VHS Course Catalog

AP® U.S. History Section AA

Description
This is a college level history course designed to meet the needs of highly motivated students who have a strong interest and ability in history. The student is expected to read and analyze both primary and secondary source materials and to demonstrate ability to interpret and evaluate these sources in essay form. Students will take the Advanced Placement American History exam in May, as preparation for this exam is a major goal of this course. Therefore, the course is content driven with heavy emphasis on written critical analysis. Extensive reading writing and class discussions are integral components of the program.

Students should expect 40-50 pages of reading weekly.

The AP program in United States History is designed to provide students with the analytical skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in United States history. The program prepares students for intermediate and advanced college courses by making demands upon them equivalent to those made by full-year introductory college courses. Students should learn to assess historical materials- their relevance to a given interpretive problem, their reliability, and their importance- and to weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship. An AP United States History course should thus develop the skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on the basis of an informed judgment and to present reasons and evidence clearly and persuasively in an essay format.

Students enrolled in Advanced Placement VHS courses are required to take the AP exam, and are required to report their AP examination scores to VHS (note: students who are failing their AP class are not required to take the exam). Upon receipt of the student's exam score, each score will be recorded by VHS and assigned an anonymous tracking number to ensure student anonymity and confidentiality. By enrolling in an AP VHS class, the student authorizes their school site coordinator and school administration to report AP examination scores to VHS. Exam results will not affect the student's VHS grade or future enrollment in VHS courses.

Course Objectives
1. This course will be designed to offer those students interested in taking the AP Exam the greatest possible chance of passing
2. This class will provide an understanding of past concepts related to present ones
3. This course can be used as a tool for those students preparing for college to get aquatinted with the demands of a post secondary curriculum.