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Gilbert Public Schools Offers AP Capstone Diploma Program at Highland High & Campo Verde High
[Gilbert, AZ]— Highland High School and Campo Verde High School are two of approximately 1,800 schools worldwide to implement the AP Capstone™ Diploma program―an innovative program that allows students to develop the skills that matter most for college success, such as research, collaboration, and communication. The program consists of two courses taken in sequence: AP® Seminar and AP Research.
Students who score a 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research and on four additional AP Exams of their choosing earn the AP Capstone Diploma™. This signifies outstanding academic achievement and attainment of college-level academic and research skills. Students who score a 3 or higher in both AP Seminar and AP Research (but not on four additional AP Exams) earn the AP Seminar and Research Certificate™.
Highland High School has been offering this program since 2017 and Campo Verde High School will start offering AP Seminar in the fall of 2019. “
AP Capstone is a great opportunity for our schools to build on the AP classes already being offered. Through the addition of AP Seminar and AP Research students gain the opportunity to further their critical thinking and writing skills, key skill development that will support our students to thrive in college,“ commented Mr. Shane McCord, Superintendent of Gilbert Public Schools.
In AP Seminar, typically taken in 10th or 11th grade, students choose and evaluate complex topics through multiple lenses; identify credibility and bias in sources; and develop arguments in support of a recommendation. AP Seminar is a project-based learning course. Official AP Seminar assessments include research reports, written arguments, and presentations completed during the academic year.
In the subsequent AP Research course, students design, execute, present, and defend a yearlong research-based investigation on a topic of individual interest. They build on skills developed in AP Seminar by learning how to understand research methodology; employ ethical research practices; and collect, analyze, and synthesize information to contribute to academic research. Like AP Seminar, AP Research is a project-based course. Each student’s official AP Research score is based on their academic paper, presentation, and oral defense.
“We’re proud to offer AP Capstone, which enables students and teachers to focus on topics of their choice in great depth,” said Trevor Packer, senior vice president for AP and instruction at the College Board. He adds, “This provides terrific opportunities for students to develop the ability to write and present their work effectively, individually and in groups—the very skills college professors want their students to possess.”
In partnership with the higher education community, the College Board developed AP Capstone so students can practice skills that serve them well in college and career.
For more information about these programs, and upcoming Open Houses and AP Capstone Information Events please reach out directly to the school or visit www.gilbertschools.net.
About AP
The College Board’s Advanced Placement® Program (AP®) enables willing and academically prepared students to pursue college-level studies—with the opportunity to earn college credit, advanced placement, or both—while still in high school. Through AP courses in 38 subjects, each culminating in a rigorous exam, students learn to think critically, construct solid arguments, and see many sides of an issue—skills that prepare them for college and beyond. Taking AP courses demonstrates to college admission officers that students have sought the most rigorous curriculum available to them, and research indicates that students who score a 3 or higher on an AP Exam typically experience greater academic success in college and are more likely to earn a college degree than non-AP students. Each AP teacher’s syllabus is evaluated and approved by faculty from some of the nation’s leading colleges and universities, and AP Exams are developed and scored by college faculty and experienced AP teachers. Most four-year colleges and universities in the United States grant credit, advanced placement, or both on the basis of successful AP Exam scores―more than 3,800 institutions worldwide annually receive AP scores. In the last decade, AP participation and performance rates have nearly doubled. In May 2018, 2.8 million students representing more than 22,612 schools around the world, both public and nonpublic, took 5.1 million AP Exams.