AP and Honors Classes

In an effort to encourage our students to take demanding, advanced academic work, Piedmont High School offers courses designated as HONORS. These courses meet the University of California honors course guidelines and, if designated AP, prepare students for Advanced Placement examinations. Honors and Advanced Placement classes typically require additional projects and reading, and are more challenging than a regular college preparatory class. Students selecting these courses are expected to spend considerably more time in preparation outside of class. The grading standard for these classes is very rigorous.

Once a student has been placed in an honors or Advanced Placement class, it is generally not possible to change to a regular class in the same subject area.

AP Classes

Advanced Placement (AP) Classes from the College Board:
AP courses are designed to be college level courses with a cumulative test in May. Content for the course is created by The College Board.

More information from the College Board:
The AP Experience

Honors Classes

The curriculum for honors courses is designed at the local, district level. These courses are more challenging than a college prep course and often are taught at a faster pace and have more homework than a college prep course. Students can view the course catalog for specific course descriptions.

AP and Honors Course Expectations:

Course Expectations for AP/Honors Classes - updated 11/30/25

The following courses are designated as AP or HONORS. You can view the course descriptions from the course catalog web page: (list updated November 28, 2025)

• AP 2D Art and Design
• AP 3D Art and Design
• AP Art History
• AP Biology
• AP Business with Personal Finance
• AP Calculus AB
• AP Calculus BC
• AP Chemistry
• AP Chinese Language and Culture
• AP Computer Science A
• AP Computer Science Principles
• AP Drawing
• AP English Literature
• AP Environmental Science
• AP French Language and Culture
• AP Music Theory (offered every other year)
• AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism
• AP Physics C: Mechanics
• AP Research
• AP Seminar
• AP Spanish Language and Culture
• AP United States History
   
• Honors Acting
• Honors Art III
• Honors Ceramics III
• Honors Chemistry
• Honors Chinese IV
• Honors Dance
• Honors English 3-4
• Honors English 5-6
• Honors French IV
• Honors Jazz Band
• Honors Math Analysis
• Honors Modern World History
• Honors Physics of the Universe
• Honors Spanish IV
• Honors Statistics
• Honors String Orchestra
• Honors Symphonic Band

Advanced Placement (AP) Exam Schedule

Piedmont High School administers Advanced Placement (AP) exams every spring in accordance with the College Board’s AP Schedule.  Students can visit the College Board website for up-to-date information.

AP Exams

AP Exams are administered in the first two weeks of May each school year. The schedule of these exams is created by the College Board at AP Central.

For details, go to the AP Exam Timelines and Schedules

Students will be asked to pay for their AP exam in Infinite Campus (IC) in early Fall.