Whether or not you’ve got kids in high school, you’re probably well aware of Advanced Placement (AP) classes. As a refresher, these more rigorous courses for 9th-12th graders are designed not only to prepare students for college-level classes but also to give them the opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school. It’s common practice for colleges and universities to recognize and award credit to students based on their AP exam scores. Typically, if a student’s score is high enough (4 or 5 on the 1-5 scale), they can skip an introductory course—hence the advanced placement designation—while earning the credits.
AP has been around for nearly 70 years, but a lesser-known and newer concept is the Pre-AP. As the name implies, these are courses designed to prepare students for AP courses—in a sense, they’re preparation for more preparation. They are usually split into different subjects, like Pre-AP English, Algebra, Biology, or History. One goal of Pre-AP subjects is building universally beneficial skills that include critical thinking, long-form writing, and data analysis.
Ninth and 10th graders are in the best position to take advantage of Pre-AP, hopefully improving their performance in actual AP courses during their junior and senior years. However, the concept of Pre-AP isn’t necessarily foreign to middle-grade students. Some middle schools will provide an introduction to Pre-AP coursework in the more advanced or honors programs (though Pre-AP is not itself an honors program).
There are 3 key differences between Pre-AP and AP:
- Availability – As mentioned, because they are fairly new, Pre-AP courses are not nearly as commonplace as AP courses. Time will tell if this program continues to grow and reach more and more schools.
- No college credit – Pre-AP courses are meant to get students ready for the demands of AP classes; as such, college credit isn’t awarded for completing Pre-AP courses.
- No standardized exams – Building off the previous point, Pre-AP doesn’t involve students directly working towards college credit. While their progress may be assessed throughout the class, there is no formal exam to administer.
Pre-AP is intended for 9th and 10th graders, yet many 9th and 10th graders already take AP courses for credit at schools allowing students who demonstrate the requisite performance to take AP classes as freshmen or sophomores. Education standards differ by state, and individual school districts themselves also have control over how specific programs are implemented. Because there’s variation by state and district, exact opportunities aren’t the same. In one location, an honors student might have to take Pre-AP first, even though they might already be equipped to handle full AP. The bottom line is that the Pre-AP courses are intended to prepare students for more college-level courses.