Advanced Placement (AP) Program
The Advanced Placement Program® (AP) enables willing and academically prepared students to pursue college-level studies while still in high school.
The program consists of college-level courses developed by the AP Program that high schools can choose to offer, and corresponding exams that are administered once a year.
Fast Facts
- There are 24 AP courses offered at ASFM.
- Each AP course is modeled on a comparable introductory college course in the subject.
- Each course culminates in a standardized college-level assessment or AP Exam.
- AP Exams are given in May each year here at ASFM.
Taking AP courses and exams can help students:
- Stand out on college applications. AP courses on a student’s transcript show that they’ve challenged themselves with the most rigorous courses available to them. And success on an AP Exam shows that they’re ready for college-level coursework.
- Earn college credit and/or skip introductory courses in college. Most four-year colleges and universities in the United States—as well as many institutions in more than 100 other countries—grant students credit, placement, or both for qualifying AP Exam scores. Search credit policies by US college.
Learn more about how AP benefits students.
Which Students Should Take AP?
All students who are willing and academically prepared to accept the challenge of a rigorous academic curriculum should be considered for admission to AP courses.
Certain AP courses have prerequisites. For example, students taking AP Physics 1 should have completed geometry and be taking Algebra 2 or an equivalent course. Check the individual course pages to see this information.
Ms. Joelle Hernandez, ASFM AP Coordinator
Joelle is ASFM's AP coordinator and a dedicated educator with a diverse background in business and technology. She joined us in 2016 and has since taught AP Micro and Macroeconomics, AP Seminar, and various business courses in our StartUp Hub. She also led the Business and Technology Department and served as the Head of Grade 11 for the 2022-23 academic year. Currently, she teaches Research 12, oversees the AP program, and coordinates ASFM’s NEASC re-accreditation process.
Before becoming a teacher, Joelle worked in the financial and technology sectors. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from UNC-Charlotte and a Master in Education from Temple University. She has taught technology and business in Pennsylvania (USA) and Colombia, where she coached her robotics team to a National Championship. Joelle enjoys traveling, skiing, and spending time outdoors with her family.
AP Classes offered at ASFM during the School Year 2023-2024
| COURSE | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| AP 2-D Art and Design | AP 2-D Art and Design is an introductory college-level two-dimensional design course. Students refine and apply 2-D skills to ideas they develop throughout the course. |
| AP 3-D Art and Design | AP 3-D Art and Design is an introductory college-level three-dimensional design course. Students refine and apply 3-D skills to ideas they develop throughout the course. |
| AP Biology | AP Biology is an introductory college-level biology course. Students cultivate their understanding of biology through inquiry-based investigations as they explore topics like evolution, energetics, information storage and transfer, and system interactions. |
| AP Calculus AB | AP Calculus AB is an introductory college-level calculus course. Students cultivate their understanding of differential and integral calculus through engaging with real-world problems represented graphically, numerically, analytically, and verbally and using definitions and theorems to build arguments and justify conclusions as they explore concepts like change, limits, and the analysis of functions. |
| AP Calculus BC | AP Calculus BC is an introductory college-level calculus course. Students cultivate their understanding of differential and integral calculus through engaging with real-world problems represented graphically, numerically, analytically, and verbally and using definitions and theorems to build arguments and justify conclusions as they explore concepts like change, limits, and the analysis of functions. |
| AP Chemistry | AP Chemistry is an introductory college-level chemistry course. Students cultivate their understanding of chemistry through inquiry-based lab investigations as they explore the four Big Ideas: scale, proportion, and quantity; structure and properties of substances; transformations; and energy. |
| AP Comparative Government and Politics | AP Comparative Government and Politics is an introductory college-level course in comparative government and politics. The course uses a comparative approach to examine the political structures; policies; and political, economic, and social challenges of six selected countries: China, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, and the United Kingdom. Students cultivate their understanding of comparative government and politics through the analysis of data and text-based sources as they explore topics like power and authority, legitimacy and stability, democratization, internal and external forces, and methods of political analysis. |
| AP Computer Science A | AP Computer Science A is an introductory college-level computer science course. Students cultivate their understanding of coding through analyzing, writing, and testing code as they explore concepts like modularity, variables, and control structures. |
| AP Computer Science Principles | AP Computer Science Principles is an introductory college-level computing course that introduces students to the breadth of the field of computer science. Students learn to design and evaluate solutions and apply computer science to solve problems through the development of algorithms and programs. They incorporate abstraction into programs and use data to discover new knowledge. Students also explain how computing innovations and computing systems—including the internet—work, explore their potential impacts and contribute to a computing culture that is collaborative and ethical. |
| AP English Language and Composition | AP English Language and Composition is an introductory college-level composition course. Students cultivate their understanding of writing and rhetorical arguments through reading, analyzing, and writing texts as they explore topics like rhetorical situations, claims and evidence, reasoning and organization, and style. |
| AP English Literature and Composition | AP English Literature and Composition is an introductory college-level literary analysis course. Students cultivate their understanding of literature through reading and analyzing texts as they explore concepts like character, setting, structure, perspective, figurative language, and literary analysis in the context of literary works. |
| AP Human Geography | AP Human Geography is an introductory college-level human geography course. Students cultivate their understanding of human geography through data and geographic analyses as they explore topics like patterns and spatial organization, human impacts and interactions with their environment, and spatial processes and societal changes. |
| AP Microeconomics | AP Macroeconomics is an introductory college-level macroeconomics course. Students cultivate their understanding of the principles that apply to an economic system as a whole by using principles and models to describe economic situations and predict and explain outcomes with graphs, charts, and data as they explore concepts like economic measurements, markets, macroeconomic models, and macroeconomic policies. |
| AP Physics 1 | AP Physics 1 is an algebra-based, introductory college-level physics course. Students cultivate their understanding of physics through classroom study, in-class activity, and hands-on, inquiry-based laboratory work as they explore concepts like systems, fields, force interactions, change, conservation, and waves. |
| AP Physics C: Mechanics | AP Physics C: Mechanics is a one-semester, calculus-based, college-level physics course, especially appropriate for students planning to specialize or major in one of the physical sciences or engineering. Students cultivate their understanding of physics through classroom study and activities as well as hands-on laboratory work as they explore concepts like change, force interactions, fields, and conservation. |
| AP Psychology | AP Psychology is an introductory college-level psychology course. Students cultivate their understanding of the systematic and scientific study of human behavior and mental processes through inquiry-based investigations as they explore concepts like the biological bases of behavior, sensation and perception, learning and cognition, motivation, developmental psychology, testing and individual differences, treatment of abnormal behavior, and social psychology. |
| AP Research | AP Research, the second course in the AP Capstone experience, allows students to deeply explore an academic topic, problem, issue, or idea of individual interest. Students design, plan, and implement a yearlong investigation to address a research question. Through this inquiry, they further the skills they acquired in the AP Seminar course by learning research methodology, employing ethical research practices, and accessing, analyzing, and synthesizing information. Students reflect on their skill development, document their processes, and curate the artifacts of their scholarly work through a process and reflection portfolio. The course culminates in an academic paper of 4,000–5,000 words (accompanied by a performance, exhibit, or product where applicable) and a presentation with an oral defense. |
| AP Seminar | AP Seminar is a foundational course that engages students in cross-curricular conversations that explore the complexities of academic and real-world topics and issues by analyzing divergent perspectives. Students learn to investigate a problem or issue, analyze arguments, compare different perspectives, synthesize information from multiple sources, and work alone and in a group to communicate their ideas. |
| AP Spanish Literature and Culture | AP Spanish Literature is equivalent to a college-level introductory survey course of literature written in Spanish. Students continue to develop their interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational skills in the Spanish language as well as critical reading and analytical writing as they explore short stories, novels, plays, essays, and poetry from Spain, Latin America, and U.S. Hispanic authors along with other non-required texts. |
| AP Statistics | AP Statistics is an introductory college-level statistics course that introduces students to the major concepts and tools for collecting, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from data. Students cultivate their understanding of statistics using technology, investigations, problem-solving, and writing as they explore concepts like variation and distribution; patterns and uncertainty; and data-based predictions, decisions, and conclusions. |
| AP World History: Modern |
AP World History: Modern is an introductory college-level modern world history course. Students cultivate their understanding of world history from c. 1200 CE to the present through analyzing historical sources and learning to make connections and craft historical arguments as they explore concepts like humans and the environment, cultural developments and interactions, governance, economic systems, social interactions and organization, and technology and innovation. |
AP EXAM SCHEDULE 2024
Not an ASFM student and interested in taking AP Exams?
You can register to take AP exams available at ASFM in the dates detailed above. The cost for each exam is $2,725 MXN for subject exams and $3,110 MXN for Capstone Exams (AP Seminar and AP Research).
If you are ready to register, please fill in this google form and the AP coordinator will get in touch with you: https://bit.ly/APatASFM
If you need more information, have some questions or need some guidance, please reach out to the AP Coordinator at ap.information@asfm.edu.mx