Skip to main content

Central Union High School

Home of the Spartans!

Testing Links

Advanced Placement (AP)

Important AP Updates for 2021-22

The AP® Program is making some improvements to the way it works.

  • You’ll register for exams in the fall, and you’ll need to be aware of fees for ordering late or canceling your exam:

    • Digital activation: At the beginning of the school year, you’ll complete a simple online enrollment
      process that will give you access to the new classroom resources and provide information needed to
      register for the exams through myap.collegeboard.org.
    • Fall exam ordering: AP Exams must be ordered by no later than November 1st this year, so look
      for instructions from Mrs. Petter about how to sign up for the exams.
    • Fees for late orders or canceled exams: The base AP Exam fee stays the same, but fees will apply
      for exams ordered after November 1.  Payments are still to be made in the ASB Office.  Fee Waivers can be picked up in the ASB Office as well.  All payments must be made on or before March 1st; monthly installments will be accepted prior to March 1st.
  • Fee Schedule: 

    Income eligible Students (below 185% of the poverty level) - Student must apply for a Fee Waiver through the ASB Office

    • Student pays $5 for the first three exams. District pays the difference. 
    • Student pays full cost for any tests beyond three. 

    Non-income eligible Students

    • Student pays full cost for first exam. 
    • Student pays 50% for second and thirds exams. District pays the difference 
    • Student pays full cost for any additional exams.

     

    BP 6141.5 - Grades for AP courses shall be assigned in accordance with Board policy and administrative regulation. Students shall earn weighted grade credit only upon completion of the AP exam for the course.  All students who elect to not take the AP exam shall receive unweighted credit.

     

    Questions? If you have any questions, contact Mrs. Petter at 760-336-4300 or tpetter@mycuhsd.org.

ACT

  • 4 Sections, each worth 25%
  • Composite Score will be an average of all test portions, except Writing
  • No "Guessing Penalty"
  • Vocabulary is slightly less important

 

  • ENGLISH (1 - 36)
  • MATHEMATICS (1 - 36)
  • SCIENCE REASONING (1 - 36)
  • READING (1 - 36)
  • Optional WRITING Portion *Required by UC System

CollegeBoard

SAT I
Writing Component (200 - 800)

  • Mulitple Choice:  Improve Sentences, Identify Errors
  • 25 Multiple Essay:  will judge composition and grammar
  • 60 Minutes

Critical Reading (200 - 800)

  • Reading Passages
  • Sentence Completion
  • 70 Minutes

Mathematics (200 - 800)

  • Multiple Choice
  • Number Operations, Functions, etc.
  • Algebra, Geometry, Statistics, etc.
  • 70 Minutes

http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ca/caasppssreports.asp

 

Every spring, students in grades three through eight and grade eleven take the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments for ELA and mathematics. Results from these assessments are just one piece of information to help teachers, parents/guardians, and students understand how well a student is meeting the grade-level standards.

 

The Smarter Balanced System includes additional resources to improve teaching and learning. These resources include formative assessment tools and interim assessments. Formative assessment is a process that teachers use every day to check on student understanding. It includes a variety of informal and formal strategies to help both teachers and students assess what students are learning. This information can then be used by both teachers and students to decide what they must do next or differently to help students learn the material they have not learned.

 

From time to time, teachers may also give tests to check how well students have learned the material they have been taught over a period of time and what may need to be reviewed or retaught. These types of tests, called interim assessments, may be given at the end of a few days (such as a mathematics quiz or a spelling test), after a unit of instruction (such as a chapter test or unit writing assignment), or after a few weeks (such as a quarterly test). More information about the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments is available on the CDE’s Interim Assessments Web page at Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments.

  • ACT

    • 4 Sections, each worth 25%
    • Composite Score will be an average of all test portions, except Writing
    • No "Guessing Penalty"
    • Vocabulary is slightly less important

     

    • ENGLISH (1 - 36)
    • MATHEMATICS (1 - 36)
    • SCIENCE REASONING (1 - 36)
    • READING (1 - 36)
    • Optional WRITING Portion *Required by UC System
  • CollegeBoard

    SAT I
    Writing Component (200 - 800)

    • Mulitple Choice:  Improve Sentences, Identify Errors
    • 25 Multiple Essay:  will judge composition and grammar
    • 60 Minutes

    Critical Reading (200 - 800)

    • Reading Passages
    • Sentence Completion
    • 70 Minutes

    Mathematics (200 - 800)

    • Multiple Choice
    • Number Operations, Functions, etc.
    • Algebra, Geometry, Statistics, etc.
    • 70 Minutes
  • http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ca/caasppssreports.asp

     

    Every spring, students in grades three through eight and grade eleven take the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments for ELA and mathematics. Results from these assessments are just one piece of information to help teachers, parents/guardians, and students understand how well a student is meeting the grade-level standards.

     

    The Smarter Balanced System includes additional resources to improve teaching and learning. These resources include formative assessment tools and interim assessments. Formative assessment is a process that teachers use every day to check on student understanding. It includes a variety of informal and formal strategies to help both teachers and students assess what students are learning. This information can then be used by both teachers and students to decide what they must do next or differently to help students learn the material they have not learned.

     

    From time to time, teachers may also give tests to check how well students have learned the material they have been taught over a period of time and what may need to be reviewed or retaught. These types of tests, called interim assessments, may be given at the end of a few days (such as a mathematics quiz or a spelling test), after a unit of instruction (such as a chapter test or unit writing assignment), or after a few weeks (such as a quarterly test). More information about the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments is available on the CDE’s Interim Assessments Web page at Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments.

How the Online Smarter Balanced Assessments Are Different from Previous California Tests?

The new Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments are very different from the old STAR tests in several ways:

  • They are aligned with California’s new content standards for ELA and mathematics.
  • They reflect the critical thinking and problem solving skills that students will need to be ready for college and the 21st century job market.
  • They are taken on a computer and are adaptive, which means that during the test, the questions will become more or less difficult on the basis of how the student performs. If the student answers a question correctly, the next question may be a bit
    more challenging; if the student answers it incorrectly, the next question may be less difficult.
  • They provide many more supports for students who need them, including students learning English and students with disabilities, as described in the section below.

STATE SEAL OF BILITERACY

The State Seal of Biliteracy (SSB), per Assembly Bill 815 (Brownley, Chapter 618, Statutes of 2011), became effective January 1, 2012. This program recognizes high school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing one or more languages in addition to English. The SSB will be awarded by the Superintendent of Public Instruction in accordance with specified criteria set forth in the legislation.

Each of these three academic requirements shall be fulfilled.  

  1. Students must have completed all English–language arts (ELA) requirements for graduation with an overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or above in those classes.
  2. Students must have passed the California Standards Test (CST) in ELA (administered in grade eleven) at the “proficient” level.
  3. Students must demonstrate proficiency in one or more languages other than English through one of the following methods:
    1. Pass a foreign language Advanced Placement (AP) exam, including American Sign Language, with a score of three or higher.
    2. Pass an International Baccalaureate examination with a score of four or higher.
    3. Successfully complete a four-year high school course of study in a foreign language and attain an overall grade point average of 3.0 or above in that course of study.
    4. If no AP examination or off-the-shelf language test exists and the district uses its own language examination, the school district must certify to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) that the test meets the rigor of a four-year high school course of study in that foreign language.
    5. If a district offers a language examination in a language in which an AP examination or off-the-shelf examination exists, the district language examination must be approved by the SSPI.
    6. Pass the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) II foreign language exam with a score of 600 or higher.

If the primary language of a student in grades nine to twelve, inclusive, is other than English, the student shall also meet the following two academic requirements:

1.  Achieve Early Advanced proficiency level on the California English Language Development Test (CELDT), which may be administered an additional time, as necessary.        

  1. Meet the requirements above as stated in 1, 2, and 3.
  • Each of these three academic requirements shall be fulfilled.  

    1. Students must have completed all English–language arts (ELA) requirements for graduation with an overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or above in those classes.
    2. Students must have passed the California Standards Test (CST) in ELA (administered in grade eleven) at the “proficient” level.
    3. Students must demonstrate proficiency in one or more languages other than English through one of the following methods:
      1. Pass a foreign language Advanced Placement (AP) exam, including American Sign Language, with a score of three or higher.
      2. Pass an International Baccalaureate examination with a score of four or higher.
      3. Successfully complete a four-year high school course of study in a foreign language and attain an overall grade point average of 3.0 or above in that course of study.
      4. If no AP examination or off-the-shelf language test exists and the district uses its own language examination, the school district must certify to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) that the test meets the rigor of a four-year high school course of study in that foreign language.
      5. If a district offers a language examination in a language in which an AP examination or off-the-shelf examination exists, the district language examination must be approved by the SSPI.
      6. Pass the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) II foreign language exam with a score of 600 or higher.
  • If the primary language of a student in grades nine to twelve, inclusive, is other than English, the student shall also meet the following two academic requirements:

    1.  Achieve Early Advanced proficiency level on the California English Language Development Test (CELDT), which may be administered an additional time, as necessary.        

    1. Meet the requirements above as stated in 1, 2, and 3.