The College Board & PLTW are Joining Forces

A recently announced partnership "by the College Board and Project Lead The Way (PLTW) will increase access to and expand college and career readiness opportunities, including in critical STEM fields, for students across the United States. The organizations are bringing together the successes of the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) and PLTW's applied learning programs - both of which are shown to improve student outcomes and help ensure successful transitions to college and career. Through the partnership, the organizations will develop college and career pathways built around PLTW's existing program pathways - engineering, biomedical science, and computer science - by combining AP courses with PLTW courses. The partnership creates an opportunity for students to earn credentials that signify their readiness for college and careers, and participate in career-focused opportunities such as internships and scholarships. These recognition opportunities for students will be available beginning in summer 2016" (College Board. (2015). Project Lead The Way, College Board, Partner to Make Students More College and Career Ready).

How it Works
The AP + PLTW program features pathways in three fields: engineering, biomedical science, and computer science.
Each pathway has three parts:

• PLTW courses designed to introduce students to the field
• AP courses and exams that provide an opportunity for advanced placement and/or college credit
• PLTW specialization courses that focus on knowledge and skills needed for rewarding careers

The table below shows the menu of courses that schools can combine to create each pathway.

Student Recognition
Students who complete the requirements of their chosen pathway earn the AP + PLTW student recognition, a qualification that demonstrates to colleges and employers that the student is ready for advanced course work and interested in careers in this discipline.

To earn the recognition, the student must satisfactorily complete three courses in the pathway -- one AP course; one PLTW course; and a third course, either AP or PLTW -- and earn a qualifying score of 3 or higher on the AP Exam(s) and a score of Proficient or higher on the PLTW End of Course (EoC) assessment(s).
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The College Board and Project Lead The Way are developing a portfolio of career-focused opportunities that will allow students to pursue work-based learning with leading industry partners. Opportunities may include industry-based internships, scholarships for two- or four-year degree completion, or priority interviews for students with the credential.

The student recognition will be awarded for the first time in summer 2016 for course work completed in the 2015. More details will be available soon.
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Click here to learn about Scholarships, Admissions Preference, and College-Level Recognition.

READ MORE ABOUT IT
College Board. (2015). Project Lead The Way, College Board, Partner to Make Students More College and Career Ready. Retrieved from https://www.collegeboard.org/releases/2015/project-lead-the-way-and-college-board-make-students-college-and-career-ready

College Board. (2016). AP + Project Lead the Way. Retrieved from https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/exploreap/the-ap-experience/ap-project-lead-the-way

PLTW. (2014). AP and Project Lead the Way. Retrieved from https://www.pltw.org/ap-project-lead-way