Whom the Unit Serves
The largest part of this unit will be directed towards AP Biology students divided up into two classes. These two classes contain two types of students. The first type includes the traditional AP students at our school. They are interested in increased rigor in order to be prepared for college and want a more expansive knowledge base in the biological sciences than what they received in 9th grade biology. They plan on meeting all the course requirements and have the goal of passing the AP Exam with an above average score. However, these students do not want to IB in biology. The second type of student is only modestly interested in some increase in rigor. These students are there because they are attempting to avoid having to take physics and all the mathematics that is involved. They can successfully accomplish that goal by taking an AP science course instead. We do require students to take the AP Biology Exam if they are enrolled in the course. However, many do not perform to standards expected in an AP class. On the upside, some of these less traditional AP students do actually discover a love of biology and a curiosity that was previously left unpiqued. These students are then challenged in a biology class that covers much more information than in their 9th grade biology and it does give these students an exposure to increased rigor that they might not have received otherwise. This increase in rigor exposes them to at least the level they could expect at the community college level.
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