Advanced Placement Program at West Laurens High School
The Advanced Placement Program (AP) at West Laurens High School is a program of advanced content study under the auspices of CollegeBoard in Princeton, New Jersey, a non-profit organization that has run the AP program since 1955. It offers college level courses at the high school level across the United States and in foreign countries. The assessment of knowledge in these courses is a national exam taken in May each year, with score rankings of 1-5, 5 being the highest level of achievement. Colleges and universities use these rankings to exempt students from introductory coursework if they demonstrate mastery through the AP test. Each college's policy is different. See http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/ about.html
Most accept scores of 4 or 5, and some accept scores of 3. On the student's college transcript, the course is given a simple CR or other generic grade to indicate that the student has received credit for the course, although some colleges and universities will award an A grade for a 5 score. The State of Georgia pays for all AP exams ($84.00), but if a student wishes to take the AP Exam without taking the course, the student would absorb the cost of the test.
West Laurens High School currently offers five AP courses: AP Biology, AP Calculus (B/C), AP Literature, AP Language, AP United States History, and AP Environmental Science. AP courses at West Laurens High School are open to all students; however, they are not for every student. They are first year college level major courses with emphasis on rigor, inquiry, critical thinking and independent work. The student must incorporate these qualities into a good work ethic to succeed.
If you have any questions about the program at WLHS, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs. Dewana Kemp, Assistant Principal and Coordinator of the AP Program at WLHS (dewanakemp@lcboe.net). She can answer any questions you might have about the program itself and refer you to specific teachers of these courses for syllabi and expectations for each course.
For further information regarding the State of Georgia’s support of the AP Program, please click on the following link: