Welcome to AP Biology!

Advanced Placement Biology is part of a nationwide program based on the belief that many students are ready for college work while still in high school, and their abilities should be recognized, encouraged and rewarded.  This course is designed to be the equivalent of a college introductory biology course usually taken by biology majors during their freshman year.  As a college level course, the amount of material covered as well as the complexity of the topics will be high.  It is the responsibility of the student to come to class each day understanding the previous day's material.  Therefore, an ongoing unstated assignment is to learn the material as it is presented.  Students must be certain that they are willing to accept this challenge and be committed to keep up with the work.

The two main goals of AP Biology are to help students develop a conceptual framework for modern biology and to help students gain an appreciation of science as a process.  The ongoing information explosion in biology makes these goals even more challenging.  Students are encouraged to focus on understanding important relationships, processes, mechanisms, and potential extensions and applications of concepts.

The AP Biology exam, which is administered in early May, can be expected to test the student's ability to explain, analyze, and interpret biological processes and phenomena more than the ability to recall specific facts.  Depending on their performance, some AP students, as college freshmen, are permitted to undertake upper-level science courses for which biology is a prerequisite.  Other students may have fulfilled a basic requirement for a laboratory science course and will be able to undertake other courses to pursue their majors.

Please realize that while the course is challenging, the rewards are also great.  The cost of the AP exam (about $80) is less than a college biology textbook alone.  What's even better, OCHS will cover the cost of the AP exam!  Even if a student's score does not result in college credit being earned, AP Biology provides students with a strong foundation for future academic success as an introductory college Biology course will essentially be a review of this class.