<p>D’s experience at her school was that AP courses were comparable to what she’s experienced in college. However, her school has very strict requirements for taking an AP course, and will drop you down to the Honors course if you don’t maintain an A or B average. Everyone is required to take the AP exam and the average pass rate is 87%. The classes move at a fast pace since the kids are highly qualified, and students have a lot of supplemental work. In some other schools near us, the AP courses have few if any requirements, so they can’t always be taught at such an accelerated pace. The exams aren’t required, but those students who do take the exam pass at less than a 50% rate. So it definitely varies by school, and even by course in a school.</p>