Preparing Your Credit Policy for New AP Courses and Exams

April 15, 2024
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The College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) program has recently launched two new AP courses:  AP Precalculus and AP African American Studies. 

  • AP Precalculus is in its first year in high schools across the US and the world, and it will have the largest first-year exam participation in AP history. Over 190,000 students are expected to take the AP Precalculus Exam in May 2024.  
  • Precalculus is one of the most powerful courses in American high schools – taking it increases a student’s likelihood of completing a bachelor’s degree by 155%.  

Students interested in STEM majors and careers will be better prepared to take calculus or other advanced math in college. Non-STEM major students can use a qualifying AP Precalculus Exam score to fulfill a college math requirement and focus on courses most central to their major.

AP African American Studies is currently concluding its second year of piloting nationwide. In May 2024, students in nearly 700 high schools across the US will take the AP African American Studies Exam, representing a 91% increase over year-one pilot participation. Students in the year-two pilot will be able to send their resulting scores to institutions for credit placement. The course will have a full launch in fall 2024.    

AP African American Studies is an interdisciplinary course that examines the diversity of African American experiences through direct encounters with rich and varied sources. Students explore key topics that extend from early African kingdoms to the ongoing challenges and achievements of the contemporary moment.

The course offers students a rich, evidence-based encounter with African American experiences.  Students in the course develop historical, literary, visual, and data analysis skills. They engage with primary sources daily and they can access a digital collection from the Smithsonian.  

More information is available about these new courses:  

AP Precalculus:  https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-precalculus 

AP African American Studies: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-african-american-studies/about-the-course

Scores from these two new courses will start to arrive on your campuses in early July 2024.  Join the many other institutions who have already added these two courses to their AP credit policy. Would you like to make sure we are aware of your policy so we can help send students your way? Contact us:  Aphighered@collegeboard.org

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