Advanced Placement (AP) courses offer students a learning experience that prepares them for post-secondary success and affords them an opportunity to earn college credit while in high school. AP courses encourage critical and creative thinking and hone analytical and reasoning skills as students work through college-level coursework both collaboratively and independently. The CollegeBoard indicates that AP courses help students qualify for scholarships, prepare for college-level work, and compete in the college admissions process.

Students in middle school can take pre-AP courses in core content areas in preparation for high school courses. Not all AP courses are available on every campus, so students in high school should meet with their counselor to ensure course availability and that they can meet all prerequisite courses needed through appropriately scheduling their four-year graduation plan.

The AP courses offered in Killeen ISD include:
 

AP Exams

Each AP course concludes with an AP exam allowing students to earn college credit. The examinations are structured to measure three areas - depth of knowledge, completeness of thought, and synthesis of ideas. Approximately 1,200 institutions award credit based on the student's AP examination scores. Exams are graded on a five-point scale with credit usually given for scores of 3 or higher.

• Killeen ISD pays the AP Examination fee per student, per test. As such, all students enrolled in AP exam are expected to take the appropriate course exam for which they are enrolled.
• Actual college credit is awarded at university and college discretion, so be sure to communicate with colleges regarding which AP courses they accept and what scores are required for credit.

For more information on Killeen ISD's Advanced Placement Offerings, contact John Jackson, Advanced Academic Specialist, at 254-336-0323.