A guide to high school AP classes

What does ‘Advanced Placement’ mean, and should your student take such courses?

A 4.0 GPA isn’t enough to get into any college you want anymore. Now, there are Advanced Placement classes. Once reserved for the most elite high school students, these college-level classes are finding their way into more schools, and more colleges expect to see them on applicants’ transcripts.

What are AP classes, and what do you and your teen need to know about them? Education Matters spoke to a number of education experts, all of whom are listed at the end of this article. If you have more questions, you can tweet them to us @LATEducation.

What does “AP” stand for, and what is the point?

The Advanced Placement program was born in the 1950s and is run by the College Board, the huge education nonprofit corporation that administers the SAT. AP classes are collegelevel courses, but are taught in high schools. The goal is to expose students to the rigorous standards they will face in college, to increase college preparedness and to challenge students beyond regular, and often beyond honors, courses.

There are now almost 40 AP courses available, though not every school offers every course. The College Board provides the curriculum for these classes, and administers AP tests each May. If a student scores a 3,4 or 5 out of 5 on a test, he or she is eligible to receive college credit for that class — and possibly to take fewer classes to graduate from college.

How is it different from a regular or honors class?

Simply put, AP classes are more difficult than other classes. “It’s at least 30% more [work] than another class,” said James Keipp, the director of UCLA’s AP Readiness Program, which offers free support classes to L.A. Unified students.

AP students are supposed to delve more deeply into topics through research, practical applications and critical thinking.

The differences between honors classes and AP classes vary depending on the school. In many cases, honors classes tend to be for freshmen and sophomores, who then take AP classes in those subjects in their junior and senior years. Another difference between honors and AP is that students can earn college credits by passing AP exams.

How many AP classes should my child be taking to get into college?

This is one of the most common questions that counselors are asked. The answer varies from child to child, but a student should take AP classes he or she is interested in, as long as he or she is able to get enough sleep after finishing homework and extracurriculars.

For highly selective institutions such as Ivy League schools, Stanford and public universities including UCLA and UC Berkeley, it’s common for accepted applicants to take about eight AP classes throughout high school.

There are many colleges, though, that don’t ask for that many AP classes and offer a good education, even though they’re not in U.S. News & World Report’s top 30 schools. Students can get into a four-year school with just one AP class, and in some cases, with none.

Students with a high school diploma also can attend community college without any AP classes, and then transfer to a four-year school.

Does your child need to take the test, or is the class enough?

In terms of college admissions, schools primarily look at the classes a student takes, and his or her performance in that class. Reporting AP scores on college applications usually is optional, so failing the test or not taking it won’t necessarily affect your student’s admissions chances.

The advantage to taking the tests is that they can count for college credits and could allow students to skip some classes in college, saving money and time.

The school says my child is not eligible or can’t take an AP class. What are the restrictions?

In L.A. Unified, any student can take an AP class if he or she wants to, according to district policy. If your student is being kept out of an AP class that he or she wants to take, you can go to the school and express your support for your child or ask why he or she is being blocked from the class. If that doesn’t work or you are not sure what your district’s rules are, you can go to a school board member or even the superintendent to ask what the district’s policy is regarding AP enrollment.

Policies such as grade requirements, teacher recommendations and entry exams have historically prevented many black and Latino students, as well as low-income students, from taking AP classes. Now the College Board and school districts are working to change that, and districts around the country are flipping access so that any student can choose to take an AP class. That is the policy in both the L.A. and Long Beach unified school districts.

For this article, Education Matters interviewed the following people: Audrey Kahane, a private college counselor; Kathryn Favaro, a college counselor and founder of California College Prep; Tyrone Howard, a UCLA education professor; Denise Pope, a Stanford senior lecturer and cofounder of Challenge Success; James Keipp, director of UCLA’s AP Readiness Program; and Christina Theokas, director of research at Education Trust.