AP Capstone
As time goes on, you’ll understand. What lasts, lasts; what doesn’t, doesn’t. Time solves most things. And what time can’t solve, you have to solve yourself. —Haruki Murakami
"Moving On" Katie Jobling
AP Capstone is the pinnacle of the high school experience, encouraging a passion for learning & transforming students into curious, collaborative, and independent thinkers with skills that are valued & sought after by universities.
AP Seminar Assessment Outline
- PT1: Performance Task One - Team Project & Presentation
- PT2: Performance Task Two - Individual Research & Presentation
- AP Exam: End of Course Exam
In this project, three to five students collaborate as a team to identify a problem or issue (e.g., local, national, global, academic/theoretical/ philosophical). Each team develops a team research question and conducts preliminary research. They identify approaches, perspectives, or lenses and divide responsibilities among themselves for individual research that will address the team’s research question.
PT1 - IRR Individual Research Report
Individually, students investigate their assigned approach, perspectives, or lens on the issue or topic of the team research question. Each student presents his or her findings and analysis to the group in a well-written individual report that:
- identifies the area of investigation and its relationship to the overall problem or issue;
- summarizes, explains, analyzes, and evaluates the main ideas and reasoning in the chosen sources;
- identifies, compares, and interprets a range of perspectives about the problem or issue; and
- cites all sources used and includes a list of works cited or bibliography.
PT1 - TMP Team Multimedia Presentation
Working collaboratively, the team considers all of the research and analyses from individual team members for the purpose of proposing one or more solutions or resolutions. The team:
- collaboratively synthesizes and evaluates individual findings and perspectives to create a collective understanding of different approaches to the problem or issue;
- considers potential solutions or resolutions and conducts additional research in order to evaluate different solutions within the context of the problem; and
- proposes one or more solutions or resolutions and prepares an argument to support their proposal.
The team develops an 8–10 minute presentation that presents a convincing argument for the proposed solutions or recommendations. The team should ensure the claims made are supported by evidence and that they have considered different perspectives and the limitations and implications of their proposed solutions or recommendations. The presentation and the media used to enhance the presentation should consider audience, context, and purpose.
PT1 - TMP Oral Defense Questions
During your oral defense, the scoring panel will select a question from this list for each of your group members to answer. Remember to respond thoroughly and with specific information from your experience. Avoid generic answers, one that can be used for ANY presentation. It doesn't tap into specific moments and realizations and adjustments that your particular circumstance demanded. For example, Q4: "We would work harder and communicate better and divide our responsibilities more evenly." That's something everyone could say. Think of a moment where this was true and what it taught you SPECIFICALLY about working through difficulty as a team.
PT2 - IWA Individual Written Argument
College Board will annually release cross-curricular stimulus material (texts) representing a range of perspectives focused on a single theme. Students read and analyze the provided stimulus materials to identify thematic connections among the sources and possible areas for inquiry. They compose a research question prompted by their analysis of the stimulus materials. They then gather additional information through research; analyze, evaluate, and select evidence; and develop a logical, well-reasoned argument of 2,000 words. The final paper must refer to and incorporate at least one of the sources provided. Students must avoid plagiarism by acknowledging, attributing, and/or citing sources throughout the paper and including a bibliography.
PT2 - IMP Individual Multimedia Presentation
Students each develop a 6–8 minute presentation using appropriate media and present it to an audience of their peers. This presentation is an opportunity for students to present their conclusions by building arguments that convey their perspectives. The presentations should use the evidence to support students’ own arguments and situate their perspectives in their larger contexts rather than merely summarizing student research.
PT2 - IMP Oral Defense Questions
During your oral defense, the scoring panel will select one question from this list. Remember to respond thoroughly and with specific information from your experience. Again, avoid generic answers.
During the AP Exam administration window, students will take the AP Seminar End-of-Course Exam. The exam consists of four items (three short-answer and one essay question). The three short-answer questions assess analysis of an argument in a single source or document.
- Identify the author's argument, main idea, or thesis.
- Explain the author's line of reasoning by identifying the claims used to build the argument and the connections between them.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the evidence the author uses to support the claims made in the argument.
The essay question assesses students’ skills in synthesizing and creating an evidence-based argument, using at least two of the four provided sources. Each of the four sources will explore a common theme through a different lens, allowing multiple entry points for students to approach the topic.
AP Research Assessment Outline
- Academic Paper
- Presentation & Oral Defense
- PREP: Process and Reflection Portfolio
Academic Paper Components
Presentation
All students will develop a 15–20 minute presentation (using appropriate media) and deliver it to an oral defense panel of three evaluators.
The presentation provides an opportunity for students to present the research question/project goal, method/process, and conclusions — similar to what a university student would do at the undergraduate level. The presentation should focus on the student’s initial assumptions and hypotheses/ideas, the research question/project goal decided upon, and how the information collected to address the question supports his or her scholarly work. It should also address different perspectives and how those perspectives relate to the student’s own findings and conclusions. Students explain and distill their argument(s), explain the rationales for their choices, and describe their research findings in order to communicate effectively to an audience of non-experts. Students may choose any appropriate format for their presentation as long as the presentation reflects the depth of their research.
Oral Defense Questions
Following the presentation, the teacher and the other trained panelists should ask three or four questions of the student. The panel should ask one question pertaining to the student’s research or inquiry process, one question focused on the student’s depth of understanding, and one question about the student’s reflection throughout the inquiry process as evidenced in his or her process and reflection portfolio (PREP). Panelists should ask these questions for the purpose of providing students with the opportunity to defend their conclusions and inquiry processes and offer reflection on the recursive nature of research. The first three questions should be selected from the list below (one from each category). The fourth question and any follow-up questions are at the discretion of the panel.
PREP: Process & Reflection Portfolio
Using a process and reflection portfolio (PREP), students document their inquiry processes, communication with their teachers and any expert advisers as needed, and reflections on their thought processes. Students have regular work-in-progress interviews with their teachers to review their progress and to receive feedback on their scholarly work. In addition to responses to questions and tasks provided by teachers, the final form of the PREP should include:
- Table of contents
- Completed and approved proposal form
- Specific pieces of work selected by the student to represent what he or she considers to be the best showcase for his or her work.
- Documentation of permission(s) received from primary sources, if required, including IRB or other agreements for interviews, surveys, or investigations
- Documentation of the student’s interaction with expert adviser(s) & the role the expert adviser(s) played in the inquiry process
- Questions asked to and feedback received from peer and adult reviewers both in the initial stages and at key points along the way
- Reflection on whether or not the feedback was accepted/rejected
- Attestation signed by the student which states, “I hereby affirm that the work contained in this Process and Reflection Portfolio is my own and that I have read and understand the AP Capstone™ Policy on Plagiarism and Falsification or Fabrication of Information”
Capstone (APSI 2017 - Long Beach).pdf