How Pre-AP and AP Work Together
Throughout Pre-AP courses and projects, students experience instructional practices and routines that help them develop the critical-thinking skills needed to succeed in AP. Pre-AP closes the opportunity gap for all students across grade levels.
How Pre-AP Courses Prepare Students for AP
In Pre-AP courses, students engage deeply with texts, sources, and data, along with compelling higher-order questions and problems.
- Pre-AP course frameworks are back mapped from AP expectations: Students begin building skills before they enter their first AP course.
- Pre-AP performance tasks model AP free-response questions (FRQ): Students practice explaining their thinking and build the reasoning and writing skills required in AP coursework. As a result, teachers receive clear summative evidence of student learning.
How Pre-AP Projects Will Prepare Students for AP
Pre-AP projects will be available in 2027. Research from Lucas Education Research, a division of the George Lucas Educational Foundation, shows that project based learning (PBL) can significantly improve student understanding and performance.
- Projects will introduce students to ways of thinking and problem-solving that they’ll encounter in AP courses.
- Pre-AP projects are being built with the same high-quality PBL design elements used in AP, intentionally adapted for younger learners.
Learn more about Pre-AP projects.
Pre-AP to AP Map
Pre-AP courses and projects include strong connections to multiple AP courses. The table below illustrates which Pre-AP resources get students ready for which AP courses.
| Pre-AP Resource | AP Course |
|---|---|
| All Pre-AP courses and projects | AP Seminar |
| Pre-AP Algebra 1 Pre-AP Algebra 1 Projects Middle School Algebra Explorations Project | AP Business with Personal Finance AP Calculus AB AP Computer Science Principles AP Precalculus AP Statistics |
| Pre-AP Algebra 2 | AP Calculus AB AP Physics 1 AP Physics 2 AP Precalculus AP Statistics |
| Pre-AP Biology | AP Biology AP Environmental Science |
| Pre-AP Chemistry | AP Chemistry AP Environmental Science |
| Middle School Computer Science Explorations Project | AP Business with Personal Finance AP Computer Science Principles AP Cybersecurity |
| Pre-AP English 1 and 2 | AP African American Studies AP English Language and Composition AP English Literature and Composition English 10: AP Seminar |
| Pre-AP Geometry with Statistics | AP Calculus AB AP Precalculus AP Statistics |
| Pre-AP Visual and Performing Arts | AP 2-D Art and Design AP 3-D Art and Design AP African American Studies AP Drawing |
| Pre-AP World History and Geography | AP African American Studies AP European History AP Human Geography AP United States History AP World History: Modern |
For information on how to bring Pre-AP to your school, visit Pre-AP Ordering and Pricing.