MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT AP COURSE APPLICATION POLICY

APPLYING FOR AP MATHEMATICS COURSES

• Students currently enrolled in Algebra II (15) must:
  • exceed course expectations
  • receive a teacher recommendation
  • be approved for dual enrollment in Precalculus (15) and AP Statistics to be considered for AP Statistics.
• Students currently enrolled in Precalculus (10) must:
  • exceed course expectations
  • have their teacher's recommendation.
• Students currently enrolled in Precalculus (15), Calculus, AP Calculus AB, or AP Calculus BC must:
  • meet course expectations
  • have their teacher's recommendation.

AP CALCULUS AB

COURSE DESCRIPTION
AP Calculus AB is for students who excel in mathematics. It emphasizes both the theoretical and practical applications of calculus. Topics covered include properties of analytic geometry, transcendental functions, limits, derivatives, anti-derivatives, and definite integrals. All students enrolled in an AP course must take the AP exam (Calculus AB) in May. 

Outcome: "Meeting Expectations" AP Statistics

AP CALCULUS BC

COURSE DESCRIPTION
AP Calculus BC is a year-long course that begins by extending and deepening students’ calculus knowledge by reviewing AP Calculus AB topics through a more rigorous and theoretical lens. Base skills are assumed to be strong, but this review intends to improve students’ formal notational skills, deepen theoretical connections, and apply skills to more complex and challenging tasks. Once the AB material has been addressed, the students will study advanced integration techniques, the calculus of polar and parametric equations, sequences and series, and more rigorous treatments of differential equations and slope fields. Once these topics are covered, students may independently explore and present advanced topics in mathematics or introductory multivariable calculus.

AP Statistics introduces students to the major concepts and tools for collecting, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from data. Students are exposed to four broad conceptual themes: exploring data, planning a study, anticipating patterns, and statistical inference. This Advanced Placement course is equivalent to a one-semester, introductory, non-calculus-based college course in statistics. The AP Statistics course is an excellent option for any student who has completed Algebra II, regardless of the student’s intended college major. Much of the content of an introductory statistics course does not require any symbol manipulations beyond the level of first-year algebra; however, students must also possess mathematical maturity and quantitative reasoning ability to be successful in a beginning statistics course.