EBHS AP Course Catalog

East Boston High School
Honors & Advanced Placement

Course Catalog

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East Boston High School Department Of Academic Support
Advanced Placement & Honors Program

Advanced Placement (AP) is a program recognized in both the United
States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-
level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and
universities may grant placement and course credit to students who obtain high
scores on the examinations. The AP curriculum for each of the various subjects
is created for the College Board by a panel of experts and college-level
educators in that field of study. For a high school course to have the designation,
the course must be audited by the College Board to ascertain that it satisfies the
AP curriculum. If the course is approved, the school may use the AP designation
and the course will be publicly listed on the AP Course Ledger

To Apply: Students interested in applying for honors courses must meet basic
academic requirements including a grade of "B" or better. Students interested in
applying for advanced placement courses must meet basic academic
requirements including a grade of "B" or better in honors level pre-requisite
courses or "A" in non-honors classes. For more information, students should
meet with their guidance counselors

Requirements: Students interested in applying for either honors or advanced
placement courses must meet at least one of the following minimum
standardized test scores: MCAS (grade 8 or 10) score of 220 or above. PSAT
score of 45 / Honors ELA courses only. Minimum score of 7 in one school wide
writing prompt or minimum score of 14 in MCAS long composition. Students who
do not meet either of these requirements must demonstrate their writing ability
through submission of a specific writing prompt with teacher recommendation
and good attendance (90% or better)

Entrance Waiver Process: Students who do not meet the entrance
requirements for honors/AP courses may ask that the entrance requirements be
waived by following this procedure: Obtain 2 letters of recommendation from
teachers who have recently instructed the student. The letter should attest to the
student's commitment and ability to handle the rigors of advanced placement
work and complete an interview with the Committee.

East Boston High School Department Of Academic Support
Advanced Placement & Honors Course Descriptions

AP English Language and Composition:
Students in Advanced Placement Language and Composition will read and
carefully analyze a broad and challenging range of prose selections, and develop
their awareness of how language works. Through close reading and frequent
writing, students will develop their ability to work with language and texts with
greater awareness of purpose and strategy, while strengthening their own
composing abilities. While the reading assignments feature expository, analytical,
and argumentative essays from a variety of authors and historical contexts,
students examine and respond to American writing as well. Admission to
Advanced Placement Language and Composition is determined by special
committee, which considers the student's grades, attendance, and attitude as
well as teacher recommendations. Students are expected to take the Advanced
Placement Language and Composition exam at the end of the school year.

AP English Literature and Composition:
Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition is designed to develop
students’ reading, writing, and critical thinking skills through an intensive
examination and analysis of literary and poetic works. It is anticipated that
students will, at the end of this course, be able to read and interpret literary works
with accuracy and depth, and be able to critique these works in strong and
individual writing, which meets the demands of the AP Examination. Admission to
AP English Literature and Composition is determined by special committee,
which considers the student's grades, attendance, and attitude as well as teacher
recommendations.

AP Calculus AB:
Students will review and enhance their pre-calculus concepts. Students will study
the limit process, the derivative and its applications, which includes topics such
as maximization, related rates, average and instantaneous rates of change, and
the definite and indefinite integrals as well as their applications. Concepts will be
studied and reviewed thoroughly, as our emphasis is placed on preparing
students for the AP Calculus exam.

AP Statistics:
This course is designed to prepare students to collect, analyze, and draw
conclusions from data. Students will learn how to view data through a
discriminatory eye to determine validity and be able to interpret data and analysis
that is valid. The course is somewhat different than other traditional mathematics
courses because it provides an answer to the age-old mathematics student
question of, “When are we going to use this?” Students will use real data,
whether self collected or from a primary source, to perform analysis or to test
hypotheses. Students will conduct simulations and studies to help anchor topics

throughout the course. Data will come from a variety of sources ranging from
national newspapers to organization websites.

AP Environmental Science:
The goal of the AP Environmental Science course is to provide students with the
scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand the
interrelationships of the natural world, to identify and analyze environmental
problems both natural and human-made, to evaluate the relative risks associated
with these problems, and to examine alternative solutions for resolving or
preventing them. Environmental science is interdisciplinary; it embraces a wide
variety of topics from different areas of study. Yet there are several major
unifying constructs, or themes, that cut across the many topics included in the
study of environmental science.

AP Biology:
The AP Biology course is designed to be the equivalent of a two-semester
college introductory biology course usually taken by biology majors during their
first year. After showing themselves to be qualified on the AP Exam, some
students, in their first year of college, are permitted to take upper-level courses in
biology or register for courses for which biology is a prerequisite. Other students
may have fulfilled a basic requirement for a laboratory-science course and will be
able to undertake other courses to pursue their majors. AP Biology should
include those topics regularly covered in a college biology course for majors. The
college course in biology differs significantly from the usual first high school
course in biology with respect to the kind of textbook used, the range and depth
of topics covered, the type of laboratory work done by students, and the time and
effort required of students. The textbooks used for AP Biology should be those
used by college biology majors. The kinds of labs done by AP students must be
the equivalent of those done by college students.

AP Chemistry:
AP Chemistry is a challenging and fun course open to all students who did well in
previous chemistry classes, and are interested in science, and who are
committed to working hard. As part of this class, students will have the
opportunity to do lab experiments at local universities, including UMass Boston
and Northeastern, and to participate in summer and weekend enrichment
activities that will help them prepare for the AP exam in May. The class also
involves field trips to learn about how chemistry is applied in the real world. This
class is excellent preparation for college because it helps students to develop
problem-solving skills and analytical abilities that are useful in all types of college
classes. The course follows the AP curriculum set by the College Board, which
involves doing in-depth lab work through a series of exciting experiments. We will
study topics such as acids and bases, atomic theory and atomic structure,
chemical bonding, nuclear chemistry, laws of ideal gases, kinetic molecular

theory, liquids and solids, solutions, reaction types, stoichiometry, equilibrium,
kinetics, thermodynamics and several descriptive aspects of chemistry.

AP American Government and Politics:
The United States Government and Politics Advanced Placement class is
designed to give students an analytical perspective on government and politics in
the United States. This course includes both the study of general concepts used
to interpret U.S politics, and the analysis of specific examples. It also requires
familiarity with the various institutions, groups, beliefs, and ideas that constitute
U.S. politics. Students will become acquainted with the variety of theoretical
perspectives and explanations for various behaviors and outcomes.

AP Studio Art:
Advanced Placement Studio Art offers exemplary visual arts students intensive,
focused and advanced study, studio application, reflection, methods, peer and
expert critique, and assessment. Students will develop a thesis portfolio reflective
of their mastery of skills, their understanding of the elements of arts, design, and
visual communication in several mediums.. Students will work independently
(with teacher facilitation) to analyze and interpret art works in relation to form,
context, and purpose. Students will submit a portfolio.

AP Spanish Literature:
AP Spanish Language is intended for students who wish to develop proficiency
and integrate their language skills, using authentic materials and sources.
Students who enroll should already have a basic knowledge of the Spanish
language and culture. Although these qualifications may be attained in a variety
of ways, it is assumed that most students will be in the final stages of their
secondary school training and will have had appropriate course work in the
language.

AP Human Geography:
The Advanced Placement Program offers a course and exam in Human
Geography to qualified students who wish to complete studies in secondary
school equivalent to an introductory college course in human geography. The
exam presumes at least one semester of college- level preparation, as is
described in this book. The inclusion of material in this course description and in
the exam is not intended as an endorsement by the College Board or ETS of the
content, ideas, or values expressed in the material. The material has been
selected by geographers who serve as members of the AP Human Geography
Development Committee. In their judgment, the material printed here reflects the
content of a typical introductory college course in human geography. The exam is
representative of such a course and therefore is considered appropriate for the
measurement of skills and knowledge in the field of introductory human
geography.