Advanced Placement Program

An Advanced Placement Course is a special college-level experience that most often takes a full academic year. It can take the form of an honors class, a strong regular course, a tutorial or an independent study.

Advanced Placement courses provide the student with the opportunity to do college work on the high school level. These courses are geared to challenge and stimulate interested, motivated and gifted students. They are demanding courses very often involving independent study. In May of each year, the College Board administers Advanced Placement tests. Depending on his/her score on this test, the student may receive advanced placement in that field. In some cases the student will receive actual college credit as well as advanced placement. While many colleges recognize Advanced Placement scores, the student should check his/her college’s catalog to determine its policy on Advanced Placement scores.

Besides the possibility of gaining college credit or advanced placement in college courses, Advanced Placement courses enable the student to pursue in greater detail a subject or subjects in which he/she is interested. These courses provide excellent preparation for college work.

At St. Thomas Aquinas, Advanced Placement courses are offered in Advanced Composition, Calculus, Physics, and American History.

Honors Program

The highly motivated and gifted student will be invited to take honors courses. This invitation will be extended based on standardized test scores, academic performance and teacher recommendation. Presently, honors courses are offered at the junior level in Science, American history Math and English. Senior honors classes include Caclulus, English, Physics, French, Italian, Spanish and Senior Religion. Admission to this program does not insure that the student will be invited into other honors courses since each course is considered on an individual basis. Students in the honors courses are expected to maintain at least a B average in those courses.