advanced placement courses have been designed to provide an additional challenge for students wishing to learn more about a specific subject area. courses are taught at the level of a university freshman course. students will receive 0.66 additional grade points for grades of c- or higher. students in ap classes receive more homework than they would receive in an honors course. students taking ap courses are eligible to take college board exams. charges for this test are paid by the school. however, if a student chooses to take an ap test but is not in that ap course, he/she must pay the exam fee. ap courses require more homework than regular classes. whereas a regular course requires an average of 2.5 hours of homework per week, ap courses require approximately 6 hours per week.