In order to bring you the best possible user experience, this site uses Javascript. If you are seeing this message, it is likely that the Javascript option in your browser is disabled. For optimal viewing of this site, please ensure that Javascript is enabled for your browser.
Jump to page content Jump to navigation

College Board

Homepage Home > K–12 Services > Preparation for College-Level Studies > Pre-AP®

Pre-AP

Preparing every student for college

College Board's Pre-AP initiatives are designed to equip middle and high school teachers with the strategies and tools they need to engage students in active, high-level learning through which they develop the skills, habits of mind, and concepts needed to succeed in college.

Pre-AP is not a prescribed set of courses or exams, but rather a suite of professional development resources that includes:

  • Team-building institutes and workshops
  • Subject-specific training
  • Curricular guides

There are three types of Pre-AP workshops:

  1. AP Vertical Teams®: These one-day workshops for teams of middle and high school teachers introduce and illustrate the Vertical Teams concept and some of its key attributes. Workshops are currently available for science, world languages, social studies, English, mathematics, studio art, and music theory.
  1. Classroom Strategies: Individual middle or high school teachers can take advantage of these one-day workshops to improve their understanding of content, instructional strategies, and pedagogical methods that will help their students succeed in college and rigorous AP courses. Available subjects are science, world languages, social studies, English, mathematics, Spanish, studio art, and music theory.
  1. Instructional Leadership: This one-day workshop for secondary instructional leaders (including board members, superintendents, principals, central office staff, and counselors) teaches how to include Pre-AP professional development in school development plans, organize and develop a support system for AP Vertical Teams, evaluate the impact of AP Vertical Teams on school improvement, and more.

More information on Pre-AP resources and AP Vertical Teams is available in the Professional Development area of this website.

Please note: The College Board strongly believes that all students should have access to preparation for AP and other challenging courses, and that Pre-AP teaching strategies should be reflected in all courses taken by students prior to their enrollment in AP. The College Board discourages using "Pre-AP" in the title of a course and on a student's transcript, because there is no one fixed or mandated Pre-AP curriculum that students must take to prepare for AP and other challenging coursework. Rather than using Pre-AP in course titles, the College Board recommends the adoption of more comprehensive Pre-AP programs that work across grade levels and subject areas to prepare the full diversity of a school's student population for AP and college.

The College Board's official Pre-AP program for all middle school and high school students is SpringBoard®, which consists of a full curriculum in mathematics and English language arts. SpringBoard is integrated with professional development and formative assessments, and is based on the College Board's college readiness standards: the College Board Standards for College Success.

The College Board also provides an array of Pre-AP professional development workshops designed to help teachers instill more rigor in the courses they are teaching students in the years prior to AP.

Customized Entry Pages

Back to top