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AP Capstone Certificate / Diploma

North Oldham High School is one of more than 100 schools world-wide to implement AP Capstone™ ─ an innovative program that allows students to engage in the rigorous development of skills critical for success in college inquiry, research, collaboration, and writing. The program includes a two-course sequence: AP® Seminar and AP® Research. Developed in response to feedback from higher education faculty and college admission officers, AP® Capstone™ complements the in-depth, subject-specific rigor of AP courses and exams. The first of the two AP Capstone™ courses, AP® Seminar, will start at North Oldham High School in fall 2014.

The AP® Seminar course, typically taken in 10th or 11th grade, will equip students with the power to explore academic and real-world issues through an interdisciplinary lens and consider multiple points of view. Through a variety of materials ─ from articles and research studies to foundational and philosophical texts ─ students will be challenged to explore complex questions, understand and evaluate opposing viewpoints, interpret and synthesize information, and develop, communicate, and defend their own points of view. Teachers have the flexibility of choosing themes based on student interests, whether they are local and/or civic issues or international topics. Students are assessed through an individual and team project completed during the year and a year-end written exam.

The subsequent AP® Research course, will allow students to design, plan, and conduct a yearlong mentored investigation on a topic of their choosing. Students will build on the skills learned in the AP® Seminar course by using research methodology, employing ethical research practices, and accessing, analyzing, and synthesizing information to present and defend an argument.

Students who earn scores of 3 or higher on the AP® Seminar and AP Research® Exams, and scores of 3 or higher on four AP Exams of their choosing will receive the AP Capstone Diploma™. Students who earn qualifying scores on the two AP Capstone exams but do not take or earn qualifying scores on four additional AP Exams will earn the AP Seminar and Research Certificate™.

PRE-REQUISITES: None

RECOMMENDED FOR: 10th / 11th (AP Seminar); 12th (AP Research)

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