Goose Creek Memorial Advanced Academics Parent Session

Graduation Requirements Students must earn 26 credits to graduate. 4 credits each of math, science, English, and social studies. 2 credits of language other than English (Both credits must come from the same language.) 1 ½ credits of physical education ½ credit of health 1 technology credit 1 fine arts credit ( The credit must come from a full year of the same fine arts program.) 1 speech credit 22 ½ Credits

That leaves 3 ½ credits that are student choice.

What does that mean to your student? Students must choose classes carefully.

Pre-AP and AP Courses All Goose Creek CISD high school campuses offer Pre-Advanced Placement and Advanced Placement courses. The courses are offered in all content areas including fine arts, languages, and elective courses.

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement courses are college level courses that students can take while in high school. If the student takes and scores a 3,4,or 5 on the AP test for the course most colleges will offer students college credit for the course. Teachers who wish to teach AP courses must submit their syllabus to The College Board for approval for a course to be labeled an AP course.

Pre-Advanced Placement Courses What are Pre-AP courses? Classes designed to prepare students for Advanced Placement courses. More challenging than regular courses.

Why take Pre-AP or AP Courses? To prepare students for college level course work while still in high school with support and interventions in place that may not be offered in a college or university setting. Weighted grade points. Students taking Pre-AP and AP courses are awarded additional grade points which will help students with class rank. Please see pages 8-11 in the High School Course Description Guide for additional information on determining grade point averages.

PLEASE NOTE Students enrolled in Pre-AP or AP courses must stay in the course until the end of the first six weeks grading period. Parents and students must conference with the Pre-AP or AP teacher prior to a schedule change. Please read page one of the High School Course Description Guide regarding changing courses. Many AP courses and some Pre-AP courses do not have a regular course to move into. This could result in loss of credit.

For more information on Advanced Placement and Pre-Advanced Placement, please visit the The College Board’s Website at:

Frequently Asked Questions: The next few slides will cover questions that Academic Deans, Counselors and the Advanced Academics office get asked most often. If you have additional questions I will be glad to answer them at the conclusion of the session.

Do Pre-AP courses “close”? Pre-AP and AP courses do not work like college classes in that we do not determine the number of sections for a course before students sign up. We look at the number of students who register for a course then plan the sections according to demand.

Does a student have to take all Pre-AP classes? Pre-AP and AP courses are not “All or Nothing.” Students may choose to take Pre-AP courses in areas they feel they are ready for and may choose to take regular courses in other areas.

If a student took algebra as an eighth grader, does that mean that they must take Pre-AP geometry? While students who took algebra as eighth graders have demonstrated that they are strong math students, there may be a rare incidence where the student may need to be able to take regular Geometry. A counselor will have to assign that course. Students would be in a 10 th grade class and out of their team.

If a student changes their mind about a course after registration, what do they do? Until the end of the school year all questions regarding the student should be referred to their junior school counselor. Students will be allowed to edit their selections for up to two weeks after they register for their courses. Once school is out for the summer, students should contact their high school counselor. All changes MUST be made prior to June 18.

Is there any required summer reading for Pre-AP or AP courses? Most courses do not have any summer reading, but some do. Pre-AP or AP English courses all have a required reading during the summer. Teachers of other courses will contact students if there is a required summer reading.

AP Freshman Course AP Human Geography is available to freshmen students. Students who are interested should talk with their 8 th grade social studies teacher or counselor. It is a much more challenging course than world geography.

PSAT All tenth grade students take the PSAT but 9 th grade students are encouraged to take PSAT. Please contact your student’s counselor in the fall to register them for the PSAT.