Explaining AP, AP Capstone, and SAT

Our College and Career Counselor, Mrs. Amber McTaggart, took a few minutes to summarize the logistics of the AP curriculum, the path of the prestigious AP Capstone Certificate and Diploma, and the SAT tests.

AP Curriculum

The AP curriculum is a College Board program is often used by US-based schools and American international schools to challenge top-performing high school students with university-level learning. Upon passing AP exams, students can earn credits for university classes. While this has primarily been practiced in US universities, in recent years AP credits have been increasingly accepted by universities around the world, including in Asia and Europe. Mrs. McTaggart explains that AP courses provide a scale for all participating schools to see the level of mastery students have achieved in that specific subject, creating both global uniformity and a basis for comparison for schools and for universities considering prospective students.

AP enrolled students are tested in “their critical writing skills, their thinking skills. It allows them to work on projects with peers at a lot faster pace and with higher vocabulary, so there tends to be a lot more rigor in the AP courses rather than an on-level course.” Our school offers 20+ AP courses, including on-campus courses such as AP Economics, AP Biology, AP English Language and Composition, AP Statistics, AP World History, AP Studio Art, and more, and online AP courses such as AP Computer Science, AP Psychology, AP Economics, and more. “While there are a few other schools around Tianjin that offer AP courses, we definitely have the largest selection. Part of that is because we partner with LifePlus Online Academy to just increase our offerings, and that’s been beneficial to our students. They really get to explore those passions.”

AP Curriculum and IB Curriculum

AP is an excellent option for students as they explore their interests. Many students thrive in their AP courses and can choose to pursue the skills and knowledge further in university. Some students, Mrs. McTaggart says, have considered entering into a field of study at university, but after taking the AP course, they found it wasn’t quite the right fit. This has saved them enormous amounts of time, effort, and money, as even before they’ve gone on to deeper studies at university, they’ve formed a clearer vision and structure for their future. They don’t have to guess at what they’ll thrive in. They already know.

Found amongst many excellent schools globally is also the IB curriculum. “Both AP and IB programs are very strong in that they challenge students, that they allow students to explore their interests, but I would say, with AP courses, it allows students to further that understanding and go deeper in subjects they’re interested in. While we’ve seen IB is more wholesome, and it really does have a stronger structure of ‘this is what you need to study,’ for AP, students can pick and choose.”

Mrs. McTaggart also explains that AP tends to be clearer in the university process for earning credits toward classes. These credits can be received after students take AP exams and receive a score of one to five, one being the lowest score and five being the highest. Universities typically accept scores of four or five for college course credit, and students can go on in their freshman year to skip “some of the basic classes or even just gaining college credit in fields that they may be interested in.”

Studies have found, though, that even students who received low scores on the AP exams transition into university more easily than those who did not take AP courses or exams, as they’ve been required to develop skills for working on complex problems and projects. “With our acceptances and alumni who come back, we’ve typically seen that AP courses really have benefitted them. They have strong study habits. They have resilience and persistence.”

Our school is an AP testing facility, allowing our students to comfortably take their AP exams in May.

AP Capstone

AP Capstone goes hand in hand with AP courses and AP exams. It’s an intense but highly esteemed pathway. It’s a two-year program for students that sets them on course to receive either one or two prestigious awards. “The first is the Certificate if they completed their Research and the Seminar courses and gotten a three or higher on either of those exams. And then, the higher honor is the AP Capstone Diploma, which really looks amazing on college applications, and in general, it really shows our students have been committed.”

To receive the AP Capstone Diploma, students must complete the AP Research and AP Seminar courses, which are each year-long courses; they must receive a 3 or higher on both of those AP exams; then they must receive a 3 or higher on four additional AP exams. “It’s a rare achievement, but it’s not impossible,” says Mrs. McTaggart, explaining that the path is worth the effort. “It shows [university] admissions officers that you really are willing to challenge yourself. You’re willing to go above and beyond your peers.” If students have received the AP Capstone Certificate or both the AP Capstone Certificate and the AP Capstone Diploma, university “officers know, admissions officers, admissions representatives, know what they’re getting, and they’re getting someone who’s going to be an asset to their community,” which makes students highly competitive as they apply to and attend universities.

Because we’ve had students complete the AP Capstone path for the Certificate or Diploma for three years, our school has received the AP Capstone Honor School Award for three consecutive years.

SAT

SAT is another standardized test created by College Board and used globally by universities to assess students’ levels of knowledge. This test is not focused on AP courses but is given to all students. A large portion of what is tested is already taught in classrooms, and it specifically focuses on math and English.

“The SAT is graded on a scale of 0 to 1600, with 1600 being the perfect score. The scores are broken down between reading and math, where students can get 800 in each of those categories,” says Mrs. McTaggart. “It provides a baseline for students not only in the US, but globally, so China, Korea, all over, to see where they measure amongst other test takers. So, it’s really a measurement tool for schools to see ‘ok, this is where this student is starting, and no matter what international education they’re coming from, this is how they will compare to others.’”

Our school is a SAT testing facility, and to prepare students, they are given pre-SAT tests starting from grade 10.

AP, AP Capstone, and SAT as Tools

While students look forward to applying to and entering their dream universities, their focus on high school opportunities can become warped. “AP scores, taking the SAT, those are not just checked boxes that families or students should try to meet. They really are tools that help students sharpen and develop themselves. So, these tools, they can help students become more competitive, but not only that, they can help them to hone on in their future interests… and really just find out who they are and where they want to be in their future.”

Our school consistently encourages our students throughout their academic journey, and we are thrilled to welcome back alumni who share how teachers made the most complex subjects understandable and achievable. We aim to support this generation and the next, and the next, generations of our students as they grow in their studies and learn to pursue their futures with interest and knowledge.

“Use these tools, use the SATs, use APs, but know, it’s not something that’s given. It’s something that you have to work hard for, but if you are willing to put in the time, the effort, and the preparation, you’ll be successful.”