Diploma Program Focuses on Inquiry, Research, and Writing Skills Crucial for College Success

Wakefield High School has been selected as one of approximately 1,000 schools worldwide to implement the new AP Capstone, an innovative diploma program that allows students to develop the skills that matter most for college success: research, collaboration, and communication. The program consists of two courses taken in sequence: AP Seminar and AP Research. Wakefield will start AP Seminar in the fall of 2017.

“We are excited to provide this opportunity for Wakefield students that will further develop their research and writing skills at the AP level. This program will help prepare students for college and to earn the Capstone Diploma,” said Wakefield Principal Dr. Chris Willmore.

AP Capstone is a College Board program that equips students with the independent research, collaborative teamwork, and communication skills necessary for college success and teaches them how to make logical, evidence-based decisions. Developed in direct response to feedback from higher education faculty and college admission officers, AP Capstone complements the in-depth, subject-specific study of other Advanced Placement courses and exams. AP Capstone is comprised of two AP courses — AP Seminar and AP Research— and is designed to complement and enhance the discipline-specific study in other AP courses. The AP Seminar course, typically taken as a junior or senior, equips students with the ability to look at real-world issues from multiple perspectives. Through a variety of materials—articles to research studies to foundational and philosophical texts — students tackle complex questions; understand and evaluate opposing viewpoints; interpret and synthesize information; and construct, communicate, and defend evidence-based arguments. Students are assessed through: a team project and presentation, an individual project and presentation, and an end-of-course written exam.

In the subsequent AP Research course, students design, plan, and conduct a yearlong research- based investigation on a topic of individual interest, documenting their process with a portfolio. Students build on skills developed in the AP Seminar course by learning how to understand research methodology; employ ethical research practices; and collect, analyze, and synthesize information to build, present, and defend an argument.

Students who earn scores of 3 or higher on AP Seminar and AP Research assessments and on four additional AP Exams of their choosing will earn the AP Capstone Diploma™. This signifies their outstanding academic achievement and attainment of college-level academic and research skills. Students who earn scores of 3 or higher on both AP Seminar and AP Research assessments only (but not on four additional AP Exams) will earn the AP Seminar and Research Certificate™.