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Advanced Placement at CHS
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Coconino High School offers a vibrant and rigorous Advanced Placement program. We offer 16 AP certified courses as well as many Honors courses. Students can begin taking AP courses in their Sophomore year. View all our AP course offerings below.
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All AP courses are taught at the college level within a high school framework. AP courses are aligned to the College Board curriculum and designed to prepare students for success on the AP exam, which can earn them college credit. These courses teach higher-level thinking skills, require independent study, and allow students to experience the atmosphere and expectations of a college course.
AP students are proficient readers who are able to organize their time and who have parent/ guardian support. Students who struggle with an AP course are expected to commit themselves to a greater effort and seek regular support services that should include tutoring from their teacher.
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"Student performance in college preparatory classes is the most important factor in the admission decision" - National Association for College Admission Counseling
Students who take one or more Advanced Placement® course:
- Distinguish themselves from their peers
- Receive a weighted GPA in those classes.
- Are often awarded prestigious scholarships.
- Potentially earn college credit based on AP exam scores.
- Are more likely to succeed in college.
- Are more likely to complete a Bachelors's degree in 4 years.
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AP English Literature & Composition EN98AW/BW
Grades: 11 College Prep: Yes Credit: 1.0 Duration: 1 year Fee:
Prerequisite: Summer Assignment: Yes
Students in AP English Literature have required summer reading and are encouraged to take the AP exam in May. Advanced Placement English Literature is designed to allow students to study college-level composition and literature at the high school level. Students practice the skills of close reading, critical writing and analytical discussion in an atmosphere of academic challenge. This course is designed for the serious college bound student and allows not only preparation for college but also the chance to earn college credit and/or advanced standing by taking the AP English Literature Exam. We will follow the curricular requirements in the AP English course description.
AP English Language & Composition EN97AW/BW
Grades: 12 College Prep: Yes Credit: 1.0 Duration: 1 year Fee:
Prerequisite: Summer Assignment: Yes
Students in AP English Literature have required summer reading and are encouraged to take the AP exam in May. AP English Language and Composition is designed to enable students to write effectively and confidently in their college courses and in their professional and personal lives. The course emphasizes the synthesis, analytical, and argumentative writing that forms the basis of academic and professional communication. Additionally, students read complex text with critical attention to a writer’s purpose and rhetorical strategies. This course is designed for the serious college bound student and allows not only preparation for college, but also the chance to earn college credit and/or advanced standing by taking the AP English Language Exam.
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AP Calculus IAB MA98AW/BW
Grades: 11 -12 College Prep: Yes Credit: 1.0 Duration: 1 year Fee:
Prerequisite: successful completion of Pre-AP Pre-Calculus Summer Assignment:
This course will cover the first semester college calculus and provides a study of the concepts of function, limit, continuity, derivative, integral and their applications to real-world situations. Students will synthesize skills from critical areas to complete complex application tasks as well as adhere to a higher expectation of understanding and justification of their work. Students may earn 3-6 hours college credit based on the score received on the Advanced Placement Calculus A/B exam. All students are encouraged to take the exam.
AP Statistics MA99AW/BW
Grades: 11 -12 College Prep: Yes Credit: 1.0 Duration: 1 year Fee:
Prerequisite: successful completion of Algebra II and teacher recommendation Summer Assignment:
AP Statistics is an introductory college-level statistics course that introduces students to the major concepts and tools for collecting, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from data. Students cultivate their understanding of statistics using technology, investigations, problem solving, and writing as they explore concepts like variation and distribution; patterns and uncertainty; and data-based predictions, decisions, and conclusions. Students may earn 3 hours college credit if they pass the Advanced Placement Statistics test. All students are encouraged to take the AP exam.
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AP Chemistry (Offered SY: 2022-2023; 2024-2025; 2026-2027) SC99AW/BW
Grades: 11-12 College Prep: Yes Credit: 1.0 Duration: 1 year Fee: $25.00
Prerequisites: Teacher recommendation and instructor approval. Students enrolling in AP Chemistry should have successfully completed Algebra 2 with a C or better, with the suggested enrollment in Pre-Cal or higher. Students enrolling in AP Chemistry must also have completed Chemistry 1 with a B or better or have prior instructor approval. Summer Assignment: Yes
This Advanced Placement course is designed to be the equivalent of the general chemistry course usually taken during the first year of college. The AP Chemistry course is designed to be taken only after the successful completion of high school chemistry 1. Topics include Atomic theory and atomic structure, chemical bonding, molecular models, behavior of gases, solutions, and solids, chemical reactivity and stoichiometry, chemical kinetics, thermodynamics, and dynamic equilibrium. Approximately 20% of the course is dedicated to laboratory experiments.
AP Environmental Science (APES) (Not offered during the 2022-23 school year) SC96AW/BW
Grades: 11 -12 College Prep: Yes Credit: 1.0 Duration: 1 year Fee: $25.00
Prerequisites: This course is open to Juniors and Seniors who have successfully completed Biology and either Chemistry I or Physics I with a current science teacher recommendation
This course will provide students with opportunities to gain knowledge and skills necessary to understand ecological relationships, environmental problems, and the related societal implications. As an Advanced Placement class, the course is designed to be the equivalent of a one-semester introductory college course in environmental science. Emphasis will be placed on environmental technology, oral and written communication, scientific reporting, and preparation for the AP Exam. Field studies are an integral part of this course, and field trip participation is strongly encouraged.
AP Physics I (Offered SY: 2022-2023; 2024-2025; 2026-2027) SC91AW/BW
Grades: 11 -12 College Prep: Yes Credit: 1.0 Duration: 1 year Fee: $25.00
Prerequisites: It is expected that students enrolling in this course have strong math skills in graphical methods, solving equations, and basic trigonometry. Students enrolling in AP Physics 1 should have completed geometry with a C or better, and be concurrently enrolled in Algebra II or higher. Summer Assignment: Yes
This course is offered every other year. This Advanced Placement course is a college level, algebra-based study of Newtonian Mechanics (including rotational dynamics and angular momentum) work, energy, power, and mechanical waves and sound. The course will also introduce electric circuits. This course places a heavy emphasis on college-level laboratory work with the extensive use of technology and sensors. Engineering projects will be done throughout the course to help students apply the physics concepts learned in class. Students wishing to take the AP exam to earn AP credit for either algebra or calculus-based physics may elect to take the AP Physics exam in May. AP Physics 1 is the first of a two-year course sequence. AP Physics II will cover fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism, optics, and atomic and nuclear physics.
AP Physics II (Offered SY: 2021-2022; 2023-2024; 2025-2026) SC97AW/BW
Grade: 11-12 College Prep: Yes Credit: 1.0 Duration: 1 year Fee: $25.00
Prerequisites: It is expected that students enrolling in this course have strong math skills in graphical methods, solving equations, and basic trigonometry. Students enrolling in AP Physics 2 should have completed geometry with a C or better, and be concurrently enrolled in Algebra II or higher. Students enrolling in AP Physics 2 must also have taken one or more of the following with a C or better: Pre-AP/CIT Physics, Physics, or AP Physics 1. Summer Assignment: Yes
This course is offered every other year. This Advanced Placement course is a college-level, algebra-based study of electricity, magnetism, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, light, geometric and physical optics, and modern physics. Laboratory work and problem solving is heavily emphasized in this course. Students wishing to take the AP exam to earn AP credit for algebra-based physics are encouraged to take the AP Physics exam in May.
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AP World History SS65AW/BW
Grades: 10 College Prep: Yes Credit: 1.0 Duration: 1 year Fee:
Prerequisite: English 9 Teacher Recommendation Summer Assignment: Yes
Students will understand, discuss, and write intelligently about major global historical developments from 1200 C.E. to the present. Students will develop their ability to interpret primary and secondary sources, compare civilizations, and use geographic and statistical data to draw conclusions about the causes and effects of historical events. This course
represents a freshman-level university course and students may receive university credit through the successful completion of the AP World History exam in May.AP US History SS76AW/BW
Grades: 11 College Prep: Yes Credit: 1.0 Duration: 1 year Fee:
Prerequisite: Summer Assignment: Yes
AP US History is a year-long class designed to provide an in-depth study of United States History from its beginning roots to the modern era. It prepares students for college level work as well the Advanced placement exam in the spring. All students in this course will be highly encouraged to take the AP Exam for which they can earn college credit. Students will receive a weighted grade for this class only if they complete both terms of the course.
AP American Government SS86W
Grades: 12 College Prep: Yes Credit: 0.50 Duration: 1 semester Fee:
Prerequisite: Summer Assignment: Yes
Advanced Placement American Government is an in-depth course that offers a critical exploration of the American political process. The college level curriculum explores such topics as constitutional development, political socialization, the impact of interest groups, and interrelationship of the three branches of government. This class also prepares interested students for the Advanced Placement Government exam. This class fulfills the 12th grade American Government requirement.
AP Microeconomics SS96W
Grades: 12 College Prep: Yes Credit: 0.50 Duration: 1 semester Fee:
Prerequisite: Summer Assignment: Yes
This course is an introduction to microeconomics. Microeconomics introduces students to the cost–benefit analysis that is the economic way of thinking. This analysis is used to understand smaller segments of the economy—specifically, consumers and producers—as they interact in output markets and resource markets, and to understand the government’s impact on these specific economic units. This course has a strong emphasis on analyzing current events and the practical implementation of economic decisions and policies. The course fulfills Arizona's state standards for Economics.
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AP Spanish Language & Culture (Offered SY: 2022-2023; 2024-2025; 2026-2027) ML102AW/BW
Grades: 10 -12 College Prep: Yes Credit: 1.0 Duration: 1 year Fee:
Prerequisite: Summer Assignment:
The AP Spanish Language and Culture course emphasizes communication by applying the interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational modes of communication in real-life situations. This includes vocabulary usage, language control, communication strategies, and cultural awareness. To best facilitate the study of language and culture, the course is taught almost exclusively in Spanish. The AP Spanish Language and Culture course engages students in an exploration of culture in both contemporary and historical contexts. The course develops students' awareness and appreciation of cultural products, practices and perspectives. College credit may be granted to students who achieve a score of 3, 4 or 5 on the AP Spanish test.
AP Spanish Literature & Culture (Offered SY: 2021-2022; 2023-2024; 2025-2026) ML104A/B
Grades: 11-12 College Prep: Yes Credit: 1.0 Duration: 1 year Fee:
Prerequisite: Summer Assignment:
AP Spanish Language & Literature is designed to introduce students to the formal study of Peninsular Spanish, Latin American, and U.S. Hispanic literature. The course aims to develop students’ critical reading and analytical writing skills in Spanish as well as their ability to make interdisciplinary connections and explore linguistic and cultural comparisons. Students are expected to discuss literary texts and their different historical, socio-cultural and geopolitical contexts in a variety of interactive oral and written formats in Spanish. Additionally, students will analyze themes and features of artistic representations, audiovisual materials and audio sources in Spanish related to course content. College credit may be granted to students who achieve a score of 3, 4 or 5 on the AP Spanish test.
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AP Music Theory MU95AW
Grades: 11-12 College Prep: Yes Credit: 1.0 Duration: 1 year Fee:
Prerequisite: Prerequisites: 1. Membership in a high school music performance ensemble OR 2. Instructor Approval AND 3. Must be a current junior or senior. Summer Assignment:
Through this class, students will gain a better understanding of the way that music is constructed. Concepts included will be basic music notation and analysis, key signatures, chord recognition and resolution, rhythmic construction, interval recognition, and basic compositional techniques. The class will include ear training and sight singing, which will help students to develop and expand their auditory recognition of concepts covered in class. An overview of music history will also be included as part of the class. Overall, AP Music Theory will help develop each student’s musicianship and overall understanding of written music.
AP Computer Science Principles CT102A/B
Grades: 11-12 College Prep: Yes Credit: 1.0 Duration: 1 year Fee: $30
Prerequisite: Algebra 1 credit with a C or better and English 9. Summer Assignment:
AP Computer Science Principles offers a multidisciplinary approach to teaching the underlying principles of computation. The course will introduce students to the creative aspects of programming, abstractions, algorithms, large data sets, the Internet, cybersecurity concerns, and computing impacts. AP Computer Science Principles also gives students the opportunity to use current technologies to create computational artifacts for both self-expression and problem solving. Together, these aspects of the course make up a rigorous and rich curriculum that aims to broaden participation in computer science.