Honors and Advanced Academic Courses

English Honors and advanced courses are for students who have demonstrated high achievement in the English Language Arts. Students taking Honors and/or advanced courses should be aware of the demanding work and grading expectations of these courses. Some English courses offer students the opportunity to participate in the University of Connecticut Early College Experience (ECE) Program or prepare students to take the College Entrance Examination Board Advanced Placement Tests. A student’s placement in a given level is reviewed periodically and students are placed in more appropriate classes as the need arises.
 

The course materials in an English honors/advanced placement course are more complex in the following areas: text selection; length of reading assignments; writing assignment tasks; assessment types. Students are expected to be independently motivated to meet course expectations. For this reason, students in an honors/advanced placement course will be expected to do the following:

• Comprehend complex grade-level texts independently;
• Contribute thoughtful grade-level commentary to classroom discussion;
• Write to grade-level expectations, with attention to organization, detailed content, precise analysis, and standard writing conventions;
• Understand the fundamentals of the research process and execute research with minimal support from the teacher;
• Create and conduct presentations for classmates and take a lead role in classroom discussions; and
• Have a habit of voluntarily reading, completing all homework on time, and demonstrate a willingness to accept the challenge of honors/advanced placement work which expects a high degree of independence and responsibility.
   

There are multiple methods for students to enroll in advanced courses. Students seeking admission into an English honors or advanced course should meet the following criteria:

1. School Personnel Recommendation:
   When recommending students for advanced courses, teachers, administrators, and school counselors should take into consideration the above criteria; and
    
2. Current Grade in English Course:
   • If a student is currently in an English honors course, s/he should have earned an 85% average at the time of scheduling.
   • If a student is currently in a core level English course, s/he should have earned a 90% at the time of scheduling; or
      
3. Alternative Assessment
   Students not meeting the above grade prerequisites may take an alternate assessment that will be evaluated by the AP English teacher and/or by the Supervisor of Literacy and Humanities.
    

The term “advanced” as used in this description includes UConn Early Experience courses, Community College Career Pathways Courses and College Board AP Courses. There may be additional requirements for UConn, community college and AP courses as requested by the credit granting institutions.

Students who are looking to attend highly competitive colleges should consider honors-level math coursework. Honors math courses differ from the core curriculum both in the number of topics assessed and the complexity or depth to which topics are expected to be learned. To that end, the number of topics in a typical honors-level math course is twice as many as those in core courses. Additionally, the assessment item types in an honors math course are more complex and difficult.
 

There are multiple methods for students to enroll in advanced courses. Students seeking admission into a math honors or advanced course should meet the following criteria:

1. School Personnel Recommendation:
   When recommending students for advanced courses, teachers, administrators, and school counselors should take into consideration the above criteria; and
    
2. Student performance will also be taken into consideration when students are seeking placement in an honors level math course.
   
    

   Minimum for Graduation	Career Pathway	College-prep Pathway	More Competitive College-prep
   3-credit Pathway	4-credit Pathway	4-credit College-prep Pathway	4-credit Honors Pathway
   Foundational Math 9*	Algebra I or	Algebra I or	Honors Algebra I or
   Foundational Math 10*	Honors Algebra I or	Honors Algebra I or	Pre-AP Algebra I
   Prealgebra	Pre-AP Algebra I or	Pre-AP Algebra I	Honors Algebra II or
   Algebra I	Algebra II or	Algebra II	Pre-AP Algebra II
   Geometry or one of the following Electives: • Mathematical Applications • Personal Finance *Requires course placement	Honors Algebra II or	Pre-AP Algebra II	Honors Geometry
   	Pre-AP Algebra II	Geometry	One of the following Electives: • Honors Precalculus • AP Precalculus • Honors Trigonometry • Honors Statistics • Calculus AB • AP Statistics • Calculus I – UConn ECE • Calculus II – UConn ECE
   	Geometry and one of the following Electives: • Mathematical Applications • Personal Finance	One of the following Electives: • Advanced Algebra • Trigonometry • Statistics • AP Precalculus • Honors Precalculus

General Information – Honors and Advanced Placement Science: The course materials in a science honors/advanced placement course is more rigorous in the following areas: depth of content covered, research, math aptitude, lab performances, text selection; length of reading assignments; writing assignment prompts; assessment types. The term “advanced” as used in this description includes UConn Early Experience courses, Community College Career Pathways Courses and College Board AP Courses. There may be additional requirements for UConn, community college and AP courses as requested by the credit granting institutions.
 

There are multiple methods for students to enroll in advanced courses. Students seeking admission into a science honors or advanced course should meet the following criteria:

1. School Personnel Recommendation:
   When recommending students for advanced courses, teachers, administrators, and school counselors should take into consideration the above criteria; and
    
2. Grade 9 Honors General Science:
   Students entering Grade 9 Honors General Science should have experience in Algebra 1, or (where applicable) performed at a high level in an Algebra I pretest and received an 85 or higher in Grade 8 science. Grade 8 students arriving to us may have little academic experience in science. The mathematical component and advanced science terminologies in an honors program may be challenging. Thus, along with school personnel recommendation, performance in math will also be taken into consideration when students are seeking placement into Honors General Science.
    
3. Grade 10 Honors Biology 1:
   Successful completion of Algebra I and a grade of 95 in General Science or 85 in Honors General Science 9 will also be taken into consideration.
    
4. Grade 11 or Grade 12 Honors Physics:
   Successful completion of Algebra 2 with a grade of 85 or higher and a grade of 85 or higher in the science course taken in the previous year will also be taken into consideration.
    
5. Grade 11 or 12 Honors Chemistry:
   Successful completion of Algebra 2 with a grade of 85 or higher and a grade of 85 or higher in the science course taken in the previous year will also be taken into consideration.

The course materials in a social studies honors/advanced placement course are more complex in the following areas: text selection; length of reading assignments; writing assignment tasks; assessment types. Students are expected to be independently motivated to meet course expectations. The term “advanced” as used in this description includes UConn Early Experience Courses, Community College Career Pathways Courses and College Board AP Courses. There may be additional requirements for UConn, community college and AP courses as requested by the credit granting institutions. For this reason, students in an honors/advanced placement course will be expected to do the following:
 

• Comprehend complex grade-level texts independently;
• Contribute thoughtful grade-level commentary to classroom discussion;
• Write to grade-level expectations, with attention to organization, detailed content, precise analysis and writing conventions;
• Understand the fundamentals of the research process and execute research with minimal support from the teacher;
• Create and conduct presentations for classmates and take a lead role in classroom discussions; and
• Have a habit of voluntarily reading, completing all homework on time, and demonstrate a willingness to accept the challenge of honors/advanced placement work which expects a high degree of independence and responsibility.
   

There are multiple methods for students to enroll in advanced courses. Students seeking admission into a Social Studies honors or advanced course should meet the following criteria:

1. School Personnel Recommendation:
   When recommending students for advanced courses, teachers, administrators, and school counselors should take into consideration the above criteria; and
    
2. Current Grade in Social Studies Course:
   • If student is currently in a social studies honors course, s/he should have earned an 85% average at the time of scheduling.
   • If student is currently in a core level social studies course, s/he should have earned a 90% at the time of scheduling; or
      
3. Alternative Assessment
   Students not meeting the above grade prerequisites may take an alternate assessment that will be evaluated by the AP social studies teacher and/or by the Supervisor of Literacy and Humanities.