Advanced Placement
Advanced Placement (AP) courses are designed for juniors and seniors who want the opportunity to earn college credit for high school courses, or who simply wish to take more challenging academic courses. Students enrolled in AP courses must accept academic challenges and independent study not present in other courses. Students will also be required to take the AP exam. The AP exam cost is $94 and is the responsibility of the student. At VVHS, AP courses are available in several different subject areas. AP and College Credit Plus courses carry additional weight in determining Valedictorian and Salutatorian status, and students may be eligible to receive credit from the college or university they attend if they achieve a certain score on the AP exam. Availability of online AP classes is determined by Apex Learning. The offerings have typically included: Biology, Calculus AB , Chemistry, Politics , French, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, English Language, English Literature, Spanish, Statistics, U.S. Government, Physics, and Psychology. Enrollment is limited in AP Courses. Students must request an AP course during the regular scheduling process and be selected to take a course based on grade point average.
Students should talk to their counselors if they are interested in taking AP courses.
Honors
Honors (Hon) courses are offered in various core departments. These courses offer additional academic challenges beyond other four-year degree college prep classes, and students can anticipate higher expectations for their work.
Criteria for AP and Honors Courses:
- Selection will be determined by teacher recommendation, students’ past performance in the particular area of study, and/or standardized testing.
- Students will be required to do more in depth work than in a regular class.
Weighted Scale
Students will receive a weighted grade for classes taken at the Honors and Advanced Placement/college credit plus level. The honors classes will be on a 4.5 scale and the Advanced Placement/College Credit Plus classes will be on a 5.0 scale. Please check with your counselor to see if your CCP course receives a weighted scale. Not all CCP will earn the weight
| Grade | Numeric | Reg. | Honor | AP/CCP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 100-93 | 4.000 | 4.500 | 5.000 |
| A- | 92-90 | 3.667 | 4.167 | 4.667 |
| B+ | 89-87 | 3.333 | 3.833 | 4.333 |
| B | 86-83 | 3.000 | 3.500 | 4.000 |
| B- | 82-80 | 2.667 | 3.167 | 3.667 |
| C+ | 79-77 | 2.333 | – | 3.333 |
| C | 76-73 | 2.000 | – | 3.000 |
| C- | 72-70 | 1.667 | – | 2.667 |
| D+ | 69-67 | 1.333 | – | – |
| D | 66-63 | 1.000 | – | – |
| D- | 62-60 | .667 | – | – |
| F | 59 below | .000 | .000 | .000 |