Silverton High School

• AP curriculum allows instructors to teach college-level courses to capable, motivated students.
• Students successfully completing AP examinations offered by the College Board in May can qualify for college credit or become exempt from introductory college courses, permitting them to move more quickly into advanced classes.
• AP exams are graded on a 5-point scale (the highest is 5). Most of the nation's colleges and universities award credit and/or placement for grades of 3 or higher.
• More than 1,400 institutions award a year of credit (sophomore standing) to students with a sufficient number of qualifying grades.
• College admission personnel view AP experience as one indicator of future success at the college level. Taking an AP course offers an advantage to students wishing to attend a highly selective school.

• Classes are open to any student who is prepared to take on the challenge.
• Students who enroll in these advanced classes need to be prepared. One of the best ways to develop the skills to be successful would be to take honors classes during freshman and sophomore years.
• Participation and motivation are also important to AP success. Students' academic records continue to be the best predictor of AP success, but the willingness to meet the daily demands of an AP class can result in success for students who are not among the best prepared.
• Students should be:

• Interested in ideas and relationships
• Willing to risk being wrong
• Willing to consider new perspectives
• Competent in individual research skills
• Able to ask insightful questions
• Able to organize materials and work under pressure to meet deadlines
• Able to make decisions for themselves
• Able to work productively with their fellow students

• AP courses make substantial demands on students as they are equivalent to college courses. Students are required to do considerable outside reading and other assignments and to demonstrate the analytical skills and writing abilities expected of first-year students in a strong college program. 3 AP courses is the equivalent of a full-time college load.
• Students enrolling in AP classes will be expected to take the corresponding AP exam in May.
• Students enrolled in AP courses can and do have lives. The increased academic load must be considered in light of other important factors, including social life, extracurricular activities, athletics, jobs, and outside responsibilities.
• Students must find balance. Time constraints and other responsibilities associated with AP can result in undue stress, emotional duress, poor grades, feelings of failure, and high frustration.
• It is important to understand the expectations for students in these classes will be high. The demands of jobs, extracurricular activities, and other difficult classes need to be considered when enrolling and will not be accepted as excuses for incomplete or missing assignments. Daily attendance is essential for success because of the fast pace and amount of material covered each day. Students are expected to come to class having read the material assigned for that day.

 AP Course Expectations at Silverton High School

In order to be successful in the AP program, students will need to budget their time, taking into account the following:

• These are college-level courses.
• Study time varies by course and individual needs.
• Different instructors have different expectations.
• These courses will require more time than non-AP classes.
• Students need to factor in the time needed for after-school activities.
• Have at least a C (but preferably a B) in a previous related honors class or a B (but preferably an A) in a regular class.

Valid and Invalid Reasons to Drop an AP course

Please note: If a drop is approved, there is no guarantee that the student will get a spot in an accelerated class in the subject. Class placement is dependent on openings in the course and program.

Interventions

Prior to considering a student to drop a class, the following interventions should be completed:

• Coming in for teacher office hours or during AG several times
• Creating a planner and/or calendar system to help balance priorities
• Conference with the parent, teacher, AND student 

Students who enroll in AP classes are exposed to higher levels of learning and more academic rigor. Students learn to push themselves to acquire knowledge and are exposed to new topics.

If students do well on the national AP exam, they may be able to earn college credit.

Most four-year colleges in the United States and colleges in more than 60 other countries award students credit, advanced placement, or both based on AP Exam scores. By entering college with AP credits, you'll have the time to move into upper-level courses, pursue a double major, or study abroad. 

Find colleges and universities with AP credit policy information.

If you are signed up for an AP course this year, you will need to create a College Board account. This is the same account used for the PSAT and the SAT, so you may already have one.

Here are some step-by-step directions for setting up your account:

• Log in to MyAP at: Visit College Board Login
• Create a new account. (if you do not already have one)
• Once your account is set up, you will need to obtain the "Join Code" from your AP teacher to log in to AP Classroom for your class. You will need a Join Code from each of your AP teachers to get into the AP Classroom for each AP course you are enrolled in.

Here are a few helpful hints regarding setting up your "My AP" account:

1. Please use a non-SFSD student email. You want to be able to access your AP account even after you graduate and no longer have an SFSD student email address.
2. Use your legal name, not a nickname. Colleges will look for your AP scores based on your legal name, and they may not recognize your scores if the names are different.
3. Make sure you know the email and password used to make the account. You will need both of these items for digital AP testing in May.
4. Include a cell number in your AP account as a 2nd verification method, in case you forget your password.

If you have any issues setting up your AP account, please reach out to Ms. Russell.

When you join the AP Classroom for each AP course, your testing status is set to "Undecided". You MUST decide whether you want to take the test. You have until Wednesday, October 15, 2025, to make your final decision. You will need to make a decision, then go to your AP account and change your testing status to "Yes" or "No".

• AP Exams for the 2025-26 School Year are scheduled May 4, 2026, through May 15, 2026
• Decision Deadline: October 15, 2025
• Payment Deadline: October 31, 2025
• Cost of exams: $83 for almost every AP exam, $139 for a Seminar or Research course
  • Late Registration Fee: The College Board assesses a $40 fee for late registration. This would only be an issue if a student signs up for an AP test after the October deadline. 
  • Cancellation/Unused Test Fee: The College Board charges a $40 fee for test cancellations or unused tests. This means that if a student signs up for a test and then decides not to take the test.
    • If a student has signed up and paid to take an exam, but then changes their mind after the testing order has been submitted (by the 15th of November each year) but before March 15th, the student would be eligible for a partial refund.
    • After 3/15/26, the College Board does not approve refunds for any reason.

Financial assistance is available to students experiencing financial hardship to help cover the cost of testing. This is a confidential process, but an application is required to receive financial assistance.

There are a couple of expenses that SHS cannot cover: 

• Late Registration Fee: The College Board assesses a $40 fee for late registration. This would only be an issue if a student signs up for an AP test after the October deadline. 
• Cancellation/Unused Test Fee: The College Board charges a $40 fee for test cancellations or unused tests. This means that if a student signs up for a test and then decides not to take the test.
  • If a student requested financial assistance from SHS and then decides not to take the AP Test, they would be charged the $40 College Board unused test fee. This fee would be added to their SHS student account. SHS cannot cover this fee.

If there is some unforeseen circumstance that causes a student to not be able to test on the original day set for that AP test, we can potentially arrange a late test day for students who have an AP-approved reason for needing to test during the late testing window. These exceptions are approved on a case-by-case basis.