This is a list of all the current Virtual Advanced Placement courses that The Virtual Academy of Rochester (VAR) offers, including the number of credit, any prerequisites and course description.

ARTS

7189V – AP Art History (Virtual) 

1.0 Art Credit 

Prerequisites: Studio Art I

This course provides college-level instruction in art history beginning with pre-history and concluding with 21st century art and architecture. The course challenges students to examine major forms of artistic expression from the past and present within a variety of cultures, examine works of art critically with intelligence and sensitivity, and articulate how it represents the culture it was created within. Students enrolled in AP Art History are required to take the Advanced Placement examination administered by the College Entrance Examination Board in May. 

COMPUTER SCIENCE

0062V – AP Computer Science Principles (Virtual) 

1.0 ELECTIVE Credit 

Prerequisites: Algebra I 

AP Computer Science Principles is an introductory college-level computing course that introduces students to the breadth of the field of computer science. Students learn to design and evaluate solutions and to apply computer science to solve problems through the development of algorithms and programs. They incorporate abstraction into programs and use data to discover new knowledge. Students also explain how computing innovations and computing systems—including the internet—work, explore their potential impacts, and contribute to a computing culture that is collaborative and ethical.

2508V – AP Computer Science A (Virtual) 

1.0 ELECTIVE Credit 

Prerequisites: Algebra I and Geometry R

The AP Computer Science A course is equivalent to the first semester of a college level computer science course. The course involves developing the skills to write programs or part of programs to correctly solve specific problems. AP Computer Science A also emphasizes the design issues that make programs understandable, adaptable, and when appropriate, reusable. At the same time, the development of useful computer programs and classes is used as a context for introducing other important concepts in computer science, including the development and analysis of algorithms, the development and use of fundamental data structures, and the study of standard algorithms and typical applications. In addition an understanding of the basic hardware and software components of computer systems and the responsible use of these systems are integral parts of the course.  

ENGLISH

 0519V – AP English Literature and Composition (Virtual) 

1.0 English Credit 

Prerequisites: English III

For a year, students will participate in an online course that will expose them to college-level readings, writings, and expectations. Students will engage in reading, analyzing, writing, rewriting, and discussing creations by renowned authors. With intensive concentration on composition skills and on authors' narrative techniques, this literary experience equips students with strategies for success in college, in a career, and the AP exam. 

0509V – AP English Language and Composition (Virtual)

1.0 English Credit

Prerequisites:  85% or higher in English II or English II Honors
An AP course in English Language and Composition students in becoming skilled readers of prose written in a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes. Both their writing and their reading should make students aware of the interactions among a writer's purposes, audience expectations, and subjects as well as the way generic conventions and the resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing. The college composition course for which the AP English Language and Composition course substitutes is one of the most varied in the curriculum.

LOTE 

4559V - AP Spanish Language and Culture (Virtual)

1.0 Foreign Language Credit 

Prerequisites: Spanish III (or equivalent)

The AP Spanish Language and Culture course is an advanced language course in which students are directly prepared for the AP® Spanish Language and Culture exam. It uses as its foundation the three modes of communication: interpersonal, interpretive and presentational. The course is conducted almost exclusively in Spanish and is based on the six themes required by the College Board®: (1) global challenges, (2) science and technology, (3) contemporary life, (4) personal and public identities, (5) families and communities and (6) beauty and aesthetics. The course teaches language structures in context and focuses on the development of fluency to convey meaning. Students explore culture in both contemporary and historical contexts to develop an awareness and appreciation of cultural products, practices and perspectives. The AP® Spanish Language and Culture course is a college level course. The intensity, quality and amount of course material can be compared to that of a third-year college course.

MATH 

2259V - AP Calculus AB (Virtual)

1.0 Mathematics Credit 

Prerequisites: Pre-calculus, Algebra II R 

This course offers a combination of assessment and instruction in an online environment containing, but not limited to the areas of functions, functions and limits, differential calculus, and integral calculus. The course applies differential calculus to finding the slope of a curve, solving problems with related rates, calculating motion properties of moving particles, etc. It then applies integral calculus to find the areas of irregular regions in a plane, volumes of rotation by various methods, and other scientific applications.

2279V – AP Statistics (Virtual)

1.0 Mathematics Credit 

Prerequisites: Algebra II R

Students will become familiar with the vocabulary, method, and meaning in the statistics which exist in the world around them. This is an applied course in which students actively construct their own understanding of the methods, interpretation, communication, and application of statistics. Each unit is framed by enduring understandings and essential questions designed to allow students a deep understanding of the concepts at hand rather than memorization and emulation. Students will also complete several performance tasks throughout the year consisting of relevant, open-­ended tasks requiring students to connect multiple statistical topics together. The TI­ 83+/84 OR 89 calculator and computers will be used to explore the world of data and the patterns which can be found by analyzing this information as well as statistical relationships.  General topics of study include exploring data, planning and design of a study, anticipating patterns, and statistical inference. 

SCIENCE 

3509V– AP Biology (Virtual) 

1.0 Life Science Credit

Prerequisites: Living Environment and Chemistry

This course is the equivalent of a college level biology class.  Students will develop higher-level critical thinking skills, and learn how to research and distill information.  Students will take the AP Exam in May and have the opportunity to earn college credit, as well as becoming better prepared for college courses through taking this class.  An AP Biology course is designed to offer students a solid foundation in introductory college-level biology. Course topics include:   Introduction, Evolution, Cells and Homeostasis, Capturing and Using Energy, Biological Responses, Genetics, Transmission, Systems and Populations, and Change and Biodiversity.  AP Biology is an in-depth study of biological principles, including scientific experimentation and science as a way of knowing.  The course is designed to build enduring understandings of science principles and practices and to assist students in developing an appreciation for the study of life and help them identify and understand unifying scientific principles.  

3549V – AP Environmental Science (Virtual) 

1.0 Life Science Credit 

Prerequisites: Living Environment and Chemistry

This course is the equivalent of a college level environmental science class.   Students will take the AP Exam in May and have the opportunity to earn college credit, as well as becoming better prepared to take college courses.  This course emphasizes the ‘science’ in environmental science, but also integrates portions of many different sciences. Throughout the course, students are taught multidisciplinary methods for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data to monitor and abate problems within the environment in which we live.   Students then use this information and data to identify and analyze environmental problems, both natural and human-made, to evaluate the risks associated with these problems, and to critically examine alternative solutions for resolving and/or preventing them.   Course Topics: (Total Course Time 32-36 weeks): Module 1: Environmental Problems Module 2: Living World Module 3: Physical World Module 4: Population Module 5: Energy Module 6: Atmosphere and Climate Change.  We will incorporate social sciences such as economics, politics, ethics, and law to understand real-world perspectives on environmental problems.  After completing the course, students will be able to assess their role within the environment and make personal decisions that will lead to an environmentally sustainable future for their community, state, country, and all human beings.   

SOCIAL STUDIES 

1449V - AP Government & Politics (Virtual)

1.0 Social Studies credit

Prerequisites: US History and Government

Advanced Placement United States Government and Politics offers a combination of assessment and instruction in an online environment.  The course is designed to give students a critical perspective on politics and government. This course involves both the study of general concepts used to interpret United States politics and an examination of the various institutions, groups, beliefs, and ideas that make up American politics.  Careful comparison of political systems produces useful knowledge about the institutions and policies countries have employed to address problems, or, indeed, what they have done to make things worse.  The course is taught with college-level texts. Preparation for the A.P. test will be an integral part of the course.

1220V - AP Human Geography (Virtual)

1.0 Social Studies ELECTIVE credit

AP Human Geography presents high school students with the curricular equivalent of an introductory college-level course in human geography or cultural geography. Content is presented thematically rather than regionally and is organized around the discipline’s main subfields: economic geography, cultural geography, political geography, and urban geography. The approach is spatial and problem oriented. Case studies are drawn from all world regions, with an emphasis on understanding the world in which we live today. Historical information serves to enrich analysis of the impacts of phenomena such as globalization, colonialism, and human-environment relationships on places, regions, cultural landscapes, and patterns of interaction.

1439V – AP Psychology (Virtual)

1.0 Social Studies ELECTIVE Credit 

Prerequisites: Global History 

AP Psychology is a college level course providing students an overview of the development of human behaviors and thoughts. Along with preparation for the AP Psychology exam, the goals of this course are to immerse students in modern psychological investigation techniques, to accentuate the ethics and morality of human and animal research, and to emphasize scientific critical thinking skills in application to the social sciences. Psychology is a diverse social and biological science with multiple perspectives and interpretations. 

1219V - AP World History (Virtual) 

1.0 Global History credit 

Prerequisite: 

AP World History is designed to be the equivalent of a two-semester introductory college or university world history course. In AP World History students investigate significant events, individuals, developments, and processes in six historical periods from approximately 8000 B.C.E. to the present. Students develop and use the same skills, practices, and methods employed by historians: analyzing primary and secondary sources; developing historical arguments; making historical comparisons; and utilizing reasoning about contextualization, causation, and continuity and change over time. The course provides five themes that students explore throughout the course in order to make connections among historical developments in different times and places: interaction between humans and the environment; development and interaction of cultures; state building, expansion, and conflict; creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems; and development and transformation of social structures.

1319V – AP US History (Virtual) 

1.0US History Credit 

Prerequisite: 

AP U.S. History is designed to be the equivalent of a two-semester introductory college or university U.S. history course. In AP U.S. History students investigate significant events, individuals, developments, and processes in nine historical periods from approximately 1491 to the present. Students develop and use the same skills, practices, and methods employed by historians: analyzing primary and secondary sources; developing historical arguments; making historical comparisons; and utilizing reasoning about contextualization, causation, and these challenges.