Advanced Placement classes at Dana Hills High School:
Advanced Placement (AP) courses offer students of high motivation and achievement the opportunity to receive advanced placement and credit, or one of these, upon entering college. You do not have to be in the AAA/Gate Gifted and Talented program to participate in Advanced Placement courses. Advanced Placement examinations are administered in May and require payment of a fee. In 2006, the fee was $80 for each test--there are also fee waivers for those students who qualify based on financial need. Each college decides what AP examination grades it will accept for credit and/or advanced placement.
Dana Hills High School offers Advanced Placement courses in the following subjects:
History of Art Economics, Macro
American History German
European History Latin
English Language and Composition French
English Literature and Composition Spanish
Music Theory and Dictation Chemistry
Biology Computer Science
Statistics Environmental Science
Calculus Psychology
Physics
Note: A.P classes which are not offered at one CUSD campus due to insufficient enrollment may be taken at another CUSD high school, providing there is room in the class.
How to get into an A.P. class:
In April, during registration for Fall classes, if you have a reasonable GPA (usually at least a 3.2) in the subject area you would like to take the A.P. course in, you tentatively list the A.P. course on the preliminary schedule form that you are given as part of the registration process. Your current teacher in that subject area will either sign their approval on the form or not, depending on their knowledge of your abilities. Then, usually in May, each A.P. course teacher will hold a meeting, calling all those who have a sign-off for that A.P. course to attend. It is extremely important that you attend this meeting. The A.P. teacher will have you fill out an "interest application" asking you about your GPA, previous courses, etc. After reviewing your application and possibly conferring with your current and former teachers, the A.P. teacher will create a list of those students eligible to take their course the next Fall. They will give this list to the Academic Advisors who will then officially place you into that class for the upcoming school year. Sometimes teachers post lists of students who have been accepted into their course and sometimes not. If not, toward the end of the year, ask your Academic Advisor if you have made it in or not. If you do get registered into the A.P. class, it is extremely important that you check back with the course teacher (they usually call a second meeting) to find out if there is "summer work" for the course. Many A.P. classes require work done in the summer in order to cover all of the curriculum that makes up the course.
It may sound complicated, but it is really not that difficult a process, and A.P. classes are definitely worth the extra effort to get into. They are much more fulfilling for the academically gifted student and will be a great advantage to your transcript if you do well in them. However, it is important for even the academically gifted student to realize that a full schedule of A.P. classes is much more than even most talented students can handle, and carrying too heavy an A.P. load can negatively effect your health and happiness. It is much better to do well in a few A.P. classes than do poorly in most. For this reason, Academic Advisors will counsel each student regarding their ambitions in this regard. Listen to them! They have had the experience of watching thousands of A.P. students succeed and fail throughout their years at Dana Hills. Ultimately, it is the Guidance Dept. and your Academic Advisor who will make the decision regarding which courses you may take.