Advanced Placement

The Advanced Placement Diploma Program is a locally developed certification program designed to recognize students who excel academically. Guilford County Schools is one of the first public school systems in the country to offer the prestigious certification. The program measures and recognizes a student's ability to excel in the rigorous Advanced Placement program of studies. Requirements for the GCS Advanced Placement Diploma were developed using the College Board Advanced Placement Diploma requirements as a foundation. The course offerings requirements are centered on the six domains (Mathematics, Sciences, English, Foreign Languages, History and Social Sciences and Electives) set forth for the diploma. All GCS high schools offer at least 10 Advanced Placement courses from which to choose.

To qualify, a student must achieve a 3 or higher Advanced Placement Examination grade in each of the four core domains (Mathematics, Sciences, English, and History and Social Sciences), and two additional exam grades of 3 or higher in an Advanced Placement course in any of the six domains.

A student's mean score in all of his or her Advanced Placement examinations must be a 3 or higher to receive the GCS Advanced Placement Diploma.

At the beginning of a student's senior year in high school, he or she may become a candidate for the GCS Advanced Placement Diploma by having scored a 3 or higher on three or more Advanced Placement exams that represent at least two of the domains. The Student must also have had the required courses or be enrolled in the required courses to permit him or her to meet the further requirements for the Advanced Placement Recognition upon graduation.

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