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Academic Counseling

Academic Counseling

AP (Advance Placement) – AP courses are taught by highly qualified high school teachers who use the AP Course Descriptions to guide them.  The AP Examinations are administered each year in May and represent the culmination of college-level work in a given discipline in a secondary school setting. Rigorously developed by committees of college and AP high school faculty, the AP Exams test students' ability to perform at a college level. Each exam contains a free-response section (either essay or problem solving) and a section of multiple-choice questions. (The only subject that does not follow this format is AP Studio Art, which is a portfolio assessment.) The world language exams also have a speaking component, and the AP Music Theory Exam includes a sight-singing task. The multiple-choice questions are scored by computer, while the free-response portions are evaluated by a team of skilled college professors and high school teachers who meet annually to score exams in their subject area. Students who perform well can receive course credit and/or advanced standing at thousands of universities worldwide.  Each college/university will determine the course/subject credit to be issued. The 2016 AP Exams will be administered over two weeks in May: May 2 through 6 and May 9 through 13. Coordinators are responsible for notifying students when and where to report for the exams. Early testing or testing at times other than those published by the College Board is not permitted under any circumstances. Each AP Exam score is a weighted combination of the student's scores on the multiple-choice section and the free-response section.  If you earn an AP Exam score of 3 or higher, you can receive credit, advanced placement or both from your college—most colleges and universities in the United States and institutions in more than 60 other countries grant credit and placement for AP scores.

 

The final score is reported on a 5-point scale:   

5 = extremely well qualified

4 = well qualified

3 = qualified

2 = possibly qualified

1= no recommendation

 

CLEP (College Level Examination Program) – CLEP exams test the mastery of college level material and helps you earn college credit for knowledge you have acquired through prior course work and independent study.  There are 33 exams offered.  By passing a CLEP exam, students are able to earn 3 to 12 hours of college credit.  Exams cost $80.00.  Each institution sets its own policy: It decides which CLEP exams it will grant credit for, required scores and how many credits it will award. Talk to the admissions officer, academic advisor or test center administrator to learn more about your institution’s CLEP Policy. Students register on line at the approved CLEP website.  CMHS is an approved CLEP exam site.

 

DUAL ENROLLMENT – Qualified students earn college credit while earning high school credit.

  • Must be at least 15 years old and enrolled as a sophomore, junior or senior
  • Must have a composite score of 20 or higher on the ACT or PLAN
  • If a student has both the ACT and PLAN score, the ACT score will be used.
  • For English courses, the English subscore must be  18 or higher
  • For math courses, the math subscore must be 19 or higher
  • Must be in good standing as defined by the high school (3.00 or above cumulative GPA) and meet the college/university enrollment criteria
  • Must be on track for completing the LA Core 4 Curriculum
  • Must be currently enrolled in an approved  course (with an “A or B” average in previous course)
  • Signature from parent or guardian
  • Approval from the principal or assistant principal

 

Dual enrollment credit will not affect eligibility for TOPS during your first semester in college; however, it will be included when your college GPA is reviewed to determine TOPS eligibility for subsequent semesters.    

          

Webpams: Student Progress Center                                                                       

The Student Progress Center (SPC) allows parents,student's and staff to view student attendance, comments, discipline, grades, progress reports, and transcripts (high school). To establish an account, parents are required to go to the Student Progress Center website and REGISTER as a new user. New users are asked for various pieces of information to verify their identity. The required pieces of information are highlighted in red and must be filled with the correct information as it was reported to the school. All information entered is information about the parent, such as the parent first/last name. The PSN should be given by the school.