Advanced Placement
(AP) History

For more information contact Patricia Snow at:
(325) 677-1731 ext. 2272
or email her at: patricia.snow@abileneisd.org

Her conference period is from 2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.

• World History
• United States History
• European History
• Government
• Economics
• Human Geography
• Art History

• have a healthy curiosity about a subject
• wish to pursue academic excellence
• are willing to work hard
• enjoy intellectual challenges
• want to learn alongside classmates who are enthusiastic about academics

"College entrance exams reveal that young people who take challenging classes, such as Advanced Placement courses, perform better than their peers regardless of their family or financial background."    
          -Rod Paige, U.S. Secretary of Education

"We prefer AP-level work and accord such work more weight in our evaluation of the curriculum an applicant has chosen."   
           -Tony Strickland, Associate Director of Admissions at
             University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

"If students avoid challenges in their course selection, they're probably not going to be good candidates, no matter what their grades, test scores, or extracurricular activities are."   
          -Michael Behnke, Director of Admissions at MIT

For each course, an AP exam is administered in May at participating schools worldwide. Most AP exams contain a free response section (usually essay) and a section of multiple choice questions. Each AP exam is given an overall grade of 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, with 5 indicating a student who is extremely well qualified to receive college credit and/or advanced placement based on an AP Exam grade.

• Attend Class: Attendance is of paramount importance in AP courses. Students (and parents) should avoid scheduling outside appointments when AP classes meet.
   
• Read the Assignment: The single most important contributor to a student's success in class is whether he/she completes each reading assignment. The reading assignments may seem arduous at first, but students adapt and develop the skills needed as time progresses.
   
• Complete Assignments: Assignments will be turned in the week they are due. Tests must be made up within one week of the regularly scheduled exam or the grade of zero (0) will be recorded for the exam. Make-up exams will be given at a time other than when the class meets.
   
• Join a Study Group: Student led study groups provide an excellent opportunity to review, compare and extend understanding.
   
• Keep a Notebook: Students should organize their materials chronologically or thematically in a binder. Many AP alumni have gone on to use their notebook as resources for their college humanities courses.

Students should anticipate the total amount of time for AP History homework, although considerable, is manageable-approximately 3-5 hours per week is about average.

1st and 2nd-tier universities report that about 15 hours of homework per week is the norm for 3-hour survey style courses.

Students who have taken AP courses are: better prepared academically for college, more likely to specialize in majors with tougher grading standards, more likely to complete more college course work, more likely to perform better over four years of college course work, more likely to be superior in terms of leadership, more likely to make significant accomplishments in college, and twice as likely to do graduate level study.