What makes an honors course

The primary difference between honors and AP is that AP courses result in college credit. In order to receive college credit for a completed AP course, the high school student must pass the AP exam with a score of three or higher.

Most colleges require a score of at least four, with a maximum score of five. These exams and all AP classes are standardized and created by College Board. In this respect, they are more similar to actual college courses, except that they are typically even more demanding. They usually require more reading, more challenging exams, and higher expectations overall. The good news about AP courses is that those who perform well on the exams will get college credit for each course they take.

They can then transfer these credits to the college of their choice after finishing high school. Honors courses are much more flexible than AP courses.

Since there is no standardization, schools can create honors programs on any subject they choose. The curricula may be determined by state officials, school district administrators, and even the honors teachers themselves.

Students do not get college credit for completing honors courses. Honors courses are designed for students who want a more challenging curriculum and are willing to put in the extra effort needed to demonstrate their academic motivation. At the high school level, regular classes are suitable for the needs of the average student. These classes are also called standard, on-level, and college prep classes.

They meet all the state requirements and are taught at a level designed for typical college-bound students. Honors classes are a step above regular classes. They are more in-depth on a subject and usually move at a faster pace. Additionally, they are more demanding in terms of preparation, time, and studying.

Teachers typically expect more out of students when they are taking an honors class. At many high schools, honors classes go hand-in-hand with things like science fairs and other special projects. The most significant difference between high school honors courses and those offered in college is the academic focus.

High school honors classes require more work hours at a faster pace, but college honors classes focus more on promoting a student-centered education. That is, they provide students with educational opportunities to develop their own ideas, discuss issues and embrace innovation. College honors programs strive to create an open atmosphere of student engagement that emphasizes diverse thinking, small class sizes, interdisciplinary course work, and more student-professor engagement.

That depends a lot on how your school weighs GPAs. Many schools use a weighted GPA scale. This can offer students who take AP or honors classes a chance to boost their grade point average. This is because you might only earn a 4. However, this will only benefit you with regard to scholarships and class rankings.

All schools approach prerequisites and requirements in their own way. The sooner you learn what the requirements are, the better. Typically, high schools require students to display strong aptitude in a subject before being allowed to take an honors class in that subject. Other honors courses might have prerequisites like another honors course. Because your school wants to know that you can handle a difficult honors math course before letting you take an even more advanced honors math course.

No more than you can handle. While colleges do like to see students challenge themselves, they also want to know that you understand your own limitations and have good judgment. Colleges will infer that you take on more than you can handle and may question your judgment. Having an AP class on your transcript in place of an honors class looks much more impressive, especially at competitive colleges. For you, the question might be, how many AP classes should I take?

Talk to your teachers and guidance counselor as you contemplate your course choices. Explain your college goals and any hesitations you may have. Sarah Goldy-Brown Content writer Plexuss. What are Honors Classes in High School? Regular Classes in High School? The triangle unit continues with a closer examination of right triangles. Students will know and apply the Pythagorean theorem, Distance Formula, special right triangle relationships, and trigonometric functions to find unknown lengths and angles in right triangles.

The focus of the course then transitions to a more general investigation of the properties of two-dimensional figures including the relationships between angles and sides, area, and perimeter. Students then investigate the relationships and properties of three-dimensional figures involving computations and problem solving related to volume and surface area.

Finally the course concludes with the circle unit. Students will develop theorems related to chords, secants, tangents, inscribed angles and polygons. These theorems will then be applied to problem solving situations that involve missing angle and arc measures, as well as finding the length of arcs, chords, tangents, and secants. Topics in Mathematical Analysis, Trigonometry, and Linear Algebra are often combined to create a pre-calculus course needed to prepare students for the study of Calculus.

The course is designed to strengthen student conceptual understanding and mathematical reasoning of techniques used in trigonometry, geometry, and algebra.

Mathematical Analysis standards require students to know and apply to problem solving situations: polar coordinates and vectors; complex numbers; the fundamental theorem of algebra; conic sections; roots and poles of rational functions; functions and equations defined parametrically; and the limit of a sequences and functions.

Trigonometry standards build on those concepts previously learner in the Geometry course. Students develop an understanding of angle measurements in degrees and radians and use this concept to graph in a variety of forms the sine, cosine, tangent, cotangent, secant, and cosecant functions.

The prerequisites to learning and using calculus are the algebra, trigonometry, and analytical geometry skills students have developed in the preceding Algebra II and Pre calculus classes. In addition to the rigor and depth that will permeate all aspects of this course students will hopefully also develop an appreciation for the versatility and usefulness that the study of Calculus provides to professional fields related to mathematics, science, design, technology, and engineering.

The course begins with an examination of limits and continuity. Students will be required to calculate limits of function values and to test functions for continuity. Once students are able to calculate limits, they can then proceed to finding derivatives. The derivatives unit illustrates the role calculus plays in measuring the rates at which things change. Students will explore the circumstances in which derivates exist, the basic derivative techniques, rates of change, trigonometric derivatives, major rules and laws, common differentiation tasks, and an extensive application of derivatives in real world situations.

The focus of the course then shifts from derivates to finite sums and integrals. Students will examine the close connections between derivatives and integrals though the examination of the contributions of Leibniz and Newton to the study of Calculus.

During the integral unit students will be required to work extensively with integration and derivatives as these concepts relate to the graphs of exponential, inverse, logarithmic, inverse trigonometric, and hyperbolic functions. In addition, students will apply all the above techniques and theorems of integration to finding the volumes of rotational solids and arc lengths. Calculus students then transition to the study of differential equations, sequences, and series.

The section pertaining to differential equations requires students to have knowledge of the separation of variables, the types of solutions, and exponential growth and decay. The sequence and series section allows student the opportunity to examine basic examples of infinite series such as geometric series, P-series, and the telescoping series.

Students will also be able to perform a variety of infinite series convergence test. Finally an exploration of special series such as the power series, the Maclaurin series, and the Taylor series will conclude the unit. Honors Calculus BC is a second course in a single-variable calculus that is equivalent to a second semester calculus course at most colleges and universities.

This course will provide a deeper understanding of the concepts of limit, continuity, derivatives, and integrals which were covered in Honors Calculus AB. Probability and Statistics is a unique mathematical course combining lessons and activities that incorporate elements from a wide range of subjects including Algebra, English, Science, Technology, and History.

The course will include extensive topics in Statistics defined as the study of collecting, organizing, analyzing, and interpreting numerical information from data. The statistical elements will also be applied to the study of Probability as the likelihood that an event will occur.

Together probability and statistics are tools that allow us to analyze data within a specific context in order to make informed decisions or predictions. Biology is the study of processes central to the continuation and reproduction of life for all organisms.

Concepts covered in this course will include the anatomy and reproduction of plant and animal cells, chemical reactions that are critical to specific organic cycles, and the concepts of genetics that explain reproduction, mutation, and evolution. Students will also learn the role of a variety of living and non-living components in maintaining balance within ecosystems, the factors and evidence of evolution, and the coordinated function and structures of organ systems in maintaining homeostasis within human bodies and other organisms.

Students will learn the concepts of biology through hands-on experimentation, simulation, and active demonstration, as well as discussion, group and individual research, and projects that apply concepts covered in class to the observable world. Honors Biology will be demonstrably more challenging than the college preparatory Biology courses offered. This course is designed to be a laboratory-based chemistry course. The goal of this course is to adequately prepare students for entry into a college-level chemistry class.

In this course, students will learn and use scientific skills to study the history and nature of chemistry as an experimental science. This course promotes analytical, scientific thinking, and laboratory skills. Students learn how scientists think, work, share their discoveries, and develop skills that will be essential in college-level science courses. The conceptual study of laws of motion, forces, energy and momentum, properties and states of matter, heat and thermodynamics, wave motion, sound, light, electricity and magnetism, and atomic and nuclear physics will be the main units of this course.

The course will critically teach students the nature of light reflection, refraction, and polarization while also examining the direct current, heating and the effects of various chemicals. By looking at electrical devices students use everyday, they can begin to apply physics to their daily life.