AP Exam information will be provided to students
as it becomes available from CollegeBoard
If you have questions about this year's exams, please email your counselor
AP® Capstone
What is AP Capstone? AP Capstone™ is a College Board program that equips students with the independent research, collaborative teamwork, and communication skills that are increasingly valued by colleges. It cultivates curious, independent, and collaborative scholars and prepares them to make logical, evidence-based decisions.
AP Capstone is comprised of two AP courses — AP Seminar and AP Research — and is designed to complement and enhance the discipline-specific study in other AP courses. The AP Capstone program can provide unique research opportunities for current AP students or can expand access to AP by encouraging students to master the argument-based writing skills that the AP Capstone program develops. The two AP Capstone courses, with their associated performance tasks, assessments, and application of research methodology, require students to:
How AP Capstone Works: Students take AP Seminar in grade 11, followed by AP Research in 12th grade. Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research and on four additional AP Exams of their choosing receive the AP Capstone Diploma™. Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research but not on four additional AP Exams receive the AP Seminar and Research Certificate™.
AP Seminar: In this yearlong course, students develop and strengthen analytic and inquiry skills, exploring two to four relevant issues chosen by the student and/or teacher. For example, students might explore the question of whether national security is more important than a citizen’s right to privacy, or whether genetic engineering is a benefit to society.
Using an inquiry framework, students practice reading and analyzing articles; research studies; foundational, literary, and philosophical texts; listening to and viewing speeches, broadcasts, and personal accounts; and experiencing artistic works and performances. Students learn to consider an issue from multiple perspectives, evaluate the strength of an argument, and make logical, fact-based decisions. Students question, research, explore, pose solutions, develop arguments, collaborate, and communicate using various media. After taking AP Seminar, students will have the opportunity to further hone their inquiry and analytical writing skills in AP Research.
AP Seminar Assessment: AP Seminar students are assessed with two through-course performance tasks and one end-of-course exam. The performance tasks consist of a team project and presentation, and an individual research-based essay and presentation. All three assessments are summative and are used to calculate a final AP score of 1 to 5. Written performance task components are scored by the College Board and presentations are teacher-scored. The end-of-course exam is in May; it takes two hours and consists of three short-answer questions and one essay question.
AP Research: AP Seminar is a prerequisite for AP Research.
AP Research allows students to design, plan, and conduct a yearlong research-based investigation on a topic of individual interest, documenting their process with a portfolio. This allows students to demonstrate the ability to apply scholarly understanding to real-world problems and issues.
Students further the skills developed in AP Seminar by learning how to understand research methodology, employ ethical research practices, and access, analyze, and synthesize information to build, present, and defend an argument. Students may choose to do one of the following:
Both components are included in the calculation of a final AP score (using the 1–5 scale).
What is AP Capstone? AP Capstone™ is a College Board program that equips students with the independent research, collaborative teamwork, and communication skills that are increasingly valued by colleges. It cultivates curious, independent, and collaborative scholars and prepares them to make logical, evidence-based decisions.
AP Capstone is comprised of two AP courses — AP Seminar and AP Research — and is designed to complement and enhance the discipline-specific study in other AP courses. The AP Capstone program can provide unique research opportunities for current AP students or can expand access to AP by encouraging students to master the argument-based writing skills that the AP Capstone program develops. The two AP Capstone courses, with their associated performance tasks, assessments, and application of research methodology, require students to:
- Analyze topics through multiple lenses to construct meaning or gain understanding.
- Plan and conduct a study or investigation.
- Propose solutions to real-world problems.
- Plan and produce communication in various forms.
- Collaborate to solve a problem.
- Integrate, synthesize, and make cross-curricular connections.
How AP Capstone Works: Students take AP Seminar in grade 11, followed by AP Research in 12th grade. Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research and on four additional AP Exams of their choosing receive the AP Capstone Diploma™. Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research but not on four additional AP Exams receive the AP Seminar and Research Certificate™.
AP Seminar: In this yearlong course, students develop and strengthen analytic and inquiry skills, exploring two to four relevant issues chosen by the student and/or teacher. For example, students might explore the question of whether national security is more important than a citizen’s right to privacy, or whether genetic engineering is a benefit to society.
Using an inquiry framework, students practice reading and analyzing articles; research studies; foundational, literary, and philosophical texts; listening to and viewing speeches, broadcasts, and personal accounts; and experiencing artistic works and performances. Students learn to consider an issue from multiple perspectives, evaluate the strength of an argument, and make logical, fact-based decisions. Students question, research, explore, pose solutions, develop arguments, collaborate, and communicate using various media. After taking AP Seminar, students will have the opportunity to further hone their inquiry and analytical writing skills in AP Research.
AP Seminar Assessment: AP Seminar students are assessed with two through-course performance tasks and one end-of-course exam. The performance tasks consist of a team project and presentation, and an individual research-based essay and presentation. All three assessments are summative and are used to calculate a final AP score of 1 to 5. Written performance task components are scored by the College Board and presentations are teacher-scored. The end-of-course exam is in May; it takes two hours and consists of three short-answer questions and one essay question.
AP Research: AP Seminar is a prerequisite for AP Research.
AP Research allows students to design, plan, and conduct a yearlong research-based investigation on a topic of individual interest, documenting their process with a portfolio. This allows students to demonstrate the ability to apply scholarly understanding to real-world problems and issues.
Students further the skills developed in AP Seminar by learning how to understand research methodology, employ ethical research practices, and access, analyze, and synthesize information to build, present, and defend an argument. Students may choose to do one of the following:
- Dig deeper into a topic studied in an AP course.
- Work across academic areas with an interdisciplinary topic.
- Study a new area of interest, perhaps one for further study at the college level.
Both components are included in the calculation of a final AP score (using the 1–5 scale).