The AP English Test
Students enrolled in AP English III will be prepared for, and will be strongly encouraged to, take the Advanced Placement Examination in English Language and Composition offered by the College Board in May.
In May, 2003, 175,000 students took the AP Exam in English Language and Composition. Successful completion of this exam can bring students three, six, or more hours of college credit. In preparation for this exam, students will spend a major part of the year engaged in the writing process and in the study of fiction and nonfiction prose from various authors and periods that serve as models for learning how to analyze effective prose style - how an author uses the resources of language such as diction, syntax, imagery, tone, point of view, and modes of discourse to achieve his/her rhetorical purpose.
Students who make qualifying scores on this exam save their parents money on college tuition. Students who have taken several AP exams have saved their families as much as $15,000. Because of credit earned on AP exams, some students begin college with sophomore standing. Students who gain AP credit also are able to allocate more time for higher-level electives or for additional work in their majors. Even students who decide not to take the AP Exam benefit greatly from this class. They make A's in their college writing courses and simply are more culturally literate than their peers who were not enrolled in AP.
These successes come with a price. Because the AP Exam is a nationally-normed exam like the PSAT, SAT, and ACT, students are in competition not only with scholars in other public schools, but also with students in the top private schools in the city, in the state, and in the country. Thus, the Pre-AP and AP English courses are rigorous because of the competition students face.