Beginning with the 2021-22 school year, Richardson ISD is changing the name of courses previously known as Pre-AP to Advanced.
The move comes as College Board – which owns and develops AP curriculum and standardized tests such as the PSAT and SAT – began stipulating that school districts wishing to designate courses as Pre-AP must purchase and implement curriculum from College Board.
Because the College Board curriculum doesn’t align with Texas Education Agency requirements, RISD is changing the name. Many school districts across the country also are changing the name of their programs formerly known as Pre-AP.
RISD first began using the term Pre-AP about 25 years ago to accentuate more academically rigorous and locally written courses for secondary students. Pre-AP became synonymous with accelerated learning and more and more students enrolled in these classes. RISD built its own curriculum to meet the demand, and the district will continue to offer these types of classes just no longer labeled as Pre-AP.
Students who have registered for these advanced classes for the upcoming 2021-22 school year do not need to take any action. The course time and curriculum will remain the same. These classes will simply now be known across RISD as Advanced.
