College Readiness and Talent Development (AP, SAT, PSAT, ACT, IB)

New Updates COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

We have linked the specific pages for College Board, International Baccalaureate and ACT that address the impacts of COVID-19 below. Please check these pages for the most up-to-date information.

Overview of Programs

The Georgia Department of Education is dedicated to the goals of improving student achievement on high stakes college entrance tests such as the SAT and the ACT and to providing students more opportunities for rigorous coursework through Advanced Placement courses. The College Readiness unit works to ensure college and workplace readiness for all students by providing professional learning and technical assistance to teachers, counselors, and administrators.

Over the past ten academic years, the increase in the number of Georgia students benefitting from Advanced Placement (AP) courses being offered in their high schools has been dramatic. For more information, see the linked documents:

2020 AP STATE OF THE STATE, 2019 AP STATE OF THE STATE.

Advanced Placement	May 2020	May 2008
Georgia Public School students enrolled in AP courses	119,052	57,697
Georgia Public School students completing at least one AP exam	76,598	50,251
Number of AP exams taken by Georgia Public School students	139,155	79,953

AP Honor Schools

The Georgia Department of Education began recognizing AP Honor Schools in 2008. This recognition began with three categories: AP Access and Support Schools; AP Challenge Schools; and AP Merit Schools. AP STEM and AP STEM Achievement categories were added in 2011, and the AP Humanities category was added in 2015. In 2020, two new categories were added: AP Humanities Achievement and AP Expansion Schools. The AP Merit Schools category was renamed to AP Schools of Distinction. For a listing of 2021 AP Honor Schools, please see the AP Information Page for School Personnel.