COLLEGE CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES

ADVANCED PLACEMENT PROGRAM

Advanced Placement (AP) is a program of college-level courses and examinations for secondary school students. Over 200 institutions grant advanced standing for qualifying grades on AP examinations. There is a fee for an AP examination.  For more information concerning AP courses, contact your counselor. “AP” will precede the course name. Taking Advanced Placement examinations may benefit you in the following ways:
1) Your college or university may exempt you from beginning courses and permit you to select higher-level courses in certain areas,
2) Your college or university may grant academic credit for your examinations, and
3) You may save time and money by being granted sophomore standing.

Advanced Placement Examinations are offered in the following subjects

• Art History
• Studio Art
• Calculus AB and BC
• Statistics
• Computer Science A
• Economics: Micro, Macro
• U.S. History
• World History
• Psychology
• Human Geography
• European History
• Government/Politics: Comparative, U.S.
• English Language and Composition
• English Literature and Composition
• Language and Culture: French, German, Spanish, Latin
• Music Theory
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Physics 1, 2 and C
• Environmental Science

*West High does not offer AP courses for each of these AP exams.

DUAL COLLEGE CREDIT PROGRAMS

Parkway School District, in cooperation with St. Louis area colleges and universities, offers selected courses which qualify for college credit. Students with a 3.00 GPA may be eligible to apply for advanced credit in those selected courses.  The credit earned may be transferred to cooperating colleges and universities. The student should contact the Instructional Leader to insure that the criteria have been met in order to qualify for credit. Parkway West High School offers advanced college credit through the University of Missouri - St. Louis, St. Louis University, Missouri State University, Missouri University of Science and Technology, and/or Missouri Baptist University. Check with specific teachers for more details or visit the “Dual Enrollment” link on the Counseling Department Webpage for the most updated list of dual-credit course offerings.

PROJECT LEAD THE WAY (PLTW)

The mission of Project Lead The Way (PLTW) is to ensure that America succeeds in the increasingly high-tech and high-skilled global economy by partnering with middle schools and high schools to prepare students to become more innovative and productive in their approach to learning and work. West High offers the following Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Courses that are taken for Honors Credit:  Introduction to Engineering Design, Principals of Engineering, Digital Electronics, Civil Engineering and Architecture, Computer Integrated Manufacturing, and Biotechnical Engineering.  College credit for PLTW courses may be obtained from the following universities: University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, DeVry University, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Purdue University, Rochester Institute of Technology, San Diego State University, Missouri University of Science and Technology, University of South Carolina, University of South Florida, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Additional information may be obtained from the PLTW web site: http://www.pltw.org.

DUAL ENROLLMENT

Students may dual enroll at a local community college or university during their senior year.  Students must meet minimum GPA criteria, high school graduation requirements, and have space in their schedule.  Most students who dual enroll have a partial high school schedule.  MSHSAA rules for activity participation still apply.