• Arlington ISD supports students taking advanced academic courses whenever they decide they want to take on the challenge. Some courses do have prerequisites, but it is not a requirement for you to have taken advanced courses before to take advanced, AP, or IB courses.
• There are processes for enrolling in dual credit that students must follow, and that includes successfully completing the TSI. See the school counselor for details.

• All provide academic challenges and opportunities to increase knowledge in the subject as well as critical thinking skills.
• All require students to build and improve the skills that support academic success, such as organization, time management, and asking for help.
• All except advanced provide the opportunity for college credit.
• Pre-AP, Advanced, AP, IB, and OnRamps all provide honors credit when applied to a student’s GPA.
• Pre-AP, Advanced, AP, & IB courses are offered in language arts, math, science, social studies, computer science & technology, foreign languages, and the arts. Dual Credit and OnRamps offerings are more limited.
• Students may pursue the IB Diploma Program, which is a set of 7 courses taken over junior and senior year. Students taking the full diploma receive additional support and have the opportunity to earn more college credit and scholarships. Students may also choose to take any individual IB courses that are open-enrollment, just as they can with other advanced courses.

The good news is that students do not need to choose just one type of course. Students can mix-and-match, building the course selections that best fit each individual’s interests and abilities. Talk with the school’s counselors, teachers, and advanced academic coordinator for more details.

• The first line of support for students and parents is the teacher. Struggling students will most often find that asking questions and seeking help from the teacher are the keys to their success. - In cases where students are not able to pass a course, AISD provides a drop policy that allows students to move to an on-level course when available. Students must stay in an advanced class for six weeks in order to give themselves the opportunity to work through any initial struggles or fears. After that, students may, in consultation with their teacher, parent, and counselor, drop an advanced course before the 12th week.
• AVID is a school-wide college-readiness support system that prepares students for college eligibility and success. AVID curriculum focuses on WICOR (Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, and Reading) to build student learning and performance. AVID’s mission is to close the opportunity gap by preparing all students for college readiness and success in a global society. Students in the AVID elective receive additional support to help them succeed in their advanced academics courses.
• We provide gifted and talented (GT) identification and support services as well as parent resources to help families understand the unique needs of GT students.
• The Advanced Academics department supports Academic Decathlon & shares information about other additional educational opportunities.

• AISD offers free college testing for students. All sophomores take the PSAT with 11th grade opting in. The SAT is offered to all juniors each spring, and the ACT is offered to all seniors each fall. Both of these exams can be used for college admission. We also regularly offer the TSI, an assessment of students skills that can support college application and placement. College testing for PSAT, SAT, and ACT occurs during the school day. TSIA is offered both during the school day and after school.
• Colleges want to see students taking on academic challenges, and we provide many options for students to do so. Taking on challenges now allows students to struggle and grow in a protective, supportive environment. They will learn content as well as the skills they will use to succeed in college.
• Dual credit courses count as honors credit toward a students GPA.