Curriculum

Course Description

AP Biology is an introductory college-level biology course. Students cultivate their understanding of biology through inquiry-based investigations as the explore the following topics: evolution, cellular process, energy and communication, genetics, information transfer, ecology, and interations.

College Course Equivalent

The AP Biology course is eqivalent to a two-semseter college introductory biology course for biology majors.

Prerequisites

Students should have successfully completed high school courses in biology and chemistry.

Lab Requirement

This course requires that 25 percent of the instructional time be spent in hands-on laboratory work, with an emphasis on inquiry-based investigations that provide students opportunities to apply the science practices.

Course Description

AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC focus on students understanding of calculus concepts and provide experience with methods and applications. Through the use of big ideas of calculus (e.g., modeling change, approximation and limits, and analysis of functions), each course becomes a cohesive whole, rather than a collection of unrelated topics. Both courses require students to use definitions and theorems to build arguments and justify conclusions. The courses feature a multi representational approach to calculus, with concepts, results, and problems expressed graphically, numerically, analytically, and verbally. Exploring connections among these representations builds understanding of how calculus applies limits to develop important ideas, definitions, formulas, and theorems. A sustained emphasis on clear communication of methods, reasoning, justifications, and conclusions is essential. Teachers and students should regularly use technology to reinforce relationships among functions, to confirm written work, to implement experimentation, and to assist in interpreting results.

College Course Equivalent

AP Calculus AB is designed to be the equivalent of a first semester college calculus course devoted to topics in differential and integral calculus. AP Calculus BC is designed to be the equivalent to both first and second semester college calculus courses. AP Calculus BC applies the content and skills learned in AP Calculus AB to parametrically defined curves, polar curves, and vector-valued functions; develops additional integration techniques and applications; and introduces the topics of sequences and series.

Prerequisites

Before studying calculus, all students should complete the equivalent of four years of secondary mathematics designed for college-bound students: courses that should prepare them with a strong foundation in reasoning with algebraic symbols and working with algebraic structures. Prospective calculus students should take courses in which they study algebra, geometry, trigonometry, analytic geometry, and elementary functions. These functions include linear, polynomial, rational, exponential, logarithmic, trigonometric, inverse trigonometric, and piecewise-defined functions. In particular, before studying calculus, students must be familiar with the properties of functions, the composition of functions, the algebra of functions, and the graphs of functions. Students must also understand the language of functions (domain and range, odd and even, periodic, symmetry, zeros, intercepts, and descriptors such as increasing and decreasing). Students should also know how the sine and cosine functions are defined from the unit circle and know the values of the trigonometric functions and their multiples. Students who take AP Calculus BC should have basic familiarity with sequences and series, as well as some exposure to parametric and polar equations.

Course Description

The AP Chemistry course provides students with a college-level foundation to support future advanced coursework in chemistry. Students cultivate their understanding of chemistry through inquiry-based investigations, as they explore content such as: atomic structure, intermolecular forces and bonding, chemical reactions, kinetics, thermodynamics, and equilibrium.

College Course Equivalent

The AP Chemistry course is designed to be the equivalent of the general chemistry course usually taken during the first college year.

Prerequisites

Students should have successfully completed a general high school chemistry course and Algebra II.

Lab Requirement

This course requires that 25 percent of instructional time engages students in lab investigations. This includes a minimum of 16 hands-on labs (at least six of which are inquiry-based). It is recommended that students keep a lab notebook throughout.

Course Description

The AP Chinese Language and Culture course in Mandarin Chinese emphasizes communication (understanding and being understood by others) by
applying interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational skills in real-life situations. This includes vocabulary usage, language control, communication strategies, and cultural awareness. The AP Chinese Language and Culture course strives not to overemphasize grammatical accuracy at the expense of communication. To best facilitate the study of language and culture, the course is taught almost exclusively in Chinese. The AP Chinese Language and Culture course engages students in an exploration of culture in both contemporary and historical contexts. The course develops students’ awareness and appreciation of cultural products (e.g., tools, books, music, laws, conventions, institutions); practices (patterns of social interactions within a culture); and perspectives (values, attitudes, and assumptions).

College Course Equivalent

The AP Chinese Language and Culture course is designed to be comparable to fourth semester (or the equivalent) college/university courses in
Mandarin Chinese.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisite courses; however, students are typically in their fourth year of high school–level study. In the case of native or heritage speakers, there may be a different pathway of study leading to this course.

Course Description

AP Comparative Government and Politics introduces students to the rich diversity of political life outside the United States. The course uses a comparative approach to examine the political structures; policies; and political, economic, and social challenges of six selected countries: China, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, and the United Kingdom. Students compare the effectiveness of approaches to many global issues by examining how different governments solve similar problems. They will also engage in disciplinary practices that require them to read and interpret data, make comparisons and applications, and develop evidence-based arguments.

College Course Equivalent

AP Comparative Government and Politics is equivalent to a one-semester introductory college course in comparative government and politics.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for AP Comparative Government and Politics. Students should be able to read a college-level textbook and write grammatically correct, complete sentences.

Course Description

The AP English Language and Composition course focuses on the development and revision of evidence-based analytic and argumentative writing, the rhetorical analysis of nonfiction texts, and the decisions writers make as they compose and revise. Students evaluate, synthesize, and cite research to support their arguments. Additionally, they read and analyze rhetorical elements and their effects in nonfiction texts?including images as forms of text? from a range of disciplines and historical periods

College Course Equivalent

The AP English Language and Composition course aligns to an introductory college-level rhetoric and writing curriculum.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisite courses for AP English Language and Composition. Students should be able to read and comprehend college-level texts and write grammatically correct, complete sentences.

Course Description

The AP English Literature and Composition course focuses on reading, analyzing, and writing about imaginative literature (fiction, poetry, drama) from various periods. Students engage in close reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature to deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure. As they read, students consider a work’s structure, style, and themes, as well as its use of figurative language, imagery, and symbolism. Writing assignments include expository, analytical, and argumentative essays that require students to analyze and interpret literary works.

College Course Equivalent

The AP English Literature and Composition course aligns to an introductory college-level literature and writing curriculum.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisite courses for AP English Literature and Composition. Students should be able to read and comprehend college-level texts and write grammatically correct, complete sentences.

Course Description

The AP Environmental Science course is designed to engage students with the scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships within the natural world. The course requires that students identify and analyze natural and human-made environmental problems, evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems, and examine alternative solutions for resolving or preventing them. Environmental science is interdisciplinary, embracing topics from geology, biology, environmental studies, environmental science, chemistry, and geography.

College Course Equivalent

The AP Environmental Science course is designed to be the equivalent of a one-semester, introductory college course in environmental science.

Prerequisites

Students should have completed two years of high school laboratory science?one year of life science and one year of physical science (e.g., a year of biology and a year of chemistry). Due to the quantitative analysis required in the course, students should also have taken at least one year of algebra. Also desirable (but not necessary) is a course in earth science.

Lab Requirement

Although there are no specific AP Environmental Science labs or field investigations required for the course, it is required that students have the opportunity to spend a minimum of 25% of instructional time engaged in hands-on, inquiry-based laboratory and/or fieldwork investigations.

Course Description

In AP European History, students investigate significant events, individuals, developments, and processes from approximately 1450 to the present. Students develop and use the same skills, practices, and methods employed by historians: analyzing primary and secondary sources; developing historical arguments; making historical connections; and utilizing reasoning about comparison, causation, and continuity and change over time. The course also provides seven themes that students explore throughout the course in order to make connections among historical developments in different times and places: interaction of Europe and the world, economic and commercial development, cultural and intellectual development, states and other institutions of power, social organization and development, national and European identity, and technological and scientific innovations.

College Course Equivalent

AP European History is designed to be the equivalent of an introductory college or university survey of modern European history.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for AP European History. Students should be able to read a college-level textbook and write grammatically correct, complete sentences.

Course Description

The AP French Language and Culture course emphasizes communication (understanding and being understood by others) by applying interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational skills in real-life situations. This includes vocabulary usage, language control, communication strategies, and cultural awareness. The AP French Language and Culture course strives not to overemphasize grammatical accuracy at the expense of communication. To best
facilitate the study of language and culture, the course is taught almost exclusively in French. The AP French Language and Culture course engages students in an exploration of culture in both contemporary and historical contexts. The course develops students’ awareness and appreciation of cultural products (e.g., tools, books, music, laws, conventions, institutions); practices (patterns of social interactions within a culture); and perspectives (values, attitudes, and assumptions).

College Course Equivalent

The AP French Language and Culture Course is approximately equivalent to an upper-intermediate college or university course in French language
and culture.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites; however, students are typically in their fourth year of high school–level French language study. In the case of native
or heritage speakers, there may be a different pathway of study leading to this course.

Course Description

This course introduces students to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and alteration of Earth’s surface. Students employ spatial concepts and landscape analysis to examine socioeconomic organization and its environmental consequences. They also learn about the methods and tools geographers use in their research and applications. The curriculum reflects the goals of the National Geography
Standards (2012).

College Course Equivalent

The AP Human Geography course is equivalent to an introductory college-level course in human geography.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for AP Human Geography. Students should be able to read college level texts and write grammatically correct, complete sentences.

Course Description

AP Macroeconomics is a college-level course that introduces students to the principles that apply to an economic system as a whole. The course places particular emphasis on the study of national income and price-level determination. It also develops students’ familiarity with economic performance measures, the financial sector, stabilization policies, economic growth, and international economics. Students learn to use graphs, charts, and data to
analyze, describe, and explain economic concepts.

College Course Equivalent

AP Macroeconomics is equivalent to a one-semester introductory college course in economics.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for AP Macroeconomics. Students should be able to read a college-level textbook and possess basic mathematics and graphing skills.

Course Description

The AP Music Theory course corresponds to one-to-two semesters of typical, introductory college music theory coursework that covers topics such as musicianship, theory, and musical materials and procedures. Musicianship skills, including dictation and listening skills, sightsinging, and harmony, are an important part of the course. Through the course, students develop the ability to recognize, understand, and describe basic materials and processes of tonal music that are heard or presented in a score. Development of aural (listening) skills is a primary objective. Performance is also part of the curriculum through the practice of sight-singing. Students learn basic concepts and terminology by listening to and performing a wide variety of music. Notational skills, speed, and fluency with basic materials are emphasized.

College Course Equivalent

Because college curricula vary for beginning music theory courses, the college-level course
equivalency of AP Music Theory will vary from one institution to the next.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisite courses for AP Music Theory. Prospective students should be
able to read and write musical notation and have basic performance skills with voice
or an instrument.

Course Description

AP Physics 1 is an algebra-based, introductory college-level physics course. Students cultivate their understanding of physics through inquiry-based investigations as they explore these topics: kinematics, dynamics, circular motion and gravitation, energy, momentum, simple harmonic motion, torque and rotational motion, electric charge and electric force, DC circuits, and mechanical waves and sound.

College Course Equivalent

AP Physics 1 is a full-year course that is the equivalent of a first-semester introductory college course in algebra-based physics.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisite courses. Students should have completed Geometry and be concurrently taking Algebra II or an equivalent course. Although the Physics 1 course includes basic use of trigonometric functions, this understanding can be gained either in the concurrent math course or in the AP Physics 1 course itself.

Laboratory Requirement

This course requires that twenty-five percent of instructional time will be spent in hands-on laboratory work, with an emphasis on inquiry-based investigations that provide students with opportunities to demonstrate the foundational physics principles and apply the science practices. Inquiry-based laboratory experiences support the AP Physics 1 course and AP Course Audit curricular requirements by providing opportunities for students to engage in the seven science practices as they design plans for experiments, make predictions, collect and analyze data, apply mathematical routines, develop explanations, and communicate about their work. Colleges may require students to present their laboratory materials from AP science courses before granting college credit for laboratory work, so students should be encouraged to retain their laboratory notebooks, reports, and other materials.

Course Description

The AP Psychology course introduces students to the systematic and scientific study of human behavior and mental processes. While considering the psychologists and studies that have shaped the field, students explore and apply psychological theories, key concepts, and phenomena associated with such topics as the biological bases of behavior, sensation and perception, learning and cognition, motivation, developmental psychology, testing and individual differences, treatments of psychological disorders, and social psychology. Throughout the course, students employ psychological research methods, including ethical considerations, as they use the scientific method, evaluate claims and evidence, and effectively communicate ideas.

College Course Equivalent

The AP Psychology course is designed to be the equivalent of the Introduction to Psychology course usually taken during the first college year.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for AP Psychology. Students should be able to read a college-level textbook and write grammatically correct, complete sentences

Course Description

The AP Statistics course introduces students to the major concepts and tools for collecting, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from data. There are four themes evident in the content, skills, and assessment in the AP Statistics course: exploring data, sampling and experimentation, probability and simulation, and statistical inference. Students use technology, investigations, problem solving, and writing as they build conceptual understanding.

College Course Equivalent

The AP Statistics course is equivalent to a one-semester, introductory, non-calculus-based college course in statistics.

Prerequisites

– The AP Statistics course is an excellent option for any secondary school student who has successfully completed a second-year course in algebra and who possesses sufficient mathematical maturity and quantitative reasoning ability. Because second-year algebra is the prerequisite course, AP Statistics is usually taken in either the junior or senior year. Decisions about whether to take AP Statistics and when to take it depend on a student?s plans:

• Students planning to take a science course in their senior year will benefit greatly from taking AP Statistics in their junior year.
• For students who would otherwise take no mathematics in their senior year, AP Statistics allows them to continue to develop their quantitative skills.
• Students who wish to leave open the option of taking calculus in college should include precalculus in their high school program and perhaps take AP Statistics concurrently with precalculus.
• Students with the appropriate mathematical background are encouraged to take both AP Statistics and AP Calculus in high school.

Course Description

The AP Spanish Language and Culture course emphasizes communication (understanding and being understood by others) by applying interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational skills in real-life situations. This includes vocabulary usage, language control, communication strategies, and cultural awareness. The AP Spanish Language and Culture course strives not to overemphasize grammatical accuracy at the expense of communication. To best facilitate the study of language and culture, the course is taught almost exclusively in Spanish. The AP Spanish Language and Culture course engages students in an exploration of culture in both contemporary and historical contexts. The course develops students? awareness and appreciation of cultural products (e.g., tools, books, music, laws, conventions, institutions); practices (patterns of social interactions within a culture); and perspectives (values, attitudes, and assumptions).

College Course Equivalent

The AP Spanish Language and Culture Course is approximately equivalent to an upper-intermediate college or university course in Spanish language and culture.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites; however, students are typically in their fourth year of high school?level Spanish language study. In the case of native or heritage speakers, there may be a different pathway of study leading to this course.

Course Description

The AP Art and Design program consists of three different courses and AP Portfolio Exams, AP 2-D Art and Design, AP 3-D Art and Design, and AP Drawing corresponding to college and university foundations courses. Students may choose to submit any or all of the AP Portfolio Exams. Students create a portfolio of work to demonstrate inquiry through art and design and development of materials, processes, and ideas over the course of a year. Portfolios include works of art and design, process documentation, and written information about the work presented. In May, students submit portfolios for evaluation based on specific criteria, which include skillful synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas and sustained investigation through practice, experimentation, and revision, guided by questions. Students may choose to submit any or all of the AP Portfolio Exams.

College Course Equivalent

The AP 2-D Art and Design, AP 3-D Art and Design, and AP Drawing courses are designed to be the equivalent of a one-semester, introductory college course in 2-D art and design, 3-D art and design, and drawing, respectively.

Prerequisites

AP Art and Design courses are for all students who are interested in inquiry-based thinking and making. Although there is no prerequisite for AP Art and Design courses, prior experiences learning about and making art and design support student success in AP Art and Design. Students who have not had opportunities to take art or design classes prior to AP will likely need assistance in developing a foundational understanding of art and design materials, processes, and ideas to prepare them for success.

Course Description

In AP U.S. History, students investigate significant events, individuals, developments, and processes in nine historical periods from approximately 1491 to the present. Students develop and use the same skills and methods employed by historians: analyzing primary and secondary sources; developing historical arguments; making historical connections; and utilizing reasoning about comparison, causation, and continuity and change. The course also provides eight themes that students explore throughout the course in order to make connections among historical developments in different times and places: American and national identity; work, exchange, and technology; geography and the environment; migration and settlement; politics and power; America in the world; American and regional culture; and social structures.

College Course Equivalent

AP U.S. History is equivalent to a two-semester introductory college course in U.S. history.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for AP U.S. History. Students should be able to read a college-level textbook and write grammatically correct, complete sentences.

Course Description

AP U.S. Government and Politics provides a college-level, nonpartisan introduction to key political concepts, ideas, institutions, policies, interactions, roles, and behaviors that characterize the constitutional system and political culture of the United States. Students will study U.S. foundational documents, Supreme Court decisions, and other texts and visuals to gain an understanding of the relationships and interactions among political institutions, processes, and behaviors. They will also engage in disciplinary practices that require them to read and interpret data, make comparisons and applications, and develop evidence-based arguments. In addition, they will complete a political science research or applied civics project.

College Course Equivalent

AP U.S. Government and Politics is equivalent to a one-semester introductory college course in U.S. government.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisite courses for AP U.S. Government and Politics. Students should be able to read a college-level textbook and write grammatically correct, complete sentences.