AP Course Selections provide information to help students select appropriate courses for Advanced Placement, these are typically geared to college preparatory work.

AP Art History

Students will explore the nature of art, its uses and meanings, art making, and responses to art. Through investigation of diverse artistic traditions of cultures from prehistory to the present, the course fosters in-depth and holistic understanding of the history of art from a global perspective. Students learn and apply skills of visual, contextual, and comparative analysis to engage with a variety of art forms, constructing understanding of individual works and interconnections of art-making processes and products throughout history. Upon completion of the class, students are encouraged to take the AP exam for possible college credit.

AP Biology

This is a first year college biology course. The Advanced Placement Biology course will cover the set curriculum as described by the College Board. Students study molecules and cells, heredity, evolution, organisms, and populations. This course aims to provide students with the conceptual framework, factual knowledge, and analytical skills necessary to deal critically with the rapidly changing science of biology. Upon completion of the class, students are encouraged to take the AP Exam for possible college credit.

AP Calculus AB

Advanced Placement Calculus covers the College Board requirements in preparation for the Advanced Placement Calculus Exam. Topics are typical to those offered in a first semester college course. Pre-calculus mathematics is reinforced. Limit theory, derivatives, anti­-derivatives, and integration are studied in relation to their applications in science and mathematics. Broad concepts are emphasized using multiple representations. Upon completion of the class, students are encouraged to take the AP Exam for possible college credit.

AP Calculus BC

Calculus BC is a full-year course in the calculus of functions of a single variable. It includes all topics covered in Calculus AB plus additional topics. Both courses represent college-level mathematics for which most colleges grant advanced placement and credit. The content of Calculus BC is designed to qualify the student for placement and credit in a course that is one course beyond that granted for Calculus AB. Upon completion of the class, students are encouraged to take the AP Exam for possible college credit. 

AP Capstone: Research

AP Research is the second year of the two-year AP Capstone program and is an interdisciplinary study that encourages students to demonstrate critical thinking and academic research skills on a topic of the student's choosing. Students will build on what they learned in AP Seminar to deeply explore an academic topic, problem, or issue of individual interest. Through this exploration, students will design, plan, and conduct a year-long research based investigation to address a research question of their creation. Students who earn scores of 3 or higher on their AP Exam in AP Seminar and AP Research will receive the AP Seminar and Research Certificate. Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar, AP Research, and four additional AP Exams, of their choosing, will receive the AP Capstone Diploma signifying their attainment of college-level academic and research skills. The AP Capstone Diploma and AP Seminar and Research Certificate are reported to colleges and universities as AP Scholar Awards and appear in Scholar Roster reports, as well as on the Common App application portal. To accommodate the wide range of student topics, typical college course equivalents include introductory research or general elective courses.

AP Capstone: Seminar

The AP Capstone Program is a 2 year sequence of courses that is designed to equip students “with the skills to analyze and evaluate information with accuracy and precision in order to craft and communicate evidence based arguments.” AP Seminar is the first year course and AP Research is the second year course. Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research will receive the AP Seminar and Research Certificate signifying their attainment of college-level academic and research skills. Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research and on four additional AP Exams of their choosing will receive the AP Capstone Diploma. This signifies their outstanding academic achievement and attainment of college-level academic and research skills. Using an inquiry framework, students practice reading and analyzing articles, research studies, and foundational, literary, and philosophical texts; listening to and viewing speeches, broadcasts, and personal accounts; and experiencing artistic works and performances. Students learn to synthesize information from multiple sources, develop their own perspectives in research-based written essays, and design and deliver oral and visual presentations, both individually and as part of a team. Ultimately, the course aims to equip students with the power to analyze and evaluate information with accuracy and precision in order to craft and communicate evidence-based arguments.

AP Chemistry

This is a first year college chemistry course. The Advanced Placement Chemistry course will cover the set curriculum as described by the College Board. Students study matter, bonding, acid-base reactions, red-ox reactions, and electro chemistry. Upon completion of the class, students are encouraged to take the AP Exam for possible college credit.

AP Computer Science A

AP Computer Science covers the College Board requirements in preparation for the Advanced Placement Computer Science A Exam. Topics are typical to those offered in a first semester college course. The topics include designing and implementing solutions to problems by writing programs, using and implementing commonly used algorithms and data structures, coding fluently in an object oriented paradigm and utilize the standard AP Java subset, and to read and understand the AP Computer Science case study. Upon completion of the class, students are encouraged to take the AP Exam for possible college credit. 

AP Computer Science Principles

The AP Computer Science Principles course is designed to be equivalent to a first semester introductory college­ computing course. The key sections of this course framework are computational thinking practices, abstraction, data and information, algorithms, programming, the internet and the global impact of computers. Upon completion of the class, students are encouraged to take the AP Exam for possible college credit.

AP English Language and Composition

The AP English Language and Composition course asks students to engage in analysis of the world around them. Everything from advertisements to literary works to the spaces in which we live becomes a text in our exploration of argument, rhetoric, and style. Through close reading of these texts, students can improve their analytical and critical thinking skills. Students will also engage in the creation of several well-developed writing assignments that will both introduce them to the rigors of college level writing and aid them in honing their own style, voice, and ability to communicate with the written word.

AP English Literature and Composition

The AP English Literature and Composition course is designed to engage students in the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature. Through the close reading of selected texts, students can deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. As they read, students should consider a work’s structure, style, and themes, as well as such smaller-scale elements as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone. 

AP Environmental Science

This is a college course in Environmental Science. The Advanced Placement Environmental Science course will cover the set curriculum as described by the College Board. Students study scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships of the natural world. Students will identify and analyze environmental problems (both natural and human-made) to evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems and to examine alternate solutions for resolving and/or preventing them. Upon completion of the class, students are encouraged to take the AP Exam for possible college credit.

AP Human Geography

The primary goal of this social studies course is to introduce students to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and alteration of Earth’s surface. Students will employ spatial concepts and landscape analysis to examine human social organization and its environmental consequences. They will learn about methods and tools geographers use in their science and practice. The advantages of the course are based on the National Geography Standards. Upon completion of this course, students are encouraged to take the Advanced Placement Human Geography exam to earn possible college credit. 

AP Macroeconomics

The primary goal of this social studies course is to introduce students to the driving forces behind financial decision making at both the government and global level. Students will analyze graphs, calculate shifts and stressors, interpret global policy and financial movements and predict future outcomes based on current evidence. This class can be taken instead of the one-semester Global Economics class. Upon completion of this course, students are encouraged to take the Advanced Placement Macroeconomics exam to earn possible college credit.

AP Music Theory

This yearlong course is designed for students who are interested in obtaining a college-level understanding of the fundamental components of music, including pitch, rhythm, form, timbre, and dynamics. Activity in complex analysis, composition, music history, keyboarding, and both melodic and rhythmic dictation will be Included. Upon completion of the class, students are encouraged to take the AP Exam for possible college credit.

AP Physics I

This is a first year college physics course. The Advanced Placement Physics course will follow the College Board parameters. Students study mechanics, electricity, waves, fluids and thermodynamics. Upon completion of the class, students are encouraged to take the AP Exam for possible college credit. This course can be taken without prior physics experience.

AP Physics II

This is an algebra-based, introductory college level physics course. Students cultivate their understanding of Physics through inquiry based investigations as they explore topics such as fluid statics and dynamics; thermodynamics with kinetic theory; PV diagrams and probability; electrostatics; electrical circuits and capacitors; magnetic fields; and others as described by the College Board.

AP Physics C

AP Physics C is equivalent to a two semester, calculus based, college level physics course, especially appropriate for students planning to specialize or major in physical science or engineering. Mechanics is covered in Semester 1, while Semester 2 focuses on electricity and magnetism. Introductory differential and integral calculus are used throughout the course, and students should have taken or be concurrently enrolled in calculus.

AP Pre-Calculus

Advanced Placement Pre-Calculus covers the College Board requirements in preparation for the Advanced Placement Pre-Calculus Exam. The course includes the review and study of linear, radical, rational, and polynomial functions and their graphs. Also, zeros of polynomials, derivatives, critical points of graphs, and inverse functions are explored. Topics useful for the study of calculus such as trigonometric identities, inverse trigonometric functions, polar coordinates, complex numbers, and limits are presented. The course concludes with a review of exponential and logarithmic functions, sequences, and series. Upon completion of the class, students are encouraged to take the AP Exam for possible college credit.

AP Psychology

The purpose of the AP course in Psychology is to introduce the systematic and scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of human beings and other animals. Included is a consideration of the psychological facts, principles, and phenomena associated with each of the major subfields within psychology. Students also learn about the ethics and methods psychologists use in their science and practice. Upon completion of this course, students are encouraged to take the Advanced Placement Psychology exam to earn possible college credit.

AP Spanish Language and Culture

AP Spanish Language is intended for students who wish to develop their proficiency in all four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students who enroll should already have knowledge of the language and culture of Spanish-speaking peoples and should have attained a reasonable proficiency in listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing. This class will expose students to a rigorous course and prepare them to take the AP Spanish Literature and Culture Test. 

AP Spanish Literature and Culture

The class uses a thematic approach to teach students about the literature of Peninsular Spanish, Latin America, and the Hispanic communities of the United States. Students utilize critical reading, analytical writing, and speaking skills to examine literature and its context within time and place. This class will expose students to a rigorous course and prepare them to take the AP Spanish Literature and Culture Test.

AP Statistics

Advanced Placement Statistics covers the College Board requirements in preparation for the Advanced Placement Statistics Exam. Topics are typical to those offered in a first semester college course. This course will expose students to four broad conceptual themes: Exploring Data, Planning a Study, Anticipating Patterns, and Statistical Inference. Upon completion of the class, students are encouraged to take the AP Exam for possible college credit.

AP Studio Art

Advanced Placement Studio Art is a yearlong college-level art-making and portfolio development experience for serious art students. In this class, students discuss and evaluate their work, explore and formulate new ideas to strengthen the content of their work, and study the work of experienced artists through slides, the internet, field trips, and selected readings. Demonstrations of new techniques are presented on an individual basis to further a student’s art-making. Students choose one area of concentration early in the year and prepare one of the following portfolios for submission to the College Board in the spring: Drawing, 2-Dimensional Design, or 3-Dimensional Design. Students should expect to continue to work on artwork and projects outside of class. This requires a commitment of 3 to 4 hours per week.

AP U.S. Government and Politics

The AP U.S. Government and Politics course is designed to be comparable to a college introductory U.S. Government course. Students develop an analytical perspective on the federal, state, and local governments and politics, including a study of general concepts used to interpret government and politics, as well as the analysis of specific examples, i.e., the United States and Illinois Constitutions. Upon completion of this course, students are encouraged to take the Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics exam to earn possible college credit. 

AP U.S. History

The AP United States History course is designed to be comparable to a freshman level college survey course. Students will master a broad body of historical knowledge, analyze and interpret documents, and develop college ­level historical writing skills. This class can be taken instead of the US History class. Upon completion of this course, students are encouraged to take the Advanced Placement U.S. History exam to earn possible college credit. 

AP World History: Modern

AP World History: Modern is an introductory college-level modern world history course. Students cultivate their understanding of world history from c. 1200 CE to the present through analyzing historical sources and learning to make connections and craft historical arguments as they explore concepts like humans and the environment, cultural developments and interactions, governance, economic systems, social interactions and organization, and technology and innovation.