By D r. D r.
r inato l, and Coord ncipa i n r o P i l t ova choo of Inn igh S E Y, H D , C e n t e r N R H L N FA ERWA DARI STEIG S I N DEN
d e c n a v d A ies d u t S ings r e f f O
p The AP ca at SAS Starting with the class of 2021 (this year’s sophomores), students may take seven year-long equivalent AP courses. This cap has been put in place to encourage students to
• fill the gaps in and
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look beyond the AP program for ways to distinguish themselves academically explore topics relevant to their interests and future pursuits take courses that emphasize skills over content, provide opportunities to differentiate themselves, and end the competitive AP race
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What icsed Studies? Advan
Advanced Topic (AT) courses and Advanced Placement (AP) courses together form our advanced studies offerings. More than 40 college-level courses give SAS students varied opportunities to learn different skills and topics, address different criteria for excellence, explore their own interests, and distinguish themselves from other applicants in the college admissions process.
What is AP? The Advanced Placement (AP) program began in 1952 and now includes a range of courses that culminate in externally administered examinations. Students may be able to use their AP exam results to gain college credits, allowing them to skip introductory courses or take fewer courses in college.
r u o f o n o Evolutcied studies advanings offer History SAS embraced the Advanced Placement system when, in 1968, it offered AP English for the first time. Over the years, SAS expanded its AP offering, and in recent decades the vast majority of our high school students have taken at least one AP course. The benefits of the AP program at SAS are numerous:
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Over the last decade, however, SAS, like other top US schools, began to grapple with some potentially negative aspects of the AP program, including:
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• What is AT? Our Advanced Topic (AT) program has been developed by SAS faculty working with distinguished professors to develop university-level courses in areas of study not covered in other courses. AT courses push students to develop transferable skills and complete challenging, self-directed projects that prepare them for college and career opportunities.
students can experience rigorous, college-level courses in small classes within a supportive high school environment universities worldwide recognize what “AP” means on a high school transcript students’ academic achievements may be validated through success on the external AP examinations students who score a three or higher on the exam may be able to transfer their AP credits, saving them time and money at college
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lack of real-world relevance of some AP course material covering too much material too quickly at the expense of in-depth research, critical thinking, and transferable skills in some courses inflexibility in content and teaching style due to an external exam setting the agenda an “arms-race” mentality among students loading their schedules with APs and foregoing other interesting academic options
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a focus on doing well on a test rather than deeply exploring a subject and developing a passion for learning colleges looking for academic experiences beyond numerous AP courses in applicants’ transcripts AP courses no longer setting applicants apart on college applications, as around 40 percent of American high school students now take at least one AP course, up from 4 percent in the 1990s
Today, top schools in the US are rethinking their reliance on the AP program, with some offering limited APs and others droping APs altogether, while most have developed their own high-level courses. At SAS, keeping a variety of high-quality AP courses while developing our own AT courses is giving our students the best of both worlds. We are proud that our curriculum now
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offers varied academic opportunities that match students’ interests, skills, and objectives allows students to take up to seven year-long equivalent AP courses and 14 AP exams including five that may be taken after completing a relevant AT course limits the pressure students may feel to take an unreasonable number of AP courses offers AT courses that capitalize on our location, interests, and expertise gives college applicants more ways to stand out from the crowd through unique AT experiences prepares students for the types of learning experiences and professional opportunities they will encounter after SAS
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