September, 2013 Dear AP Biology Students and Parents: Welcome to an exciting year of science inquiry in the field of Biology! I am fortunate to have so many students interested in my favorite subject. As most of you know, the Advanced Placement Program allows high school students to obtain college credit and/or advanced placement in college. Remember, however, that it is a program of credit by examination. In order to receive college credit or advanced placement, you must take the AP Biology Examination, which will be offered this school year on Monday, May 13, 2013. There is a fee of approximately $87 for the test, which is paid by the student. Fee reductions are available to qualified students; contact your school counselor for more information. Grades on this multiple choice and essay exam are assigned on a 1 to 5 scale, with a “3” considered a ‘passing’ (equivalent to a college grade of C) grade. (5 is highest, 1 is lowest.) Most of the exam questions are based on content, and about 25% are laboratory-based questions. Because this is a college level course, it is inherently difficult and challenging, because colleges expect students to have taken a course that is equivalent to their own freshman biology courses. While most colleges have accepted a 3 or better in the past, few colleges will now accept a 3 for credit or advanced placement for science majors. Most colleges do accept a 4 or 5 for science majors. If you do not intend to major in science, you may find that the college of your choice will accept a 3 for credit. The tougher standards have been enacted for several reasons, the most important of which is that there has a been a considerable upgrade in the quality and quantity of subject matter taught in introductory college courses over the past 10 years. In addition, colleges are placing a greater emphasis on laboratory experiences, and may teach many concepts in the lab rather than in lecture as has been traditional in the past. A significant part of the AP Biology course is the required completion of the 12 labs designed by the American College Board. You will receive, as part of your course materials, the American College Board AP Biology laboratory manual. If you choose to write in this manual, you will be assessed a fee of $23.00. The text used is Biology, 8th Edition, by Campbell and Reese. You will also be issued a Study Guide, AP Test Prep book, and CD to complement the text. If you choose to write or highlight in the text, AP Test Prep book, or study guide, you will be assessed $125.00 for the text, $26.50 for the study guide, and $16.50 for the AP test prep book. If you should lose or damage your CD, you will be assessed $16.50. With all this in mind, it is important for you to consider why you are taking AP biology. If your primary reason is simply to gain high school science credit, or to broaden your store of biology knowledge, this course can meet your needs but will be extremely challenging. If your goal is to obtain college credit for biology, you should find out what AP scores are required by your prospective college to gain credit, and you must take the AP Biology exam. It would be in your best interest to contact the biology department of the college you plan to attend to gain information about their credit/placement policies. Additionally, some college credit policy information may be found on the College Board website http://apps.collegeboard.com/apcreditpolicy/index.jsp. The most difficult challenge of any AP course is the requirement to maintain a consistent effort throughout the year. Seniors especially may have difficulty in that area (‘senioritis’). If you are not sure that you can maintain a high level of effort until May 14th (the date of the AP Biology exam), you should analyze your reasons for taking this course. Attached to this letter is my syllabus for this year’s AP Bio course. This will give you an idea of the pace of the course. You will note that this syllabus is aligned with the American College Board’s syllabus. The number of days we spend on any given topic will directly relate to the percentage assignment by topic on the College Board syllabus. This syllabus is posted on the class wiki, which can be accessed via this path: BPS websiteparent/student tabstudent linkswikispacesSeaholm HSwichersAP. You will want to bookmark this site on your home computer. In keeping with the college format, grading will be as follows: Trimester Grade: Tests and quizzes Laboratories, and other written work Final Trimester Grade: Trimester grade Final exam 60% 40% 80% 20% Because of the tremendous volume of material to be covered in this course, not all will be covered in the classroom. As in college, students will be responsible for all material assigned, whether or not it was discussed in the classroom. We will cover the entire textbook before the AP exam in May, which represents an enormous reading load. I will expect every student to keep a journal, which will consist of notes taken in class, and while reading. Taking notes is a necessary and important skill for a college student, and absolutely necessary for success in this class. Again, if this is not what you anticipated, please rethink your reasons for taking this course. Tests will be structured much like the AP exam itself, to offer students practice in advance of the actual exam. The AP exam has been restructured. The first 90 minutes will consist of 63 multiple choice questions and 6 ‘grid-in’ questions. The final 90 minutes will consist of two long free response questions, and 6 short free response questions. During the first week of May, I will give a ‘practice’ AP exam, based on tests given in prior years. This will be the final exam for the third trimester. I am looking forward to this year of exciting biological discoveries. If you should have any questions, please email me at biowicks@wtw.waveform.net. In addition, I am available to students during X blocks, and many days early in the morning. Sincerely, Linda Wichers AP Biology Instructor Seaholm High School 2