Advanced Placement (AP)
From the AP Central Website:
AP offers more than 30 courses across multiple subject areas. Each course is developed by a committee composed of higher education faculty and expert AP teachers who ensure that the course reflects college- and university-level expectations. These committees define the scope and goals of the AP course, articulating what students should know and be able to do upon completing it. The committees' work is informed by data collected from a range of colleges and universities to ensure that AP courses and exams reflect current scholarship and advances in the discipline. The committee then works with ETS (Educational Testing Service) to develop multiple-choice and free-response exam questions. Committee members also write and review the course description for each subject.
AP courses are taught by highly qualified high school teachers who use the AP Course Descriptions to guide them. The course descriptions outline the course content, describe the curricular goals of the subject, and provide sample exam questions. While the course descriptions are a significant source of information about the course content on which the AP Exams will be based, AP teachers have the flexibility to determine how this content is presented.