Changing the Invitation to Advanced Placement Through New AP Courses

In this short-form spotlight session, AP course developers Brandi Waters, senior director and program manager for AP African American Studies, and Jason VanBilliard, senior director for AP Math and Computer Science, highlighted two exciting new AP courses launching within the next few years: AP Precalculus and AP African American Studies.

AP Precalculus: Launching in Fall 2023

The need for this course is clear. As the Mathematical Association of America has stated, Americans’ struggles with math are “the most significant barrier” to completing both STEM and non-STEM degrees.

Students will benefit from taking AP Precalculus in a variety of ways. They’ll get 140 hours of instructional time with a teacher. By comparison, students who wait to take precalculus in college typically only receive 48 hours of instruction. They’ll also have access to AP Classroom practice and AP Daily videos aligned to the course content and skills—resources they wouldn’t get in college.

And students will be motivated by the chance to earn college credit and devote more time and effort to the practice and focus demanded for math proficiency.

AP African American Studies: Piloting in the 2023-24 School Year

Students will be invited to examine the breadth of African American experiences through direct encounters with rich and varied sources—drawing from the fields of literature, arts and humanities, political science, geography, and more.

Students will have the chance to build skills like applying disciplinary knowledge, analyzing sources, and argumentation.

During the presentation, Waters shared how schools and districts could support the upcoming pilot. To participate, email [email protected].