Advanced Placement Philosophy and Program

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As with all courses in the high school, the primary goal we have for our students is to provide opportunities that stimulate self-motivated learning, respect and responsibility and collaboration. Advanced Placement (AP) courses extend these opportunities by providing rigorous, college-level courses for students with a high level of motivation and a deep passion for learning. We believe that any student who is motivated to take on this level of challenge should have the opportunity to take AP courses providing course prerequisites and/or teacher recommendations have been met.

HKIS AP Policies 

  • Students in grade 10 may take up to 1.0 AP credit in an academic year.
  • Students in Grades 11 and 12 may take up to 3.0 AP credits in an academic year. In some cases grade 12 students can apply for up to 4.0 AP credits IF the course is the next logical step in a sequence.
  • All students enrolled in an AP course must take the associated AP Exam in May.
  • There are limited seats for AP Chinese due to technology requirements. Priority is given to students enrolled in the course at HKIS and grade 11 or 12 students. If we reach capacity we recommend students take the exam at HKEAA.
  • Students must pay for each AP exam they take. Families are billed in November for each AP course taken. The billing price changes each year but the approximate price is 1200 HKD per exam.
  • Note: As of 2025-2026 we will NO longer be offering self-study students exams at HKIS.  If a student decides to self-study, they will need to write the exam at HKEAA. (The only exception will be for students in grades 10-12 who want to take an AP World Language exam because of an acquired proficiency through a past experience or home language. These requests must be made with the AP Coordinator). 

Benefits of the AP Program 

https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/exploreap (AP site for students/parents)

  • The opportunity to take college-level courses in high school adds rigor in your high school program.
    • AP courses are modeled upon comparable college courses. College and university faculty play a vital role in ensuring that AP courses align with college-level standards. Each AP course concludes with a college-level exam developed and scored by college and university faculty members as well as experienced AP teachers.
  • There is a high degree of choice with 29 AP courses currently being offered at HKIS.
    • Capstone Program
      • Seminar, Research Project
    • English
      • English Language & Composition, English Literature & Composition
    • Math
      • Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Statistics
    • Modern Languages
      • French Language & Culture, Spanish Language & Culture, Chinese Language & Culture
    • Science
      • Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Physics 2, Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, Physics C: Mechanics
    • Social Sciences
      • Art History, Comparative Government & Politics, European History, Human Geography, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Psychology, US History, US Government & Politics, World History: Modern
    • Technology
      • Computer Science Principles, Computer Science A
    • Visual Art
      • Studio Art: Drawing, 2D Design, 3D Design
  • Hard work in class and success on the exams can lead to recognition both in high school and in university.
    • In more than 90% of US four-year colleges, as well as many institutions in more than 60 other countries, an AP Exam score of 3 or higher often results in credit, advanced placement or both. Each college and university makes its own decisions about awarding credit and placement. Most have a written policy spelling out the minimum required score to earn credit for a given AP Exam, the amount of credit awarded and how credits are applied.

AP Scholar Awards 

The AP Program offers several Scholar Awards to recognize high school students who have demonstrated college-level achievement through AP courses and exams. In addition to receiving an award certificate, the student’s achievement will be listed on any AP score report that is sent to colleges after the award has been granted. 

  • AP Scholar: Granted to students who receive grades of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams.
  • AP Scholar with Honors: Granted to students who receive an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams.
  • AP Scholar with Distinction: Granted to students who receive an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these.
  • AP International Diploma: Granted to students who receive a 3 or higher on 5 or more exams. Courses must include a global perspective including a world language and culture course, one global perspective course, one math/science course and one other from a non-English course. See more details below.
  • AP Seminar and Research Certificate: Granted to students who earn scores of 3 or higher in both AP Seminar and AP Research.
  • AP Capstone Diploma: Granted to students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research and on four additional AP Exams of their choosing. See more details below.

Notes about AP Scholar Awards 

  • There are two steps to calculating the awards:
    • The student’s average AP score is determined based on all exams taken this year and in previous years.
    • The student’s exam scores are checked to see which ones count toward the various AP Scholar Awards.
  • A student must meet all criteria to be eligible. For example, a student who has a 3.25 AP score average but only received a 3 or higher on three exams will not receive the AP Scholar with Honor Award because the minimum requirement is a score of 3 or higher on four or more exams.
    • Exams taken multiple times only count once; the highest score will be used for the award calculation.
  • The Calculus AB subscore, Music Theory aural subscore, and Music Theory nonaural subscore are not used in the AP Scholar Award calculations.
  • The AP Scholar Awards are academic distinctions that students may cite among their credentials on applications, resumes, and so on. Students do not receive any monetary award from the College Board.

Advanced Placement International Diploma Details 

The Advanced Placement International Diploma (APID) is a globally recognized certificate for students with an international outlook. The APID challenges a student to display exceptional achievement on AP Exams across several disciplines. Universities worldwide utilize the APID in admissions. The APID is not a substitute for a High School diploma, but rather provides additional certification of outstanding academic excellence. 

To be awarded an Advanced Placement International Diploma, a student must earn grades of 3 or higher on at least five AP exams in specified areas: examinations in two languages from area one; one examination from area two or area three; one examination from area four; and one examination from any other area of choice except languages.

  • Area One – Languages: Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish.
  • Area Two – Sciences: Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Physics.
  • Area Three – Mathematics: Calculus, Statistics, AP Computer Science A, AP Computer Science Principles.
  • Area Four – Global Perspective: Comparative Government and Politics, Human Geography, World History.
  • Area Five – History and Social Sciences: Comparative Government and Politics, European History, Human Geography, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Psychology, United States Government and Polities, United States History, World History.
  • Area Six – Arts: History of Art, Music Theory, Studio Art (Drawing, 2D, 3D).

Upon successful completion of all APID examination criteria, the College Board automatically awards the AP International Diploma to students attending secondary schools outside of the United States.

Advanced Placement Capstone Program Details 

AP Capstone™ is a College Board program that equips students with the independent research, collaborative teamwork, and communication skills that are increasingly valued by colleges. It cultivates curious, independent, and collaborative scholars and prepares them to make logical, evidence-based decisions.

AP Capstone is comprised of two AP courses — AP Seminar and AP Research — and is designed to complement and enhance the discipline-specific study in other AP courses. The AP Capstone program provides unique research opportunities for current AP students, or to expand access to AP by encouraging students to master the argument-based writing skills that the AP Capstone program develops. (The College Board)

Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in both the AP Capstone Seminar and the AP Capstone Research courses and on four additional AP exams of their choosing will receive the AP Capstone Diploma. Those students who earn scores of 3 or higher in both of the AP Capstone courses but not on the four additional AP exams will receive the AP Capstone Certificate.

See the course descriptions under “Humanities”.