Advanced Placement (AP)

The Advanced Placement (AP) program provides high school students with the opportunity to engage with college-level material while still in high school. Students who participate in the AP program gain college-level skills, and in many cases, also earn college credit. T.C. Williams High School offers 33 AP courses, each organized to be equivalent to a first-year college course. All teachers teaching AP courses have undergone professional development and must annually submit course syllabi for audit to The College Board. Students who enroll in AP courses must take the end-of-course AP examination to demonstrate their levels of understanding of college-level knowledge and skills. Examinations are administered in May of each year. AP exam fees are paid for by ACPS (if student chooses to be absent for an AP exam, the fee must be reimbursed to ACPS). Examinations are scored on a five-point scale set by the College Board: 5 = extremely well-qualified; 4 = well-qualified; 3 = qualified; 2 = possibly qualified; and 1 = no recommendations. AP scores are sent to students, their designated colleges and their high school in July. Colleges that participate in the AP Examinations Program determine full or partial credit for scores of three or better.

Although most students who take AP examinations are enrolled in corresponding AP courses, any highly motivated and academically gifted student may take an AP examination in the subject areas of his/her choice.

Students enrolled in AP Science courses must also enroll in the AP Science Lab Seminar. This 1.0 elective credit co-requisite course is aligned with each AP Science course.

Note: See policies IGBI (PDF) and IKC (PDF).

The following is a list of AP courses that are expected to be offered during the 2021-22 school year:

AP COURSES