 2023 AP Results were released on Wednesday, July 5, 2023. Students can access their scores online through the College Board website.

AP Course Pairs

AP course pairs are two Advanced Placement courses that are taken together and complement each other. Some AP courses are naturally paired together because they cover related topics.

AP Lab Manual

An AP Lab Manual is a resource that provides students with the information and instructions they need to complete the laboratory investigations required for their AP science course.

AP Daily instructors

The AP Daily instructors are subject matter experts who create AP Daily videos for all 39 AP courses. The AP Daily Instructors are selected by the College Board based on their teaching experience and ability to create engaging and informative videos.

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Benefits of AP

AP courses can be used to earn scholarships, college credit and placement, and demonstrate academic rigor. Taking AP classes and exams can help students get ahead in high school and college. In 2023, a record 420,000 students took over 840,000 AP exams at 1,023 schools.

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College Board

The College Board is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1899 to expand access to higher education. It is best known for its standardized tests, such as the SAT and the Advanced Placement (AP) Program.

Course Audit

The AP Course Audit is a process that ensures that AP courses are aligned with the rigor and standards of college-level courses. The audit is conducted by the College Board, which is the organization that administers the AP program.

Course Ledger

The AP Course Ledger is a comprehensive list of secondary school courses offered worldwide that have passed the AP Course Audit. It is searchable by school, subject, city, state, country, and more, and it is updated every year in November to reflect offerings in the current school year.

Course Placement

AP Course Placement is the process of determining which level of college course a student should take based on their performance on the AP exam. Many colleges and universities offer college credit for students who score well on AP exams and some colleges and universities use AP scores to place students into advanced courses.

Course Syllabus

An AP Course Syllabus is a document that outlines the expectations for an AP course. The syllabus should include information about the course content, teaching methods, assessment procedures, and grading policies.

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Document-Based Questions

An AP document-based question (DBQ) is an essay question that requires students to analyze a set of primary sources and use them to support a thesis statement. DBQs are designed to assess students’ critical thinking, historical analysis, and writing skills.

Dual credits

Dual credits are courses that allow high school students to earn college credit while still in high school. These courses are offered by colleges and universities and are taught either at the high school or on the college campus.

Digital AP Exams

The Digital AP Exam is a computer-based version of the traditional pen and paper-based AP exam, which is administered by the College Board. Digital AP Exams are a relatively new way (2023) to take Advanced Placement (AP) exams.

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Exam Dates

The AP exams are designed to assess students’ knowledge and understanding of college-level course material. The AP exams are administered in May of each year. The specific dates of the AP exams vary from year to year, but they are typically administered over a two-week period.

Exam Fee

The AP Exam fee is the amount of money that students must pay to take an Advanced Placement (AP) exam. AP exams are college-level exams that high school students can take to earn college credit or placement in advanced college courses.

Exam Fee Reductions

AP Exam fee reductions are available to students who meet certain financial need criteria. The College Board offers a $36 fee reduction per AP Exam for qualifying low-income students. Schools are expected to forgo their $9 rebate for these students, resulting in a cost of $53 per exam (for international: $83 per exam; for AP Seminar or AP Research Exams: $101).

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Free Response Questions

Advanced Placement (AP) free-response questions are open-ended questions that require students to demonstrate their understanding of the course material in a written format.

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Multiple-Choice Questions

An AP MCQ is a type of question that requires students to select the best answer from a list of four or five options. AP MCQs are designed to assess students’ knowledge of the course material and their ability to apply that knowledge to new situations.

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Pass Rate

AP pass rate is a term used to describe the percentage of students who earn a score of 3 or higher on an Advanced Placement (AP) exam. The term “pass rate” is not used by the College Board to describe the performance of students on Advanced Placement (AP) exams.

Pass Score

An AP pass score is a score of 3 or higher on an Advanced Placement (AP) exam. The College Board does not use the term “pass rate” in its official documentation or communications, but it is often used by students, parents, and educators to refer to the percentage of students who earn a passing score on an AP exam.

Performance Task

The AP Performance Task is a culminating project that students complete in their AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) course. It is a chance for students to demonstrate their understanding of the course material by creating a personalized programming project.

Pre AP

Pre-AP is a set of grade-level courses that are designed to prepare students for the rigors of Advanced Placement (AP) courses and exams. Typically taught in grades 9 and 10, Pre-AP courses offer a valuable opportunity to gain a solid foundation in the material that they will need to know for the AP exams Pre-AP courses are back-mapped from AP courses, ensuring that students gain the necessary content knowledge, skills, and practices for success in AP.

Pre-AP to AP Course Map

A Pre-AP to AP Course Map is a tool that can help students and parents plan their high school coursework to ensure that students are prepared for AP courses.

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Review Books

An AP Review Book is a book that is designed to help students prepare for the Advanced Placement (AP) exams. AP Review Books typically cover the entire curriculum of the AP course and provide students with a variety of resources to help them learn and review the material.

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Sending Scores

AP Send Score is a service that allows students to send their AP scores to colleges and universities. Students can send their AP scores online or by mail. There is a fee to send AP scores.

Score Distribution

The AP score distribution is a statistical representation of how students performed on each AP exam. It shows the percentage of students who earned each score (1, 2, 3, 4, or 5) in a given year.

Score Report

An AP Score Report is a document that shows your scores on the AP exams that you have taken. It is sent to you by the College Board in July after all of the AP exams have been scored.

Study Guides

An AP Study Guide is a resource that can help students prepare for Advanced Placement (AP) exams. AP exams are college-level exams that students can take in high school. Students who score well on AP exams can earn college credit and placed into advanced courses in college.