Mineral County Guidelines
Advanced Education
Advanced
Education is an
academic learning experience characterized by content and performance
expectations beyond those normally available for the age or grade level of the
student. Mineral county recognizes Advanced Placement (AP) courses provided
with guidance from the College Board and certain college courses as advanced
education. Successful completion of these courses may provide weighted grades
with a higher quality point value in grade point average calculations.
Application of quality points to GPA calculations is a school level decision.
Advanced placement courses and College courses that are offered through Potomac
State or Allegany Community College include the following:
|
ADVANCED PLACEMENT |
COLLEGE |
|
AP Chemistry |
College English
I Composition & Rhetoric |
AP classes will follow the
recommended curriculum of the College Board.
Student participants should have prerequisite skills and knowledge necessary for
success. A 3.0 overall GPA and a 3.0 in the course curriculum area are required
for enrollment. AP Course enrollment also requires completion of a summer or
prerequisite project. This project will provide the initial grade for the AP
course.
All AP
course standards will be maintained. Higher order thinking skills will be
incorporated to the maximum extent possible. Students are encouraged to take
the AP exam in order to earn college credit. However, the value of AP
coursework is such that capable students will be encouraged to enroll in AP
classes even if they do not intend to take the AP exam. Schools should
establish procedures to recognize students who score high (4 or 5) on AP exams.
However, all AP students will take a comprehensive test, that will be developed
by a county teacher committee as a final exam.
AP
course instructors are required to attend AP training prior to teaching an AP
class. Attendance is at county expense. Refresher or clinic training is
encouraged after 3 years and required after 5 years during the instructional
materials renewal phase.
College course syllabi will be reviewed with particular attention to those
courses that substitute for required courses for high school graduation.
Composition and Rhetoric college syllabi must be supplemented with an English
Literature component in order to replace Senior English. Selection of qualified
instructors will be the responsibility of the respective college.
Honors Education
Honors
education is an expansion of academic learning experiences with a program of
study at the student's grade level. While this instruction does not meet the
strict guidelines of Advanced education, it is another attempt to meet the
needs of students who have potential and desire to complete curriculum that is
more demanding than that offered in the regular classroom for their current
grade level. Honors classes should support Mineral County's Programs of Study.
Curricular requests for Honors designation must be approved by the board of
education. While Instructional goals and objectives are the only required
submission for board approval, evidence of differentiation from standard
curriculum must be included in course or pacing guides, or in other written
document. An Honors curriculum may be differentiated by curriculum, by method
of instruction or by both. Honors courses should provide more depth and/or
breadth than that available in the regular curriculum. Instruction may be
differentiated through emphasis on the learning processes, a variety of
teaching strategies, and knowledge of Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive
development. Textbooks and other instructional material must be sufficiently
challenging.
Current Honors course
offerings include:
Honors
English
I
Honors Integrated Science 9
Honors
English
II
Honors Integrated Science 10
Honors
Social Studies I Adv Pre
Calculus
Honors
Social Studies III