Advanced Placement Program

 AP programs:

• Promote educational excellence in high schools.

• Enable willing and academically motivated students to pursue college-level studies with the support of teachers and peers.

• Offer internationally recognized exams.

• Meet high school graduation credit requirements.

• Provide opportunities to take one or multiple courses in the AP program.

AP enables you to:

• Stand out in college admission.

• Receive AP Scholar Awards—academic distinctions that you may cite among your credentials on applications and résumés.

• Receive an AP designated diploma—The AP Capstone Diploma.

• Earn college credit with a qualifying AP exam score.

• Skip introductory college classes.

• Build college skills and confidence.

• Explore potential majors based on your interests.

• Turn subjects you love into fulfilling career paths. 

At SHHS, we believe in:

• Equitable access to our AP programs by giving all willing and academically prepared students the opportunity to participate.

• Elimination of barriers that restrict access to AP for students from ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups that have been traditionally underrepresented.

• Reflection of the diversity of our student population in AP courses.

• Access to academically challenging course work in the years before students enroll in AP classes (honors courses), which can prepare students for AP success.

• Commitment to equitable preparation and access so that true equity and excellence can be achieved for all students. 

 AP courses will:

• Challenge students to work and participate at a higher level.

• Offer opportunities to explore topics in greater depth through critical thinking, analysis, synthesis, evidence, multiple perspectives, and clear written and verbal communications.

• Set bigger goals for yourself and do things you never thought possible.

• Require more time in and out of the classroom to complete assignments and projects.

• Conclude with a REQUIRED College Board AP exam. Most two- and four-year colleges and universities worldwide recognize AP in the admission process and accept successful exam scores for credit, advanced course placement, or both. Each college and university establish their own AP policies and will require school specific exam scores. Please note that some colleges and universities do not grant credit for AP courses regardless of the AP exam score achieved.

• Use the AP grading scale that shall include the addition of 5 percentage points to the grades used to calculate the semester average (Tennessee State Board of Education Policy 3.301).

• Upon completion of the course and the exam, students will receive a weighted GPA for the AP Course. For AP courses, an A = 5, B = 4, C = 3, D = 2, F = 1. 

With AP you could:

• Save money on tuition. The average cost of one college class at a 4-year public school is $1,250. However, AP courses and AP exams at SHHS are FREE!

• Graduate from college sooner than your peers. Students who take five years or more to graduate can spend $21,500 for each additional year in college to cover tuition, fees, living expenses, and transportation. However, students who take AP courses and exams in high school are much more likely to graduate from college in four years instead of five.