Advanced Placement

South San Francisco Unified School District (SSFUSD) is committed to providing equitable access to the Advanced Placement (AP) program.

The AP program enables willing and academically prepared students to pursue college-level studies while still in high school.

Students who earn a qualifying score on an AP exam are typically eligible to receive college credit and/or placement into advanced courses in college.

SSFHS AP Policy

Students who wish to enroll in honors courses must obtain approval from their current instructor. For example, the English 1 College Prep teacher must approve a student's request to enroll in English 2 Honors.

Students who wish to enroll in advance placement (AP) courses must attend a meeting with the assistant principal to confirm the student's understanding of course expectations and submit a signed AP contract that includes the following signatures:

Student's current instructor
Student's parent/guardian

Once the required signatures have been obtained, students may submit a course request form to their counselor to register for Honors or AP course.

Students cannot drop an AP or Honors course after enrolling.

Students are also expected to complete all summer work for AP and Honors level classes upon the first day of school.

AP American Government & Politics (Grade 12)

Semester Course

Fulfills “A” of UC/CSU A-G admission requirements

This course provides an analytical perspective on government and politics in the United States. This course involves both the study of general concepts used to interpret U.S. politics and the analysis of specific case studies. It also requires familiarity with the various institutions, groups, beliefs, and ideas that constitute U.S. political reality. Major units include:

Constitutional Underpinnings of United States Government;
Political Beliefs and Behaviors;
Political Parties;
Interest Groups;
Mass Media;
Institutions of National Government: The Congress; The Presidency; The Bureaucracy and The Federal Courts;
Public Policy; and
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.

Students enrolled in AP Government are expected to take AP Macroeconomics (ECHS only).

AP Biology (Grades 11 and 12)

Year Course

Fulfills “D” of UC/CSU A-G admission requirements

Prerequisite: “A” in Biology, “A” in Chemistry, or teacher recommendation

Advanced Placement (AP) Biology is a second-year elective class in Biology. It is a college preparatory course and fulfills one year of the CSU/UC lab requirements. Additionally, students will complete all labs and requirements mandated by the College Board. The course is highly recommended for students who will be studying a biological science in college.

AP Calculus AB (Grades 11 and 12)

Year Course

Fulfills “C” of UC/CSU A-G admission requirements

Prerequisite: “B” or better grade in both semesters of Precalculus or teacher recommendation

The course is aligned with the AP Calculus AB Content Standards published by the College Board. Topics include the use of a graphing calculator, limits, the average and instantaneous rates of change, derivatives (rules for differentiation, implicit differentiation, and higher derivatives), graphical analysis using derivatives, L’Hospital’s Rule, continuity theorems (Intermediate Value Theorem, Extreme Value Theorem, Rolle’s Theorem, and the Mean Value Theorem), applications of the derivative (motion, optimization, linear approximation, and scientific contexts), antiderivatives, Riemann sums, the definite integral, the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, the average value of a function, applications of the integral (area, volume, and scientific contexts), simple differential equations (including exponential growth and decay), and slope fields.

AP Chemistry (Grades 11 and 12)

Year Course (offered bi-annually)

Fulfills “D” of UC/CSU A-G admission requirements

Prerequisite: “A” in Chemistry or “B” in Chemistry Honors, concurrent enrollment in Algebra 2, or consent of instructor

The AP Chemistry course provides students with training for such knowledge and skills through guided inquiry labs, a focused curriculum on content relevant to today's problems, and an exam that assesses students' mental models of the particulate nature of matter instead of memorization of rules to understand chemistry. The AP Chemistry course is designed to be taken only after the successful completion of either Chemistry or Chemistry Honors.

AP Computer Science A (Grades 10, 11, and 12)

Year Course: Fulfills “G” of UC/CSU A-G admission requirements

Prerequisites: “C” or better in Exploring Computer Science or "C" in both semesters of Geometry, or approval of instructor.

Students will learn to solve problems with a computer using the Java programming language. In using Java, students will learn about object-oriented program design, program implementation, program analysis, standard data structures, standard algorithms, and computing in context.

AP European History (Grade 12)

Year Course (SSFHS only)

Fulfills “A” of UC/CSU A-G admission requirements

AP European History is a college-level course. In AP European History, students investigate significant events, individuals, developments, and processes in four historical periods from approximately 1450 to the present. Students develop and use skills, practices, and methods to analyzing primary and secondary sources; develope historical arguments; make historical comparisons; and utilize reasoning about contextualization, causation, and continuity and change over time.

The course also provides six themes that students explore throughout the course in order to make connections among historical developments in different times and places: interaction of Europe and the world; poverty and prosperity; objective knowledge and subjective visions; states and other institutions of power; individual and society; and national and European identity.

AP Italian (Grades 10, 11, and 12)

Year Course (SSFHS only)

Fulfills “E” of UC/CSU A-G admission requirements

Prerequisite: "B" or better in Italian 3 or teacher recommendation

AP Italian is an advanced course taught in Italian which addresses six themes: global challenges, science and technology, personal and public identities, beauty and aesthetics, families and communities, and contemporary life. Students will read newspaper articles, literary excerpts and a variety of other authentic print materials. Students will develop writing skills through interacting with these materials as well as a variety of media such as songs, film clips, news broadcasts and more. Each area of study will also be addressed through conversation and presentations on cultural topics.

AP Language & Composition (Grade 11)

Year Course

Fulfills “B” of UC/CSU A-G admission requirements

In this college-level course, students will complete all parts of the summer assignment, write at least one essay every 1-2 weeks, read 5-6 books of fiction and nonfiction over the course of the year, and learn to compose and closely analyze a variety of nonfiction text including: exposition, narration, persuasion, speech, film, art, and advertisement. Students will examine the purposes, audience expectations and subjects of a variety of written forms. Close attention will be paid to the conventions and constructions of language as they contribute to effectiveness in writing.

AP Literature and Composition (Grade 12)

Year Course

Fulfills “B” of UC/CSU A-G admission requirements

This college-level course includes an intensive study of British and American Literature. The course covers 9-10 novels, an average of 1-2 weekly essays, critical analysis of poetry, and a focus on literary interpretation. Students are prepared for and are expected to take the AP test in the spring. Passing the AP test makes a student eligible for college credit for this course. Critical thinking and analytical writing skills are emphasized. Extensive reading and writing are assigned throughout the year. Students are required to complete summer reading.

AP Microeconomics (Grade 12)

Semester Course

Fulfills “G” of UC/CSU A-G admission requirements

AP Microeconomics is an introductory college-level microeconomics course. Students cultivate their understanding of the principles that apply to the functions of individual economic decision-makers by using principles and models to describe economic situations and predict and explain outcomes with graphs, charts, and data as they explore concepts like scarcity and markets; costs, benefits, and marginal analysis; production choices and behavior; and market inefficiency and public policy.

AP Music Theory (Grades 9, 10, 11, and 12)

Year Course (SSFHS only)

Prerequisite: None

Students should be able to read and write musical notation, and it is strongly recommended that the student has acquired at least basic performance skills in voice or on an instrument. This course covers first semester of college music theory for the music major or minor and satisfies one semester of college level fine arts/humanities elective. The course covers basic musicianship, notation, harmonic and rhythmic studies, composition, counterpoint, and musical analysis from the renaissance through 21st Century Music. Ear training includes sight singing and melodic/harmonic dictation. Open to all students with an adequate background in music.

AP Physics 1 (Grades 11 and 12)

Year Course

Fulfills “D” of UC/CSU A-G admission requirements

Prerequisite: Completion or concurrent enrollment in Precalculus, “B” grade in Chemistry, “B” in Algebra II

AP Physics 1 fulfills one semester of the CSU/UC lab requirement. This course is an algebra-based, introductory, college-level physics course where students use inquiry-based investigations as they explore topics in Newtonian mechanics (including rotational motion); work, energy, and power; mechanical waves and sound; and introductory electrical circuits. This class is highly recommended for students who will be studying science in college.

AP Spanish (Grades 11 and 12)

Year Course

Fulfills “E” of UC/CSU A-G admission requirements

Prerequisite: "B" or better in Spanish 3, teacher recommendation

This course is designed for students who have built a strong foundation in all four skills of second language learning: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The curriculum is offered to those who have an interest in continuing the study and/or use of the language beyond the high school preparation courses and are prepared for a rigorous and challenging course of study. It includes a survey of literature from various Latin American and Spanish authors and poets, cultural topics, and current events around the world. Interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational assignments and projects integrate critical thinking; require analysis and synthesis of articles and broadcasts as well as reflection on personal experiences. The course is designed to correlate with the six themes outlined and required by the College Board. This class includes a comprehensive review of previously acquired proficiency in grammar in intensive preparation for the AP Spanish Language and Culture exam.

AP United States History (Grade 11)

Year Course

Fulfills “A” of UC/CSU A-G admission requirements

Prerequisite: Teacher recommendation

An advanced survey course geared towards developing an appreciation for and understanding of the process of historical inquiry; an understanding of the history of the U.S. in political, economic, social and cultural terms; and improvement of writing, research, and critical reading skills.

AP World History (Grade 10)

Year Course

Fulfills “A” of UC/CSU A-G admission requirements

AP World History is a college-level course focusing on developing students' understanding of world history from approximately 1200 CE to the present. The course has students investigate the content of world history for significant events, individuals, developments, and processes in six historical periods, while developing and using the same thinking skills and methods employed by historians in order to make connections among historical developments in different times and places encompassing the five major geographical regions of the globe: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.