Advanced Placement Courses

Grade Level:  11

Credit:  1

Prerequisite:  English 2 and Teacher's Signature

This course satisfies English 3 graduation requirement.  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 credit is earned with a qualifying score on an AP exam.  *Please note that there is an additional exam fee that is set by the College Board every year.  The test fee will be anywhere from $80-$95 per AP exam. 

Grade Level:  12

Credit:  1

Prerequisite:  English 3 and Teacher Signature

This course satisfies the English 4 graduation requirement.  This course is designed to present a wide range of reading experiences with print and non-print texts for literary, informational, argumentative, analytical, and practical purposes. Students use writing-to-learn and writing-to-demonstrate-learning strategies, as well as the writing process and criteria for effective writing, to comprehend and analyze complex texts and write in a variety of forms and for multiple audiences and purposes. Receptive and expressive skills are used to communicate information for a variety of authentic purposes, situations, and audiences. The integration of inquiry skills and technology with the other strands allows students to continue to discover and communicate ideas and information. Course adheres to Kentucky Academic Standards requirements and is required for students entering high school before 2019-20.

Grade level:  12

Credit:  1

Prerequisite:  Honors Pre-Calculus

AP Calculus AB focuses on students’ understanding of calculus concepts and provide experience with methods and applications. The course features a multirepresentational 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 credit is earned with a qualifying score on an AP exam.  *Please note that there is an additional exam fee that is set by the College Board every year.  The test fee will be anywhere from $95 per AP exam.

Grade level:  12

Credit:  1

Prerequisite:  304601-H Honors Biology 1 and 304058-H Honors Introduction to Chemistry and Physics

AP Biology is an introductory college-level biology course. Students cultivate their understanding of biology through inquiry-based investigations as they explore the following topics: evolution, cellular processes — energy and communication, genetics, information transfer, ecology, and interactions. College credit is earned with a qualifying score on an AP exam. Prerequisites: Students should have successfully completed high school courses in biology and chemistry. 

Grade level:  11-12

Credit:  1

Prerequisite:  Earth Space Science, Biology 1, and Algebra 1

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 credit is earned with a qualifying score on an AP exam. Prerequisite: Students should have successfully completed two years of high school laboratory science (1 year of life science and 1 year of physical science) and at least 1 year of algebra. 

Grade level:  10-12

Credit:  1

Prerequisite:  None

In this course, you’ll learn to consider an issue from multiple perspectives, identify credible sources, evaluate strengths and weaknesses of arguments, and make logical, evidence-based recommendations. You’ll investigate a variety of topics through various viewpoints of your choice. During the course, you’ll complete a team project and an individual paper and presentation, as well as take a written end-of-course exam. These components contribute to the overall AP Seminar score. 

Here are some topics that students have chosen to investigate in AP Seminar: 

• Effect of texting on grammar skills  

• Food waste solutions 

• Future of the automotive industry  

• Importance of voting age and civic participation of teens  

• Mathematics behind extreme sports  

• Genetically modified organisms  

• Role of art in education  

• Wealth inequality  

Grade level:  10-12

Credit:  1

Prerequisite:  None

This course is equivalent to an introductory college-level course in human geography. The 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. College credit is earned with a qualifying score on an AP exam. *Please note that there is an additional exam fee that is set by the College Board every year.  The test fee will be anywhere from $80-$95 per AP exam.

Grade level:  11

Credit:  1

Prerequisite:  AP World History or Honors World History with Teacher Recommendation

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 credit is earned with a qualifying score on an AP exam.  

*Please note that there is an additional exam fee that is set by the College Board every year.  The test fee will be anywhere from $80-$95 per AP exam.

Grade level:  10

Credit:  1

Prerequisite:  None

Students investigate significant events, individuals, developments, and processes from 1200 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 and about comparison, causation and continuity and change over time. The course provides six themes that students explore throughout the course in order to make connections among historical developments in different times and places: humans and the environment, cultural developments and interactions, governance, economic systems, social interactions and organization, and technology and innovation. College credit is earned with a qualifying score on an AP exam. *Please note that there is an additional exam fee that is set by the College Board every year.  The test fee will be anywhere from $80-$95 per AP exam.

Grade level:  12

Credit:  1

Prerequisite:  AP World History or Honors World History with Teacher Recommendation

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 credit is earned with a qualifying score on an AP exam.  *Please note that there is an additional exam fee that is set by the College Board every year.  The test fee will be anywhere from $80-$95 per AP exam. 

Grade level:  11-12

Credit:  1

Prerequisite:  Psychology

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 credit is earned with a qualifying score on an AP exam.  *Please note that there is an additional exam fee that is set by the College Board every year.  The test fee will be anywhere from $80-$95 per AP exam. 

Grade level:  11-12

Credit:  1

Prerequisite:  Visual Art Drawing/Painting AND Visual Arts - Art Portfolio

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 credit is earned with a qualifying score on an AP exam.  *Please note that there is an additional exam fee that is set by the College Board every year.  The test fee will be anywhere from $80-$95 per AP exam. 

Grade level:  11-12

Credit:  1

Prerequisite:  Teacher Recommendation

The AP Music Theory course corresponds to one or two semesters of a typical introductory college music theory course that covers topics such as musicianship, theory, musical materials, and procedures. Musicianship skills, including dictation and other listening skills, sight singing, and harmony, are considered 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 skills is a primary objective. Performance is also part of the curriculum through the practice of sight singing. Students understand basic concepts and terminology by listening to and performing a wide variety of music. Notational skills, speed, and fluency with basic materials are also emphasized. College credit is earned with a qualifying score on an AP exam. 

Grade level:  10-12

Credit:  1

Prerequisite:  None

AP Computer Science Principles introduces students to the breadth of the field of computer science. In this course, students will learn to design and evaluate solutions and to apply computer science to solve problems through the development of algorithms and programs. They will incorporate abstraction into programs and use data to discover new knowledge. Students will also explain how computing innovations and computing systems, including the Internet, work, explore their potential impacts, and contribute to a computing culture that is collaborative and ethical. It is important to note that the AP Computer Science Principles course does not have a designated programming language. Teachers have the flexibility to choose a programming language(s) that is most appropriate for their students to use in the classroom. Students spend at least 20 hours of programming and applying learned concepts through programming. (Programming is defined, by the K-12 CS Framework, as the craft of analyzing problems and designing, writing, testing, and maintaining programs to solve them). College credit is earned with a qualifying score on an AP exam. Participation in Kentucky Technology Student Association or SkillsUSA will greatly enhance instruction.