OVERTON HIGH SCHOOLFEBRUARY 15, 2011

2012-2013 ACADEMIC PLAN

ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) & HONORS COURSE

OVERVIEW

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFFSchool for the Creative and Performing Arts

Advanced Academics consists of Advanced Placement and Honors courses.

  These high level courses give students a taste of college level classes and help them develop the skills to succeed.  Advanced Placement and honors classes allow students to develop both academic and personal abilities in a supportive environment before facing the demands of college life.

If your sights are set on college and you enjoy challenging classes, AP classes may be just right

for you. 

AP STUDENT BENIFIT

AP students have the opportunity to earn both high school credits and college credits.  Taking the end-of-course AP exam is required for students to earn the AP designation on their transcript.  Based on their scores on the AP exam, AP students may also earn college credit(s) which are accepted at 3600 colleges and universities.

AP students: Get noticed in the college admissions process. 90% of 4-year U.S. colleges and universities grant credit or

advanced placement for qualifying AP exam scores. Demonstrate readiness for rigorous, college level work. Learn from highly qualified, motivational teachers. Develop skills, such as writing, speaking, and problem-solving,

needed to earn top grades in college courses. Possibly qualify for a college scholarship.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP)COURSE OFFERING

BIOLOGYCHEMISTRYCALCULUS (AB)ENGLISH LANGUAGE & COMPOSITION (11th Grade)ENGLISH LITURATURE & COMPOSITION (12th Grade)GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - U.S.HUMAN GEOGRAPHYSPANISH LANGUAGEU.S. HISTORYWORLD HISTORY

Creative and Performing Arts (Optional Enrollment ONLY)MUSIC THEORY STUDIO ART 2-D DESIGNSTUDIO ART DRAWING STUDIO ART 3-D DESIGN

AP COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Complete and submit application.Students are selected based on completion of

pre-requisite coursework, teacher recommendation, and application assignment evaluation.

Pre-requisite coursework will be verified via official MCS Transcript.

Students must complete summer assignments.

All AP students must complete the AP Exam.

MCSGRADING POLICY4.600

ADVANCED PLACEMENT POLICY

The AP examination is administered by the College Entrance Examination Board. An AP course places emphasis on advanced subject matter content which is comparable to a college level course.

College level textbooks, study assignments, and course requirements are to be utilized. The primary goal is to enable students to score appropriately on the College Board AP examination and earn college credit at participating colleges.

All students enrolled in an AP course must take the AP exam. At the beginning of the school year, students should make appropriate financial arrangements at their school to cover the examination fees for the course(s) in which they enroll.

Fee reductions for needy students can be arranged with Educational Testing Services.

Students are not exempt from exams in AP courses because of the courses’ college format. Completion of the AP exam does not exempt students from that course’s final semester examination.

AP and the Cost of College

Mrs. KelleyAP Coordinator

Please refer to your handout.

HONORS STUDENT BENEFIT

Honors classes are designed:To help students develop high level thinking

skills. To expose them to the rigor of college

courses, and To give them a foundation for Advanced

Placement classes, dual enrollment classes, and/or post-secondary education (college/university).

HONORS COURSE OFFERING

ADVANCED COMPUTER PROGRAMING IAFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORYALGEBRA IALGEBRA IIANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY IBIOLOGY ICALCULUSCHEMISTRYENGLISH IENGLISH IIENGLISH IIIENGLISH IVETYMOLOGY & MYTHOLOGY

FACING HISTORY & CONTEMPORARY ISSUES

PHYSICAL SCIENCEPRE-AP ENGLISH IIPRE-CALCULUSCOMPUTER PROGRAMING I & IISPANISH ISPANISH IISPANISH IIIU.S. HISTORYUNIFIED GEOMETRYWORLD GEOGRAPHYWORLD HISTORY

HONORS COURSE OFFERING (cont.)

Creative and Performing Arts (Optional Enrollment ONLY)

CLASS PIANO I, II, III, & IV SENIOR BAND I, II, III, & IV

CREATIVE WRITING I & II STAGE BAND I, II, III, & IVDANCE I, II, III, & IV SHOW CHOIRMUSIC THEORY & HARMONY THEATRE ARTS I, II, III,&

IVORCHESTRA I, II, III, & IV VISUAL DESIGN I & IIPHOTOGRAPHY VOCAL MUSIC I, II, III, & IV

HONORS COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Pre-requisite coursework will be verified via official MCS Transcript.

The test data used to determine honors placement must be a nationally-normed standardized test. 8th and 9th grade students will be assigned to honors courses based on an

EXPLORE composite score of 14 or higher. 10th and 11th grade students will be assigned to honors courses based on a

PLAN composite score of 15 or higher. The ACT composite scores may be used for honors placement for 11th and/or

12th grade students.Students will be assigned honors courses as a continuation of the

honors program of study by maintaining a “C” average or better.Student must complete summer assignments.All students must complete the final exam which will be graded

by the teacher.

MCS POLICY 4.600

Grade Point Average (GPA)

Grade Point Average is calculated based on semester grades for each semester taken.

Un-weighted GPA – The un-weighted GPA for students is calculated based on the un-weighted semester grades for each semester taken.

State of Tennessee Uniform Grading System Weighted GPA (Hope/Lottery Scholarship GPA) – The Hope/Lottery Scholarship GPA is calculated by the district’s student management system and includes the addition of three (3) percentage points to the semester grades for honors and national industry certification courses and the addition of five (5) percentage points for advanced placement and international baccalaureate courses that have end-of-course national examinations.

Memphis City Schools Weighted GPA – The MCS weighted GPA is calculated using the following grade points assigned to each letter grade for courses in grades 7-12 and will depend upon course difficulty as seen on the next slide:

Enriched (Level 6) AP (Level 8)

A = 5 grade points B = 4 grade points C = 3 grade pointsD = 1 grade pointF = 0 grade points

A = 6 grade points B = 5 grade points C = 4 grade points D = 1 grade point F = 0 grade points

WEIGHTED GPA

STANDARD (Lev el 4)A = 4 grade points B = 3 grade points C=2 grade points

D = 1 grade points F= 0 grade points

AP AND HONOR STAFF

AP COURSE REGISTRATION

Applications are available tonight and through April 10, 2012.

Upon completion, the application should be given to Mrs. Tipton (Room 143) by April 10, 2012.

All applications will be reviewed and candidates selected by April 30.

Candidates will be notified of acceptance by May 1.

The last day to drop an AP is May 15, 2012.Pick up summer assignments May 14-18.

NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY CRITERIA

To be considered for membership in the National Honor Society a student must be a sophomore, junior, or senior.

Candidates for membership in the NHS must have been in attendance at the school for the equivalent of one semester. Based on the recommendation of the principal at the student’s previous school, the Faculty Council may waive this provision for transfer students and students with special circumstances, such as students of military parents who are required to move with parents who have transferred in their work.

To be considered for membership in the NHS a Memphis City Schools student must maintain a minimum unweighted cumulative GPA of 3.5. No student’s GPA shall be adjusted from weighted to unweighted or from unweighted to weighted for eligibility or admission into the NHS. A local chapter may raise the GPA standard above the district minimum, apply it fairly and consistently to all students, and include this standard in their locally published selection procedures.

Faculty Councils at local schools shall also set specific standards for character, leadership, and service in accordance with the guidelines established by the NHS/NJHS (must be publicized as above).

NHS Screening, Selection and Admission Process

The Faculty Council shall establish selection procedures consistent with the rules and regulations of the NHS, Procedures for screening and selecting candidates and admitting students to the local chapter must address the following:A. Notifying parents and the general student population of the eligibility

and admission criteria and timelines associated with the screening, selection, and admission processB. Identifying students who meet the eligibility criteria regarding cumulative GPAC. Once scholarship criteria have been met, conducting a review of each

candidate based on character, leadership, and service (and citizenship for NJHS)D. Communicating the decision of the Faculty Council to the student and

parents E. Inviting students for membership in the organization

Each school shall conduct at least one induction ceremony each school year to admit the selected candidates.

CONTACTS

Linda Sklar416-5338Division of Optional Schools and

Advanced Academics

Janet Haire416-7992Honors Program Coordinator

Susan Edelman 416-3471 AP Coordinator

Brett Lawson, Principal 416-2021

Greg Billings, Asst. Principal 416-2142CAPA and University Academies

Ashley Tipton, Professional Counselor 416-2031CAPA and University Academies