Social Science

Meets graduation requirement: SS

Meets UC/CSU a-g requirement: a

Students in grade ten study major turning points that shaped the modern world, from ancient times through the present, including the cause and course of the two world wars. They trace the rise of democratic ideas and develop an understanding of the historical roots of current world issues, especially as they pertain to international relations.

Recommended: AP European History

Meets graduation requirement: SS

Meets UC/CSU a-g requirement: a

This course earns students a weighted grade

The purpose of the AP World History course is to develop greater understanding of the evolution of global processes and contacts, in interaction with different types of human societies. This understanding is advanced through a combination of selective factual knowledge and appropriate analytical skills. The course highlights the nature of changes in international frameworks and their causes and consequences, as well as comparisons among major societies. The course emphasizes relevant factual knowledge deployed in conjunction with leading interpretive issues and types of historical evidence. The course builds on an understanding of cultural, institutional, and technological precedents that, along with geography, set the human stage.

Meets graduation requirement: SS

Meets UC/CSU a-g requirement: a

In this course students study the major turning points in American history. An overarching theme in the course centers around the nation’s founding ideals from the Declaration of Independence: equality, rights, liberty, opportunity, and democracy. Each generation has struggled with these ideals. Some have made little progress toward achieving them, while others have made great progress. During this course, students will become engaged in the struggle, from establishing an American republic to the making of modern America. The APEX online learning version of this course is a-g approved but NOT NCAA approved. APEX course description can be found here: APEX US History Course Description

Recommended: A or B in English and Social Science course

Meets graduation requirement: SS

Meets UC/CSU a-g requirement: a

This course earns students a weighted grade

The AP program in United States History is designed to provide students with the analytical skills and enduring understanding necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in United States history. The program prepares students for intermediate and advanced college courses by making demands upon them equivalent to those made by full-year introductory college courses. Students should learn to assess historical materials, their relevance to a given interpretive problem, their reliability, and their importance and to weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship.

Meets graduation requirement: SS

Meets UC/CSU a-g requirement: a

In this course, students apply knowledge gained in previous years of study to pursue a deeper understanding of the institutions of American government. In addition, they draw on their studies of American history and of other societies to compare different systems of government in the world today. This course should be viewed as the culmination of the civic literacy strand that prepares students to evaluate public policy, understand voting and the election process, and reflect on the responsibilities of citizenship. Students will gain an understanding of their role when participating in civic activities. This is a 5 credit class paired with Economics. The APEX online learning version of this course is NOT NCAA approved. APEX course description can be found here: APEX Government Course Description

Meets graduation requirement: SS

Meets UC/CSU a-g requirement: g

In this course, students will deepen their knowledge of our economy by studying both Micro and Macro economics. This will allow them to have a better understanding of how our system works, and how it interconnects globally. They will learn to make reasoned decisions on economic issues as citizens, workers, consumers, business owners/managers, and members of civic groups. Students will add to economic concepts they acquired in previous grades and apply tools (such as interpreting graphs and economic indicators) which are learned in other subject areas and relate it to our economic system. This is a 5 credit class paired with Government. The APEX online learning version of this course is NOT NCAA approved. APEX course description can be found here: APEX Economics Course Description

Recommended: A or B in US History

Meets graduation requirement: SS

Meets UC/CSU a-g requirement: a

This course earns students a weighted grade

The AP Government & Politics: United States course provides an analytical perspective on government and politics in the United States. This course involves both the study of general concepts used to interpret U.S. politics and the analysis of specific case studies. It also requires familiarity with the various institutions, groups, beliefs, and ideas that constitute U.S. political reality. This is a 5 credit class paired with Economics.