What is AP?
Advanced Placement (AP) courses are
developed and offered by the College
Board. Essentially, they are college
courses that are offered in high school,
and are therefore rigorous and
challenging. Studies show that students
who challenge themselves in high school
(by taking AP courses, for example) are
more successful in college.
Advanced Placement Opportunities at West 2011-2012
Benefits of Taking AP
•
Earn college credit (3-4 hours)
–
–
–
–
•
•
•
•
Saves money
Saves time
Makes you more marketable to colleges
Makes you more career-versatile (double major)
Experience a college class while still in
high school
Work with highly experienced, qualified
teachers
Interact with other students who share
common goals
At West Forsyth, teachers are available for
tutoring
Advanced Placement Opportunities at West 2011-2012
Compare to Honors/Seminar
•Rigor
•Pacing
•Quality Points
•College Level Curriculum
•Workload
•Work Ethic
•Self-Motivation
Advanced Placement Opportunities at West 2011-2012
Current AP Courses at West
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
AP World History
AP US History
AP Psychology
AP Human Geography
AP Environmental Science
AP Calculus AB
AP English Language and Composition
AP English Literature and Composition
Advanced Placement Opportunities at West 2011-2012
Current AP Teachers
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Leslie Martin - AP World History
Debra Troxell – AP Human Geography
John Cochrane – AP Psychology
Beverly Ellison – AP US History
Susan Tucker – AP Environmental Science
Karl Koeval – AP Environmental Science
Heather King – AP Calculus AB
Elizabeth Currin – AP English Literature
Andrew Serang – AP English Language
Stuart Egan – AP English Language & Literature
Advanced Placement Opportunities at West 2011-2012
AP Courses Requested
•
•
•
•
•
AP Biology
AP Government: Comparative
AP Government: United States
AP Macro Economics
AP Micro Economics
Advanced Placement Opportunities at West 2011-2012
AP at West - Social Studies
•Advanced Placement Human Geography (Troxell)
•Advanced Placement Psychology (Cochrane)
•Advanced Placement US History (Ellison)
•Advanced Placement World History (Martin)
Advanced Placement Opportunities at West 2011-2012
AP Human Geography
•Open to students in 11th and 12th grades
•Focused on interpreting, and analyzing spatial
data, interactions between humans and
geography, regionalization and globalization and
other patterns and processes of
interconnectedness
• Complements AP Environmental Science
because of overlapping themes and concepts
Advanced Placement Opportunities at West 2011-2012
AP Psychology
•Open to students in 11th and 12th grades
•Survey course on the fundamentals of
Psychology
•Specifically the scientific study of human
behavior and mental processes
• Explores biological, psychological and social
influences on the human condition
Advanced Placement Opportunities at West 2011-2012
AP United States History
• Open to students in 11th and 12th grades
• Fulfills US history graduation requirement
•Covers archaic North America to 1990s
•Helps with high order thinking and writing
•Complements Advanced Placement
Language and Composition
Advanced Placement Opportunities at West 2011-2012
AP World History
•Open to students in 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th
grades
• Fulfills US history graduation requirement
(for 9th graders)
•Covers the period from 8000 B.C. to present
• Topics include political, economic, social
cultural concepts and processes
• Focused at a high level on five themes of
world history and habits of mind
Advanced Placement Opportunities at West 2011-2012
AP at West - Science
AP Environmental Science (Tucker and Koeval)
Advanced Placement Opportunities at West 2011-2012
AP Environmental Science
•Open to students in 11th or 12th grade
•Prerequisites: Biology and Chemistry
•The goal of APES is to help students to:
– understand the interrelationships of the natural world,
– identify and analyze natural and man-made
environmental problems
– evaluate risks associated with these problems
– examine alternative solutions for resolving or
preventing these problems
• Complements AP Human Geography (also
offered at West by the social studies department)
because some themes and concepts overlap
Advanced Placement Opportunities at West 2011-2012
AP at West - Math
AP Calculus AB (King)
Advanced Placement Opportunities at West 2011-2012
AP Calculus AB
•AP Calculus AB presents Calculus at a level that one could
find at most colleges.
•This course does review and extend some PreCalculus topics
during the first month of school.
•When the AB course covers a Calculus topic, it does so with
the same rigor and demands as the BC course.
•The two basic concepts covered in AP Calculus AB are
derivatives and antiderivatives.
•Before taking AP Calculus AB, students should successfully
complete Honors PreCalculus.
Advanced Placement Opportunities at West 2011-2012
AP at West - English
AP English Language (Serang and Egan)
AP English Literature (Currin and Egan)
Advanced Placement Opportunities at West 2011-2012
AP English Language and Composition
• Analyze American literature as it reflects social perspective and
historical significance
• Read lengthy text selections from the Concise Anthology of
American Literature and The Informed Argument
• Study and analyze current events
• Read outside of class eight – ten novels and non-fiction texts of the
teacher’s choice from the reading list
• Write 9 – 14 essays per quarter
• Enter this level with mastery of parts of speech, sentence types, all
aspects of grammar, and sentence writing
• Produce multi-draft, rhetorical analysis, argumentation, and
synthesis essays based on fiction and non-fiction texts
• Develop vocabulary including literary terms, words encountered in
literature, and SAT vocabulary
Advanced Placement Opportunities at West 2011-2012
AP English Literature and Composition
• Reading: The course will include an intensive study of
representative works from various genres and periods,
concentrating on works of “recognized literary merit” according to
the standards set forth by the Advanced Placement Program,
Princeton, NJ. Students should expect to study eight novels or
plays including one during the summer and an additional selection
of the student’s choice after the AP test in May.
• Writing: Writing assignments will focus on the critical analysis of
literature and will include expository, analytical, and argumentative
essays.
• Daily Expectations: Students in this college level class can expect
homework over the summer, the weekends, and holidays. The
assignments will require independent thinking, self motivation, and a
strong work ethic. Students will be required to participate in class
discussions. Students will need to exhibit a sense of personal
responsibility and time-management.
Advanced Placement Opportunities at West 2011-2012