The Advanced Placement Program
at
West Forsyth
High School
Dr. Tom Fowler
AP Coordinator
Coordinator
Mrs. Donna Duncan
Assistant AP
What is AP?
 A challenging set of academic courses based on
college-level curricula.
 Rigorous end-of-course examinations graded
against national standards.
 Students will meet both College Board
curriculum requirements, as well as Georgia’s.
Why Colleges Like the AP Program
 Common curriculum across the nation.
 Professional development
institutes and seminars for teachers in the
program.
 Standardized assessments each year that are
the same for all students.
 Students better prepared for academic rigor of
college
Benefits of the AP Program
For Students
– College credit
– Academic challenge
– Academic skills needed for college
– Increase in self-confidence, motivation, and
academic orientation
The Rewards of AP
Prepares students for success in college by taking
college-level courses while still in high school
– Explore advanced topics -- study in greater
depth
– Develop advanced skills -- form disciplined
study habits
– Build confidence in capability to succeed in
college
The Rewards of AP
Opportunity to earn college credit or advanced
placement
– Possible tuition savings
– Save money in unused textbooks
– Flexibility in college course choice
– Early entry to graduate/professional schools
Students who Participate…
 Outperform their peers when placed into
advanced courses.
 More likely to take advanced courses in their AP
subject areas.
 More likely to choose challenging majors.
 More likely to graduate with a double major.
 Twice as likely to go into advanced study.
Sequence of Courses
 9th grade – Human Geography, Biology,
Psychology
 10th grade – World History, Biology,
Psychology, Human Geography
 11th and 12th grade – any of 18 remaining
 22 AP Courses offered at West
 Capstone is the newest addition
 Second year of Computer Science in
2016-17
WFHS Honors
Honors English 9
Honors English 10
Honors Biology (9th)
WFHS Valedictorians
Every Valedictorian since 2011:
 AP Human Geography
 Honors English 9
 Honors English 10
 Honors Biology
 Honors Chemistry
 Between 14 and 17 AP/DL Calculus
2015-16
11 of top 12, including top six:
 AP Human Geography
 Honors English 9
 Honors English 10
 Honors Biology
 Honors Chemistry
 Between 12 and 17 AP/DL courses
What Counts in College
Admissions
82
Courses Selected
46
SAT Scores
42
Class Rank
39
Overall Grades
14
Essay
6
Work/School Activity
0
1992 NACAC Survey
College Admissions
Officials
20
40
60
80
% citing “considerably important”
100
West and UGA 2015 Early
Decision
Accepted
 43
 4.12 GPA
 10.42 AP Courses at West
Deferred
 19
 3.81 GPA
 7.16 AP Courses at West
Denied
4
 3.5 GPA
 6.75 AP Courses at West
West and Georgia Tech
 2010 – 2014
 205 Applied, 50% admitted, 59
matriculated
 95.8% 1st year retention rate (95.2%
Institution)
 HS GPA – 4.01
 Average # of AP courses – 11 (8
Institution)
 Year one GPA – 3.21 vs. 3.20 Institution
West Forsyth by the Numbers
 909 students took at least one AP Exam in 2015
 1090 students taking at least one AP course
 22 AP Courses offered at West
 127 Freshmen taking AP
 587 (54%) taking two or more AP Courses
 164 taking three AP Courses
 70 taking four AP Courses
 49 taking five AP Courses
 10 taking six AP Courses (+8 Tech DL Calculus)
 1 taking seven AP Courses
West Forsyth by the Numbers
 AP Merit School – 20% or more of
students take an AP Exam and at least
half of exams score a 3 or higher
 Earned this distinction in 2007-08, 2008-09,
2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2014-15
 Will earn it again for 2015-2016
 AP STEM School and AP STEM Achievement
school in those years
 AP Humanities School
West Forsyth by the Numbers
AP Scholar Distinction
 In 2014-2015, 315 West students earned an AP
Scholar Distinction (of 909 students who took AP – 35% vs.
20% nationally)
 17 National AP Scholars
(Avg. 4 or higher on all AP
Exams; score of 4 or higher on eight or more exams)
 100 AP Scholars with Distinction
(Avg. 3.5 or higher
on all AP Exams; score of 3 or higher on five or more exams)
 69 AP Scholars with Honors
(Avg. 3.25 or higher on all
AP Exams; score of 3 or higher on four or more exams)
 146 AP Scholars
exams)
(score of 3 or higher on three or more
AP Capstone Diploma Program
 Only school in Forsyth currently offering
 One of nine schools in Georgia
 11th (Seminar) and 12th grade (Research)
 Develops analytic, research, problem-
solving, and communication skills
 Culminates in 5000 word thesis paper
Miscellaneous Thoughts
 Exams
 Best Preparation for SAT/ACT
 3 or higher - 70% of ALL 1791 West
exams in 2015-2016
What Parents are Saying
AP Contacts
 AP Central
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com
 Colleges’ AP Credit Policies
http://apps.collegeboard.com/apcreditpolicy/index.jsp
 AP Student Resources
www.collegeboard.com/?student
 AP Parent Resources
http://www.collegeboard.com/parents/
Contact WFHS AP Coordinators:
Dr. Tom Fowler
tfowler@forsyth.k12.ga.us
770-888-3470 Ext: 332167
Mrs. Donna Duncan
dduncan@forsyth.k12.ga.us
770-888-3470 Ext: 332903