SubjectMath
- What it covers
- G10–12 Math Lab levels, from school math to AP Precalculus and AP Calculus, and on to competition math
AP
AP students take LAB.CO classes in what their AP courses call for: math, English writing, and writing answers in science and history.
Check the exam format for each AP course your child takes, then plan with us which subject to study first.
Curriculum and assessment
AP course approval and college credit
AP (Advanced Placement) is a set of college-level courses and subject exams (AP Exams) created by the College Board in the US. High school students choose from the AP courses their school offers, and each one is a school class approved by the College Board. A course usually runs a full year, and each subject's exam is held once a year.
What to know · Details
- Each school's approved courses (AP Course Ledger)
- To put "AP" in a course name, a school must pass the College Board's approval process (the AP Course Audit). Approved courses are listed in the AP Course Ledger.
- College credit and placement
- Colleges and majors set their own rules for granting credit or letting students skip intro courses based on AP scores, so check the latest information from the colleges your child will apply to.
Choosing AP courses
If your child picks courses based only on an intended major, the timetable or workload may not fit.
What to weigh when choosing
Timetable
Start with the AP courses your child's school offers that actually fit their timetable.
Prerequisite knowledge
Check whether your child already understands the concepts each course expects students to know.
A year's workload
Consider whether your child can handle the course alongside assignments and tests in their other courses that year.
Target colleges and majors
Look in admissions information for the high school courses your child's target colleges and majors require or recommend.
Each AP Exam has its own question formats
AP Exams are scored from 1 to 5. Each course's question formats, number of questions, and exam length are listed in its official guide, the Course and Exam Description (CED).
- Format: Multiple-choice
What to look at when preparing: Look at the range of concepts the course covers and how questions on interpreting data or passages are written.
- Format: Free-response and essay
What to look at when preparing: Find out whether each question calls for a worked solution, an explanation, an analysis, or an argument, and plan how to split time across questions.
- Format: Portfolio and performance task
What to look at when preparing: For courses graded on submitted work or projects, check the submission requirements and timeline early.
- Format: Through-course assessment
What to look at when preparing: For courses where in-class work counts toward the AP score, read the school's assignment calendar alongside College Board guidance.
Each AP subject has its own exam prep books
Some courses have changed their exam format, so check that prep books for courses like AP Biology, AP Chemistry, and AP Calculus match the latest CED.
Before and after changing schools
What to check before your child changes schools or registers for exams
Topic · What to do
- AP courses at the new school
- Ask the new school whether it offers the courses your child has been taking, and what the enrollment requirements and timetable are.
- Courses in progress
- Gather records of the current unit, assignments, and assessments, and ask which unit your child will pick up from at the new school.
- AP Capstone
- Ask whether the new school offers AP Seminar and AP Research and whether your child can continue projects already underway.
- Exam registration
- Taking a course and registering for its exam are separate steps, so check whether your child can register for exams at the new school.
The steps your child follows to study an AP course with school materials
In the consultation and diagnostic assessment, we look at where your child is in each AP course and at their recent answers, then decide what to study.
- Step: Sum up the current unit
At this step, your child: Sums up the current unit and lists the concepts the next unit will need.
- Step: Review recent answers
At this step, your child: Looks at recent test and practice exam answers to see where they lose points: multiple-choice or free-response.
- Step: Practice what's needed first
At this step, your child: Practices what the next assessment calls for: applying concepts, writing answers backed by evidence, and finishing within the time limit.
- Step: Plan what comes next
At this step, your child: Uses practice results and instructor feedback to decide which units to review and what to study in more depth.
When your child leaves out the reasoning on free-response answers
If your child gets the calculations right but often leaves out the reasoning on free-response questions, they start by practicing how to back up each step in sentences, equations, and graphs.
LAB.CO classes and advanced study
AP Capstone research courses
AP Capstone is the College Board's research-focused program, made up of two courses: AP Seminar and AP Research.
The College Board sets the score requirements for each award (Certificate or Diploma). See the latest requirements on the College Board's AP Capstone page.
AP Seminar comes first, followed by AP Research
AP Seminar
Students analyze sources from multiple perspectives and write research papers. They're assessed on research papers, individual and team presentations, and an end-of-year exam.
AP Research
After AP Seminar, students spend a year researching a topic they choose and are assessed on a paper, a presentation, and an oral defense.
AP Seminar and Research Certificate
- A score of 3 or higher in both AP Seminar and AP Research
AP Capstone Diploma
- A score of 3 or higher in both AP Seminar and AP Research
- A score of 3 or higher on four other AP Exams