High School Course Catalog

The Advanced Placement (AP) Program overseen by the College Board (R), provides the highly motivated and academically talented student the opportunity to enroll in and pursue college-level studies while still in secondary school (high school). Students enrolled in Advanced Placement courses are required to take the Advanced Placement exam.

Successful performance on advanced placement exams may result in advanced standing or the granting of college credit upon entering a post secondary school. Warwick Valley High School offers A.P. courses in English Literature, English Language and Composition, American History, World History, Government & Politics, Chemistry, Biology, Calculus, Environmental Science, Spanish and French, Music Theory, Physics, Psychology and Computer Science. The College Board charges a fee for students to take the exam in May.

The AP courses offered each year may vary due to enrollment and are at the discretion of the school district.

Honors Program

In an effort to challenge and meet individual academic needs, the Warwick Valley Central School District offers an Honors Program in English, mathematics, science, social studies and world languages. A student may be selected for any one or all of the honors courses. Due to the academic demands of these courses, parents are advised to carefully consider consenting to the enrollment of their child in more than two (2) honors level courses.

Curricular activities in Honors level courses are designed with the intention of providing opportunities for students to become active participants in their learning. For example, students practice public speaking as an extension of persuasive essay writing, create lessons to demonstrate understanding and mastery of a topic, and collaborate to build presentations to help their classmates learn. Although this learning approach is a part of instruction in all classes in WVHS, it is emphasized more deliberately in the Honors setting.

The honors programs in mathematics and science are both accelerated and enriched Regents level programs. The honors course in mathematics begins in grade 7 and continues through grade 12. Students begin the study of enriched and accelerated Regents level courses at grade 8, as opposed to the traditional Regents courses at grade 9. The honors programs in mathematics and science culminate with the study of an advanced placement course in grade 12.

The honors programs in English and social studies are accelerated and enriched. Enriched courses in English and social studies begin in grade 8 and continue through grade 12. The program in grades 9 – 12 includes enriched and accelerated Regents level courses in addition to Advanced Placement course.

Descriptions of each of the Honors (H) courses are included within that course’s specific discipline/subject area of this book.

Although entrance into the Honors Program begins in the Middle School, consideration for level placement will be made based upon previous year’s report card grades, task commitment, and teacher recommendation.

Continuation in the honors program requires that the student maintain a passing grade in every marking period and/or earn a final grade of 80% or above. A student may withdraw from the honors course if a parent makes a written request and confers with a School Counselor.

Grading & Ranking Policy

All courses that receive a numerical grade are considered for class ranking purposes. All students earning credit are included in our ranking system.

Final grades as they appear on the report card and transcript are not weighted. These grades are weighted for the purposes of class ranking only and are not reported until after the 6th semester (3 years). Our method of weighting courses is as follows:

Advanced Placement (AP) courses = Final Average x 1.10
Honors (H) courses = Final Average x 1.07

Our minimum passing grade is 65%. An average of 90% – 94.99% is required for the Honor Roll (Cum Laude) and an average of 95% or higher is required for the High Honor Roll (Magna Cum Laude). Students who achieve a grade point average of 100%+ will be recognized as Summa Cum Laude.

Our grading calendar is divided into four marking periods (MP) of approximately ten weeks per period. A quarterly grade is given as an average at the end of each marking period. The final grade includes the four quarterly grades plus the final exams. Regents and final exam grades count in the final grade.