About AP Classes
Through AP's college-level courses and exams, you can earn college credit and advanced placement, stand out in the admissions process, and learn from some of the most skilled, dedicated, and inspiring teachers in the world.
Earning College Credit or Advance Placement
With qualifying AP Exam scores, you can earn credit, advanced placement or both at more than 90 percent of colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.
Individual colleges and universities, not the College Board or the AP Program, grant course credit and placement. You should obtain a college’s AP policy in writing. You can find this information in the institution’s catalog or on its web site, or by using the AP Credit Policy Info search at www.collegeboard.com/ap/credit policy.
Colleges that receive your AP score report will typically notify you during the summer of any advanced placement, credit or exemption you have earned. You can also contact your college to find out the status of your AP credits.
AP Courses Offered at Los Amigos
Art Appreciation and History AP (P)
Year course open to grades 10, 11, and 12; no semester entry permitted
Credits: 10 Maximum credits: 10
Students survey the history of art from cave paintings to contemporary artwork. Focus is on the development of critical thinking skills, vocabulary, and writing skills, while exposing students to key works of art in a wide variety of cultures. Students analyze common characteristics of visual arts evident across time and among cultural groups to formulate analysis, evaluations, and interpretations of meaning. The course is designed to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement Examination. (Weighted Class)
Studio Art (Art Portfolio) AP
Year course open to grades 11 and 12
Credits: 10 Maximum credits: 20
Prerequisites: Recommendation from visual art teacher The AP Studio Art course is designed for the practical experience of art. AP studio art is not based on a written exam; instead, students submit portfolios for evaluation at the end of the school year. The portfolio choices are 2-D design, 3-D design, and drawing. Assignments are designed with the following goals for the student: participate in a creative and systematic investigation of formal and conceptual issues, understand art as an ongoing process that involves the student in informed and critical decision making, develop technical skills, familiarize student with the functions of the visual elements, and become independent thinkers who will contribute inventively and critically to their culture through the making of art. Students must submit a portfolio to the College Board for evaluation and college credit. (Weighted Class)
English Language and Composition AP
Year course
Credits: 10 Maximum credits: 10
AP English Language and Composition is a college level course that engages motivated students in becoming skilled readers and writers. The course often allows students to write in a variety of forms including narrative, exploratory, expository, and argumentative and on a variety of subjects from personal experiences to public policies, from imaginative literature to popular culture. The overarching purpose is to prepare students to write effectively and confidently in their college courses across the curriculum and in their professional and personal lives. The course assumes that students already understand and use standard English grammar. The intense concentration on language use in this course should enhance their ability to use grammatical conventions both appropriately and with sophistication as well as to develop stylistic maturity in their prose. Students should expect regular timed writing assignments and process papers in a variety of literature or discussion based topics. Both reading and writing should make students aware of the interactions among the author, the audience, the subject itself, generic conventions, and the resources of language including syntax, word choice, and tone. In May, students will have an opportunity to take the AP English Language and Composition exam given by the College Board and receive college credit if passing scores are achieved. The course is designed to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement Examination. (Weighted Class)
English Literature and Composition AP
Year course
Credits: 10 Maximum credits: 10
English Literature and Composition AP is a college level course which engages motivated students in becoming skilled readers of prose of the sixteenth century from both the English and American traditions. This course includes intensive study of representative works from various genres and periods, concentrating on the social and historical values it reflects and embodies. Textual detail and historical context will provide a foundation for interpretation. Writing assignments focus on the critical analysis of literature and will include expository, analytical, and argumentative essays. Throughout the course, emphasis will be placed on helping students develop stylistic maturity and critical perspectives. Students will be expected to analyze a passage or poem and discuss how elements of figurative language, irony, syntax, and tone in the study and practice of writing as well as in the study of literature. In May, students will have an opportunity to take the AP Literature and Composition exam given by the College Board and receive college credit if passing scores are achieved. (Weighted Class)
United States Government and Politics (Civics) AP
Semester course open to grade 12
Credits: 5 Maximum credits: 5
This course will give students an analytical perspective on government and politics in the United States. Students will study in depth the various institutions, groups, beliefs, and ideas that constitute American politics. The course is designed to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement Examination. (Weighted Class)
Macroeconomics AP
Semester course open to grade 12
Credits: 5 Maximum credits: 5
This course is designed to give students a thorough understanding of the principles of economics that apply to an economic system as a whole. The course places emphasis on the study of national income and price-level determination and familiarizes students with economic performance measures, the financial sector, stabilization policies, economic growth, and international economics. The course is designed to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement Examination. (Weighted Class)
United States History AP
Year course open to grades 11 and 12 (Recommended for grade 11)
Credits: 10 Maximum credits: 10
This course is designed to provide students with the analytic skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in U.S. History. The course prepares students for intermediate and advanced college courses by making demands upon them equivalent to those made by full-year introductory college courses. Students will learn how to assess historical materials and to weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship. The course is designed to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement Examination. (Weighted Class)
World History AP
Year course open to grades 10, 11, and 12 (Recommended for grade 10)
Credits: 10 Maximum credits: 10
This course is designed to develop greater understanding of the evolution of global processes in interaction with different types of human societies. The course highlights the nature of changes in international frameworks and their causes and consequences, as well as comparisons among major societies. The course is designed to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement Examination. (Weighted Class)
European History AP
Year course open to grades 10, 11, and 12
Credits: 10 Maximum credits: 10
This course is designed to study European History since 1450 and introduces students to cultural, economic, political, and social developments that have played a fundamental role in shaping today’s world. The course is designed to develop an understanding of some of the principal themes in modern European history and to develop an ability to analyze historical evidence and historical interpretation. The course is designed to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement Examination. (Weighted Class)
Probability and Statistics AP
Year course open to grades 11 and 12
Credits: 10 Maximum credits: 10
Placement: Successful completion of Algebra 2, Algebra 2/Trigonometry, Trigonometry/Probability and Statistics or Precalculus This course is designed to assist students to observe patterns and departures from patterns, to decide what and how to measure, to produce models using probability and simulation, and to confirm models. The goal of AP Statistics is to introduce students to the major concepts and tools for collecting, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from data. Another goal is to prepare students to be successful on the Advanced Placement Statistics examination. (Weighted class) The course is designed to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement Examination.
Calculus AB AP
Year course open to grades 11 and 12
Credits: 10 Maximum credits: 10
Placement: Successful completion of Precalculus
This course is designed as an introduction to analysis including functions, limits, differentiation, the definite integral, techniques of integration, and applications. The course includes topics covered in the AB Calculus Advanced Placement examination. The major goal of AP Calculus AB is to assist students in developing the basic concepts and rules of calculus, preparing students for college-level courses in mathematics and science, and preparing students to be successful on the AB Calculus Advanced Placement examination. (Weighted class) The course is designed to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement Examination.
Music Theory AP
Year course open to grades 9, 10, 11, and 12; no semester entry permitted Credits: 10 Maximum credits: 10
This course is designed for the student who wishes to gain an in-depth understanding of the way music is composed. Specific areas addressed are: composition, harmonization, counterpoint, and development of aural and notation skills, including sight singing, melodic and rhythmic dictation. The student is given opportunities to compose and perform original music in class. Attention is given to pertinent historical information. Prominent composers are discussed. (Weighted Class)
Biology AP
Year course open to grades 10, 11, and 12
Credits: 10 Maximum credits: 10
Prerequisite: Completion Biology (P) and Chemistry (P)
The Advanced Placement Biology course is designed to be the equivalent of a general biology course at the college level. The course is divided into three broad content areas: molecular and cellular, heredity and evolution, and organisms and population. Course content is designed to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement Examination in Biology. (Weighted Class)
Chemistry AP
Year course open to grades 11 and 12
Credits: 10 Maximum credits: 10
Prerequisite: Completion of Chemistry (P) and Algebra 2 (P) or higher math
The Advanced Placement Chemistry course is designed to be the equivalent of a general chemistry course at the college level. Matter and its interactions are studied both quantitatively and qualitatively. The course content is designed to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement Examination in Chemistry. (Weighted Class)
Physics B AP
Year course open to grades 10, 11, and 12 Credits: 10 Maximum credits: 10
Prerequisites: Concurrent enrollment or successful completion of Algebra 2/Trig
The Advanced Placement Physics B course is trigonometry based and designed to be the equivalent of a general physics course at the college level. The fundamental natural laws of nature are studied in depth. The course content is designed to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement Examination in Physics B. (Weighted Class)
Spanish Language AP
Year course open to grades 9, 10, 11 and 12
Credits: 10 per course Maximum credits: 10 per course
Prerequisite: Completion of previous levels of language, if applicable The course is designed to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement Examination. (Weighted Class)
Spanish Language AP
Year course open to grades 9, 10, 11 and 12
Credits: 10 per course Maximum credits: 10 per course
Prerequisite: Completion of previous levels of language, if applicable
The course is designed to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement Examination. (Weighted Class)
French Language AP
Year course open to grades 11 and 12 Credits: 10 per course Maximum credits: 10 per course
The course is designed to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement Examination. (Weighted Class)