在过去的五年里, the Bridge to 2022 Strategic Plan has successfully guided our work in the Head-Royce classroom and community. One significant example can be found in the Teaching + Learning goal of “enhancing and amplifying a student-centered academic program with opportunities for 选择, 解决现实问题, 创造力和智力投入,” which informed our decision in 2019 to decouple our curriculum from the College Board and to set standards of academic rigor that better align with our core educational philosophy.

学术严谨 is determined by conceptual complexity, rather than content, pace or workload. It is measured by students’ ability to apply essential skills to contended problems in a variety of contexts. It is the degree to which a student is challenged, engaged, enriched and empowered. 

这个定义虽然是HRS特有的，但并不是4001百老汇会员登录唯一的发明. 而, it is a concept we adopted after conducting research and seeking examples from think tanks, educational research institutions and medical organizations attending to student mental health. The term “rigor” itself is arguably problematic, suggesting rigidity and even morbidity.  学术严谨, 在传统定义中, 是否同样的加载和过时, 优先考虑静态内容和数量，而不是独创性和复杂性. Last summer, the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) published an article called “《严苛的阴暗面，他们呼吁重新定义这个词.
   
Rigorous learning experiences help students understand knowledge and concepts that are complex, 歧义或争用, and they require students to acquire skills that can be applied in a variety of contexts. 学术挑战包括相关性(声音), 选择, 不同的内容和文化反应能力)和批判性思维技能.  

While 跳级 (AP) classes were introduced over 70 years ago to provide students with an opportunity to study subjects at advanced levels and to earn college credit for their coursework, the content-orientation of courses designed by the College Board often led to rote memorization. 太频繁, AP labels served as de facto “shortcuts”—standing in for academic rigor—and over time more and more institutions (in both secondary and higher ed) have moved away from the College Board curriculum in favor of well-designed honors courses: this is especially true of the independent school community. 

We are confident in our 2019 decision to break from the College Board curriculum because we are clear about our standard for academic excellence and how our program (K-12) meets those standards. 此外, we are certain that our faculty can (and consistently do) innovate and implement courses that offer meaningful engagement, 相关的内容和技能排序/综合以及适当的学术严谨性.

在过去的几年里, we have successfully transitioned multiple courses across the curriculum away from AP to honors designation and developed a plan for academic advancement that is both in keeping with our philosophy and in logistical alignment with the UC accreditation system. Honors designation, for example, will continue to warrant a GPA bump on student transcripts. 另外, we have received assurance from selective colleges that students who have taken rigorous courses differentiated and defined as Honors by a school like Head-Royce will be viewed as fully prepared for the demands of higher education. 

成功过渡到荣誉课程的案例研究.

The Class of 2024 will be the first Head-Royce students to graduate without grade-level AP offerings. 而不是, they have been offered honors courses that will be supplemented with a series of signature capstone experiences—offered most notably in their senior year—called Head-Royce Advanced Curriculum (HRAC). These capstone courses will have prerequisites for enrollment and will represent the culmination of varied academic pathways. 

Honors Biology is an example of a course that is transitioning to an honors and HRAC sequence. While Honors Biology will continue to offer a breadth of topics reflecting the wide variety involved in the “study of life,” biology teachers have long been shifting curriculum in anticipation of the break from College Board curriculum this fall. 因此, their course already reflects many changes in content and approach including: more varied assessments, 向基于能力的评估转变, 正在进行的修订机会, deeper dives into hands-on labs and experiments and a culminating Science Fair project that offers students voice, 选择和现实世界的应用.

科学课程序列的例子

• 九年级-概念物理
• 十年级-化学
• 11年级-生物学/荣誉生物学
• 12年级(一般)- HRAC应用物理顶点课程, 神经生物学或有机化学 

Our curricular work is rooted in research and reflects more than five years of planning and preparation. 它已经在许多部门和年级的课程中实施. Moving forward a framework and philosophy is in place that will guide the implementation of new courses—including the remaining AP to Honors transitions. We celebrate these advancements and the clear benefits they offer our students: our program has become more dynamic and innovative, our assessments more varied and colleges and universities increasingly see our graduates as independent learners who have had the chance to supplement core curriculum with internships, 公民参与, 专业领域的在线课程和无数的学习机会.