Advanced Placement

An academic program offered by multiple school boards and recognized in many countries.

What schools offer AP?

EPSB

Dr. Anne Anderson School

Eastglen School

Edmonton Christian High School

Elder Dr. Francis Whiskeyjack School

J. Percy Page School

Jasper Place School

Millwoods Christian School

Queen Elizabeth School

Strathcona School

Vimy Ridge Academy

W.P. Wagner School

ECSD

Archbishop O'Leary Catholic High School

Austin O'Brien Catholic High School

J.H. Picard Catholic Elementary/Junior/Senior High School

Louis St. Laurent Catholic Junior/Senior High School

Mother Margaret Mary Catholic High School

St. Francis Xavier Catholic High School

St. Oscar Romero Catholic High School

What should you know about AP?

Curriculum

The AP program runs as a dual curriculum alongside the Alberta curriculum. Any students taking AP classes will write both an AP exam (where applicable) as well as the Alberta Diploma exam at the end of Grade 12. Some AP classes distribute the Alberta curriculum differently to integrate the AP curriculum easily.
The content covered in AP classes is the same for each course, but the AP curriculum is organized by teachers or schools, so variation may occur if transferring between schools. This is done for better compatibility with the local curriculum (in our case, the Alberta curriculum).

Courses & Structure

AP courses are modelled after post-secondary or college classes. Students are eligible to receive University or College credit based on their AP scores.
It is up to the student how many AP classes they wish to be enrolled in. This program has no formal definition of full or partial course load. A student may choose to take one AP class in total, several, or as many as are available.
Depending on the chosen course load and final exam scores, students may be eligible to receive an award from the AP college board

More Information

The AP program has a website detailing all information about it. If you register in a class with an AP exam, you will be required to create an account (with a non-school board associated email). The official AP website can be accessed through this link: AP Central
A helpful score calculator can be found at this site: Score Calculator. The score calculator can be used to predict AP scores based on curves in previous years.
For the official EPSB AP information click on this link: AP in EPSB
For the official ECSD AP information click on this link: AP in ECSD

Internationally recognized

Over 500 worldwide universities in over 75 countries accept AP credits, and most universities based in the U.S. or Canada accept AP credits.

Prerequisites, Eligibility, & Cost

Any student in grades 10-12 are eligible to take AP classes. Students coming into an AP class, or continuing in one, are recommended to have a 70-80% minimum grade average in any prerequisite course. There are no exams necessary to get into this program, and it can be dropped at any stage.
The cost of an AP exam varies but the most of the cost is covered by the school at which the course is taken.

Exams and Scores

Your AP grade (and any credits you are eligible to receive) are based solely on the AP exams. These are graded on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is the top grade possible to achieve. No coursework throughout the year will affect this score (unless the course requires a portfolio or research paper handed in). AP exams run in the first two weeks of May, and scores are released by mid-July. Everyone writing an AP exam will write it at the same time. Missing an AP exam will only affect your AP score, not your Alberta curriculum grades. No AP grades will affect your Alberta curriculum grades, and vice versa.
Post-secondary credit policies are determined by each institution, but most accept a score of 4 or 5 for credit. Some institutions have extra rules and regulations on using AP credit for their programs.
Most exams are cumulative of multiple years’ worth of AP content (which makes it hard to switch into AP after grade 11) and a few rely on two exams to combine for credit. Some courses require a project or portfolio handed in instead of an exam.
AP exams are graded on curves based off of student scores in that year, which means the same grade on two different years may result in a different score.

Benefits

Internationally recognized program
Improved time management, study habits, and ability to learn at an accelerated pace
Eases the difficulty gap between high school and post-secondary education
Opportunity to earn post-secondary or equivalent credits at worldwide institutions, which can save time and money
Beneficial in certain scholarship or university/college applications

Drawbacks

Time consuming program; may take away time and ability to pursue extracurriculars or out-of-school passions
The accelerated and harder course material may affect grades
Credit earned may not be applicable to all programs or courses in your institution of choice
An AP course covers most of the content in its equivalent college course; but due to variations in courses between institutions, the AP course may not align exactly. This can result in missed topics needed for future courses if the AP credits are used instead of taking the class.