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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]One other difference not mentioned above is that all the apex kids take AP World History as juniors.  Having looked at the curriculum and with a kid taking it now, that class is probably the hardest of the AP social studies classes, as it spans so many years and cultures with disparate themes and a lot of things that most kids won’t have any prior exposure to.  It’s worthwhile to take it since many kids otherwise won’t learn about things like the Byzantine empire an the Chinese dynasties etc etc.

Is the decision final that they are winding down apex?  I haven’t seen anything about it on th school or parent listserve.[/quote]

They seem to be keeping it quiet - we have an incoming 9th grader to WJ, who was planning to enter APEX.  The removal of the program was mentioned but not really explained at the meeting.  The administration obviously didn't want a lot of discussion surrounding it.  They want to pass off the Capstone as being a replacement for APEX, which it definitely isn't.

APEX Requirements:

English:
APEX Reach English 9 (cohorted)
APEX Reach English 10 (cohorted)
AP Language and Composition
AP English Literature

Social Studies:
AP National, State and Local Government
AP US History
AP Modern World

Science:
APEX Biology (cohorted)

Other Requirements:
+ at least 4 other AP Courses (to total 9)
+ students choose an academic pathway, which requires a certain number of courses in that academic area (though one path is kind of general)

Requirements to earn the AP Capstone designation on the diploma:
AP Seminar, earning at least a 3 on the test
AP Reserch, earning at least a 3 [b](few students tend to choose this class because it involves doing a research project/paper/presentation that takes an entire year)[/b]
4 other AP courses, earning at least a 3
** One issue not mentioned is that the number of students who will likely choose to graduate with this mark on their diploma will be relatively few compared to APEX, even though the APEX requirements are more challenging overall.  So, even if you were to consider AP Capstone to be a replacement program, it will be serving far fewer students than the 200+ APEX students in each graduating class.  It's unlikely that there will ever be more than one or two sections of AP Research, based on my calls to other high schools (this is something most high schools in MCPS currently offer, including WJ).  AP Research is currently taking place within an AP Seminar section (in the same room at the same time, with the same teacher) because there were not enough students to fill a section of the class.  I've spoken to schools that offer two sections of Research, but I haven't found one that is running more than two classes of it (so, maybe 60 students max).[/quote]

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