Which International Schools in Tokyo Teach AP? How AP Differs from a High-School Graduation Credential

What is AP?

AP (Advanced Placement) is a set of courses through which high-school students can study college-level content, and exams that measure the results. AP Exams are scored from 1 to 5 and are held worldwide in the first two weeks of May (some have a later make-up session).

AP's defining feature is that it can be chosen subject by subject. It is not made up of six subjects studied together as an integrated whole, as in the IBDP; students choose the APs they take from the subjects the school offers.

An AP course and an AP exam are different things

The College Board recommends taking the course before the exam, but says it is not required. AP Seminar and AP Research are different: their performance tasks are submitted through a class enrolment, and AP Seminar is a prerequisite for AP Research.

How students from outside the school can sit the exam is covered below in "Can outside students take AP Exams?"

What is the AP Course Audit?

The AP Course Audit is the review that allows a school's class to officially call itself "AP". The College Board explains that only authorised courses may be called AP, and that authorised courses appear on an official list called the AP Course Ledger. It is a mechanism that lets universities verify the "AP" label on a transcript.

The point to separate here is that this is a different matter from administering the AP Exam. The College Board explains that a school can order and administer AP Exams without completing the AP Course Audit. The Audit is needed if you want "AP" on the transcript or want to appear on the list of authorised courses.

As a parent, think of these three things separately. (1) The school teaches an authorised AP course. (2) The student sits the AP Exam. (3) The school is an exam centre for the AP Exam. These three do not automatically coincide. Do not assume, from the phrase "an AP school" alone, that all three are in place.

Can outside students take AP Exams?

The College Board states that in many subjects you can sit the AP Exam without taking the AP course. If your own school does not administer the exam, you need to arrange it yourself with a nearby school or test centre that does. The exceptions are AP Seminar and AP Research, which are tied to enrolment in a class section because their performance tasks are submitted and scored through it.

In other words, even though sitting the exam from outside is possible in principle, in practice it depends on whether that school accepts outside students. ISSH lists 24 AP courses, but states clearly that AP testing is for enrolled students only and cannot be offered to people who are not members of the school. "The school administers AP" does not mean "outside students can sit AP Exams at that school". We could not find a statement on ASIJ's page about how outside students are handled. If you want to sit an exam, ask each school's AP coordinator early about the application timing and conditions.

How is AP Capstone different from ordinary AP subjects?

AP Capstone is made up of two one-year courses, AP Seminar and AP Research, which develop skills in research, analysis, argument, collaboration and presentation. Unlike other AP subjects, it does not teach the content of a particular academic discipline; the method of inquiry itself is the subject.

AP Seminar consists of a team research project and presentation (Performance Task 1), an argument and presentation based on individual research with an oral defence (Performance Task 2), and a two-hour end-of-course exam. According to the College Board, the weightings are 20% for Task 1, 35% for Task 2 and 45% for the end-of-course exam. In AP Research, students spend a year researching a topic of their own choosing and are assessed on an academic paper of 4,000 to 5,000 words and an oral presentation and defence. There is no end-of-course exam like that in most other AP subjects. Completing AP Seminar is required to take it.

The AP Capstone Diploma is awarded to students who score 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research and also 3 or higher in four AP Exams of their own choosing. Both ASIJ and ISSH describe courses related to AP Capstone. Ask the school in which grade, and for how many students, it can be taken.

Studying AP at Tokyo schools

On its High School page, ASIJ describes the requirements for the ASIJ diploma separately from AP courses. The number of subjects you can take and the prerequisites are not on this page. The school's character is set out in our guide to ASIJ. You can also check the address, grades and key application points on ASIJ's school profile (a Japanese-language page).

As its AP courses, ISSH lists 24 courses across English, maths, science, social studies, foreign languages, the arts, and AP Seminar and Research. In maths, for example, these are Precalculus, Calculus AB, BC and Statistics; in science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics 1 and 2, and Computer Science A. The school's character is set out in our guide to ISSH. You can also check the address, grades and key application points on ISSH's school profile (a Japanese-language page).

It is not accurate to think of ASIJ simply as an "AP school". ASIJ is based on an American-style high-school programme in which students earn 22 credits over four years, and within it offers AP courses as options. The figure of 386 AP Exam candidates shows one part of the school's learning, not the whole programme.

AP and a school's graduation credential are separate

Even with good AP exam results, that alone does not become a school graduation credential. Conversely, the basic approach is to choose and take AP courses while meeting the graduation requirements.

How does university credit work?

The College Board says that how AP scores are treated is decided by each university. The American Council on Education and the College Board recommend that universities award credit for scores of 3 or above, but this is a recommendation, not an obligation. According to the College Board, most US colleges offer credit or placement for qualifying AP scores, and its AP Credit Policy Search shows each institution's policy.

AP Capstone courses are also said to be commonly treated as general elective credit at many universities. Check the AP policy of the university and faculty you are aiming for before you apply.

AP, the IB and A-levels side by side

The detailed differences, and how to think about which route suits how your child learns, are set out separately in our comparison of the IBDP, AP and A-levels.

Five things to look at when comparing schools

As a sixth point, it also helps to ask whether the university counsellor will check the AP policy of your target universities with you. The differences from the IBDP and A-levels are set out separately in our comparison of the IBDP, AP and A-levels. If you are changing schools part-way, please also see our curriculum checklist for transfers.

1. The AP subjects actually taught: whether the published list matches what is offered this year.
2. Whether it is an authorised AP course: this can be checked in the College Board's AP Course Ledger.
3. The prerequisites for enrolling: subjects and grades in the previous year, and, for AP Research, completing AP Seminar first.
4. The possibility that timetable clashes stop you taking subjects you want at the same time: the upper limit or recommended number of subjects to take at once.
5. Whether the school accepts outside students for AP Exams: some schools, like ISSH, are for enrolled students only.