Educators at Indiana's Yorktown High School emphasize the importance of testing and taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses, according to The Yorktown Press. By doing so, they believe that graduates from their institution will be better prepared when they go to a college or a university.

Recently, in honor of their high academic standards, the high school was ranked fourth in the state on The Washington Post's Challenge Index, which measures an institution's ability to challenge its students.

In 2005, the high school allowed students to take AP classes such as biology, chemistry, language and composition, government, U.S. history and calculus, according to the news outlet. Since then, the institution has added five additional courses.

The Washington Post reports that there may be many future benefits for students who decide to take AP classes during high school. Citing a 2007 study of over 200,000 college students, the news outlet states that individuals who took these advanced courses in high school had higher grade point averages and a better chance of graduating in four years once they went to college.

Parents who believe that their children could qualify for AP classes may want to consider encouraging them to take an IQ test, which can measure their cognitive abilities.