— Trinity High School: Curriculum

Preliminary Curriculum: Advanced Placement and Honors Courses

Advanced Placement (AP) Courses

The past several years have seen an increasing amount of discussion in academic circles and in the press about the benefits and drawbacks of Advanced Placement (AP) classes. These widely offered courses, originally designed as preparation for the College Board’s Advanced Placement examinations held each spring, have become for some an indicator of the rigor (and sometimes the quality) of a high school’s program.

Trinity, as an independent and mission-guided school, has considered carefully whether to offer AP courses that follow the standard syllabus provided by the College Board. We evaluate any potential curriculum, including any proposed AP course, in terms of its ability to provide an education that is classical, Christian, rich, and unhurried. In that light, the following observations have been made:

The College Board makes available a set syllabus based on the material that is to be covered on the AP examination, and many (though not all) schools offering AP classes follow this syllabus closely. Recent research has indicated that standard-syllabus AP courses, particularly math and science APs, cover an overly large number of topics at an insufficient level of depth. This does not allow most students to develop a deep understanding of foundational concepts, and they may therefore be ill-prepared to move directly into more advanced studies in college.
A 2002 study of AP courses in mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics by the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Science concludes, “Although many equate accelerated content (e.g., college-level material) with secondary school advanced study,...acceleration alone does not define a quality program. Indeed, the inclusion of too much accelerated content can prevent students from achieving the primary goal of deep conceptual understanding” (Learning and Understanding: Improving Advanced Study of Mathematics and Science in U.S. High Schools, Executive Summary, p. 1). The report then outlines a number of specific critiques of math and science AP programs, including the following:
- The intended emphasis of AP courses on foundational concepts and key ideas is largely unrealized, due in large part to excessive breadth of coverage (especially in one-year science programs) and insufficient focus on key concepts in the final assessments (exams).
- AP assessments frequently focus on procedural knowledge at the expense of conceptual understanding. The score from a single AP exam does not adequately capture student learning.
- The breadth of course content and the generally short duration of laboratory periods in many schools may be inadequate for emphasizing teamwork and collaborative investigation, which is especially important in advanced study in the sciences.
- AP programs currently do not emphasize interdisciplinary connections sufficiently or assess students’ ability to apply their knowledge in varying formats or new situations.
The report concludes that AP programs are not well aligned with what is presently known about principles of learning, and it recommends that significant changes be made in AP programs’ structure and curriculum. It notes: “Well-designed programs help students develop skills of inquiry, analysis, and problem solving so that they become superior learners” (Executive Summary, p. 11). AP courses as they are currently designed are not accomplishing this very well.
Like many widely available curricula, standard AP courses are not specifically Christian in their approach or worldview. Trinity faculty would need to adapt and/or supplement the standard syllabus to address this.
As noted above, standard-syllabus AP courses do not feature or foster integration across disciplines, which is a hallmark of the classical approach to learning. Integration may still be possible, but it would have to be designed and carried out by the instructor as a supplement to the standard syllabus. The added material could affect the instructor’s ability to cover all the material in the standard syllabus before the AP examination (or at least the ability to do so at an unhurried pace).
The need to complete the standard AP syllabus in advance of the AP examination discourages teachers from exploring areas of particular relevance or interest that are not on the syllabus. It also prevents teachers from going into greater depth in a particular area or issue when that is needed or desired.

Based on the above observations, we have concluded that standard-syllabus AP courses are, as currently configured, not easily integrated, not unhurried, and sometimes not rich (especially in terms of depth). They would need to be adapted by the instructor to incorporate a Christian worldview. While having an external marker of rigor would be helpful to us as a new high school, it would come at the significant cost of our teachers’ freedom to design and adapt their own courses. For these reasons, standard AP courses therefore appear not to be compatible with Trinity’s mission at this time.

Trinity’s courses will be college-preparatory in nature and will likely incorporate materials or topics that are part of the standard AP syllabus. However, the pace and richness of the Trinity course will remain compatible with the school’s mission. For example, literature covered in Latin V may be keyed to the topics/authors expected to be covered on the AP examination; Trinity’s Calculus course will include material typically found on the A/B Calculus AP exam. Trinity’s courses will also include material that will likely not be covered in an AP examination (for example, in advanced Latin courses students will have the chance to study explicitly Christian writings such as the creeds or the works of Augustine or Aquinas).

Students need not have taken a standard-syllabus AP course in order to sit for the AP exam in that subject; however, students who have not taken a course that follows the standard AP syllabus generally will need to do supplemental work to prepare for the AP exams. Trinity students wishing to take the AP exams are encouraged to work with faculty members, who will provide guidance on the topics to be covered, recommendations on how to prepare for the exams, copies of previous exams, etc. Preparation for the exam will be the responsibility of the student himself or herself.

Admission representatives of well-respected colleges and universities (such as Duke and Wake Forest) have repeatedly informed us that students from non-AP schools who pursue their school’s curriculum to the highest level offered and do well are given serious consideration, just as are high-achieving students from schools that offer APs.

Honors and Advanced Work

The rich education it is Trinity’s mission to provide must include the opportunity for students with academic gifts and strengths to be properly challenged by their coursework. In lieu of AP courses, Trinity will offer either specific honors sections of classes or a supplemental honors designation that may be earned for a standard class.

Honors sections will be offered as enrollment levels and student ability permit. These classes will proceed at a quicker pace and/or with greater depth than is possible in a standard class. Care will be taken that the pace and depth of any honors sections be developmentally appropriate (i.e., that there be neither undue acceleration nor an overly heavy workload). Honors classes will be reflected on a student’s transcript but will not be awarded additional grade points over standard classes.
For courses without an honors section, students may elect to receive an honors designation by completing coursework above and beyond usual course requirements. The honors designation requirements may include, but are not limited to, supplemental or advanced readings, additional or more extensive written papers, or a special project or presentation. Requirements will be set by the individual departments and approved by the administration. Honors designations will be reflected on a student’s transcript but will not be awarded additional grade points over standard classes.

Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill
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