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What AP
®
Stands F or
Thousands of Adv anced Placement teacher s have c ontributed to the principles
articulated here . These principles ar e not new; the y are , rather , a r eminder of how AP
alr eady works in classr ooms nationwide . The following principles ar e designed to ensur e
that teachers’ e xpertise is respect ed, r equired cour se cont ent is understood, and that
students ar e academically challenged and fr ee to mak e up their own minds.
1. AP standsforclarityandtranspar ency .T eachersandstudentsdes er veclear
expectations. The A dvanced Plac ement Pr ogram mak es public its course
frame works and sample ass essments. Confusion about what is permitted in the
classr oom disrupts teachers and students as they na vigate demanding work.
2. AP isanunflinchingencounterwithe vidence .APcoursesenablestudentst odev elop
as independent thinker s and to draw their o wn conclusions. Evidence and the
scientificmethodar ethestartingplaceforconv ersationsinAPcour ses.
3. AP opposescensor ship.APisanimatedb yadeepr espectfortheintellectual
fr eedom of teachers and students alik e. If a s chool bans requir ed topics fr om their
AP cours es, the AP Pr ogram r emov es the AP designation from that c ourse and
its inclusion in the AP Course L edger pro vided to colleges and univ ersities. For
ex ample, the conc epts of evolution ar e at the heart of college biology , and a course
that neglects such concepts does not pass must er as AP Biology .
4. APopposesindoctrination.APstudentsar eexpect edtoanalyzediffer ent
perspectiv es from their o wn, and no points on an AP Exam are awar ded for
agr eement with a viewpoint. AP students are not r equired t o feel c er tain ways about
themselv es or the course c ontent. AP courses inst ead dev elop students’ abilities to
assess the cr edibility of sourc es, draw conclusions, and mak e up their own minds.
As the AP English Liter ature c ourse description stat es: “ AP students are not
expect edoraskedt osubscribetoan yonespecificsetofculturalorpolitic alvalues,
butar eexpectedt ohavethematuritytoanalyzeper spectivesdiffer entfr omtheir
ownandt oquestionthemeaning,purpose ,oreffectofsuchcont entwithinthe
liter ar y work as a whole .”
5. APcours esfosteranopen-mindedappr oachtothehist oriesandcultur esof
differ entpeoples.Thestudyofdiffer entnationalities,cultur es,r eligions,races,and
ethnicities is essential within a v ariet y of academic dis ciplines. AP courses gr ound
such studies in primary sourc es so that students can ev aluate e xperiences and
evidence f or themselv es.
6. E veryAPstudentwhoengageswithevidenceislistenedtoandr espected.
Students are enc ouraged to e valuate ar guments but not one another . AP
classr ooms respect div ersity in backgr ounds, experienc es, and viewpoints. The
perspectiv es and contributions of the full range of AP students ar e sought and
consider ed. Respectful debate of ideas is cultiv ated and pr otected; per sonal
attacks hav e no place in AP .
7. APisachoiceforpar entsandstudents.P arentsandstudentsfr eelychooset o
enr oll in AP courses. Cour se descriptions ar e av ailable online for par ents and
studentstoinf ormtheirchoice.P ar entsdonotdefinewhichcollege-lev eltopics
ar e suitable within AP courses; AP c ourse and e xam materials ar e crafted b y
committeesofpr of essorsandothere xperteducatorsineachfield.APcours esand
ex ams are then further validated b y the American Council on E ducation and studies
thatconfirmtheuseofAPs cor esforcollegecr editsb ythousandsofcollegesand
univer sities nationwide.
The AP Pr ogram encour ages educator s to r eview thes e principles with parents and
students so the y know what to e xpect in an AP cours e. A dvanced Placement is alwa ys
achoice ,anditshouldbeaninformedone .APteachersshouldbegiv entheconfidence
and clarity that once parents ha ve enr olled their child in an AP cours e, they ha ve agr eed
to a classr oom experienc e that embodies these principles.
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