Advanced Placement Capstone Program
AP Capstone™ is a College Board program that equips students with the independent research, collaborative teamwork, and communication skills that are increasingly valued by colleges. It cultivates curious, independent, and collaborative scholars and prepares them to make logical, evidence-based decisions. AP Capstone is comprised of two AP courses – AP Seminar and AP Research – and is designed to complement and enhance the discipline-specific study in other AP courses. The AP Capstone program provides unique research opportunities for current AP students, or to expand access to AP by encouraging students to master the argumentbased writing skills that the AP Capstone program develops. (The College Board) Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in both the AP Capstone Seminar and the AP Capstone Research courses and on four additional AP exams of their choosing will receive the AP Capstone Diploma. Those students who earn scores of 3 or higher in both of the AP Capstone courses but not on the four additional AP exams will receive the AP Capstone Certificate.
AP Capstone Seminar – 1 credit Grade 10 - 12 Prerequisites: Sophomores must take Humanities II or Humanities II in Action concurrently with this course and get departmental approval; juniors and seniors need departmental approval. Home Learning: Heavy Course Description This course is completely focused on developing a student’s skills in critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity. Students develop and refine their investigative and analytical skills through the interdisciplinary study of a variety of themes, which are often current global topics. Students analyze the complexity of an issue that presses beyond understanding a single perspective toward an awareness of the cultural, economic, political, and social factors that give poignancy to the most pressing global challenges facing contemporary humanity. Individual ability to transfer skills and make connections between disciplines is greatly enhanced through the Seminar course. Students articulate their learning through writing, discussion, presentation and reflection. Collaboration is another critical component in the Seminar course where students complete a team research project as part of the overall course assessments. College Board Assessments Assessment overview for the AP Exam: Performance Task I – 20% of AP Score Team Project and Presentation Performance Task 2 – 35% of AP Score Individual Research-Based Essay and Presentation End of Course Exam – 45% of AP Score Classroom Assessments (non-AP) To be successful in this class, students must come prepared to engage in discussion and critical thinking. While there is no prescribed content that must be mastered, there are thinking, writing and speaking skills that need to be developed. Students are encouraged to keep pace with reading and writing assignments to enhance the richness
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