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AP Capstone
Diploma program for high school students

AP Capstone, officially known as the Advanced Placement Capstone Diploma Program, is a 2-year program for high school students developed by the College Board that consists of two courses: the AP Seminar and AP Research. Students who successfully complete the program and obtain scores of 3 or higher on at least four other AP exams receive either an AP Capstone Diploma or an AP Seminar and Research Certificate.

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History

The predecessor to the current AP Capstone program, the AP/Cambridge Capstone Program, was initially offered in 17 high schools worldwide. With the launch of the full AP Capstone by the College Board in fall 2014, the program has expanded to now being offered in 1100 schools.3 Over 100 colleges and universities support the AP Capstone program.4

AP Seminar

AP Seminar is the foundation course taken in 10th or 11th grade. It provides students the opportunity to develop critical thinking skills and prepare for university. Students explore real-world issues such as innovation, sustainability and technology. The assessment culminates in 2 through-course tasks and a final written exam.5 The through-course tasks are the following

  • Task 1: An Individual Research Report and a Team Multimedia Presentation
    • Task description: Students form a team of two to four students to create a presentation on a specific topic based on their Individual Research Reports. Once team members decide on a topic, each member will research a specific perspective of their team topic. For example, if the team project was the ongoing Opioid epidemic, member might research the economic impact of the epidemic, or the socioeconomic factors fueling the epidemic. This research is compiled into a 1080-1320 word Individual Research Report. Once the research reports are finished, students will return to their teams and combine their research into an eight to ten minute presentation. The presentation is followed by oral defense where each team member responds to one question relating to their presentation from a teacher.
  • Task 2: An Individual Written Argument, Individual Multimedia Presentation, and a set of Oral Defense questions.
    • Task description: Students are provided stimulus material from the College Board to create an 1800-2200 word argumentative essay. This stimulus material is the same for all students taking AP Seminar. The argument cannot be based solely off the stimulus material, outside research and sources are expected. This argument serves as the foundation for the Individual Multimedia Presentation. Students create a presentation that outlines the argument they made in their previous paper. The presentation is expected to last for six to eight minutes. Following this presentation, students are required to defend their presentation by responding to questions from the teacher grading the presentation.

The final written exam is taken during the two weeks of AP testing in May. The exam consists of two sections. In the first section, students are given an article selected by the College Board. Students must evaluate the central claim, line of reasoning, and the evidence of the article. In the second section, students are given four stimulus materials and are expected to create an argumentative essay. Students are allotted two hours for the final exam.

Score20156201672017820189201910202011202112202213202314202415
54.9%6.6%6.7%7.9%7.1%6.4%11.1%11.6%11.4%9%
411.7%12.6%15.1%16.7%15.1%14.5%19.5%19.2%19.7%20%
358.3%53.8%65%57.6%58.9%59.8%54.5%51.8%53.9%60%
221.6%21.8%11.6%15.4%16.6%17.0%10.7%11.8%11.2%10%
13.5%5.2%1.6%2.4%2.3%2.2%4.3%5.6%3.8%1%
% of Scores 3 or Higher74.9%73%86.8%82.2%81.1%80.7%85.0%82.6%85.0%89%
Mean Score2.932.943.143.123.083.063.223.193.243.26
Standard Deviation0.810.900.760.850.830.810.930.980.930.80
Number of Students5,28812,30819,94330,96443,44152,56253,07656,76673,334

AP Research

After successful completion of AP Seminar, students may participate in AP Research.16 In AP Research students design, plan and conduct a year-long research-based investigation on a personally-chosen subject. The assessment culminates with a 5,000-word academic thesis paper, as well as a public presentation. Students must obtain a final score of 3 or higher to be able to receive AP certification.17

As of the 2017–18 school year, AP Research papers are graded using a holistic rubric. The two central elements that move a paper from a 2 to a 3 are the middle two rows, which assess the methodology and conclusion. The rubric can be seen here.

More specifically, a replicable methodology and a new understanding are required to pass.

Score201618201719201820201921202022202123202224202325202426
511.6%16.8%11.4%10.7%8.8%13.7%12.6%13.3%12%
416.3%18.1%23.7%22.2%32.1%25.4%25.8%26.4%26%
339.3%35.4%40.1%43.0%31.5%42.4%44.3%44.7%47%
230.8%27.3%19.8%19.5%25%14.2%13.3%12.5%12%
12.0%2.5%4.9%4.6%2.5%4.3%4.0%3.1%3%
% of Scores 3 or Higher67.2%70.3%75.2%75.9%72.5%81.5%82.7%84.4%85%
Mean3.053.203.173.153.203.303.303.343.32
Standard Deviation1.011.091.031.000.991.010.980.960.94
Number of Students2,8425,7879,64015,72420,05524,02126,94728,402

Program completion

  • AP Capstone Certificate
    • 3+ on both AP Seminar and AP Research
  • AP Capstone Diploma
    • 3+ on both AP Seminar and AP Research
    • 3+ on 4 additional AP exams of student choice27

References

  1. AP Capstone official website https://advancesinap.collegeboard.org/ap-capstone ↩

  2. AP Capstone official website https://advancesinap.collegeboard.org/ap-capstone ↩

  3. "AP Capstone program coming to Burnaby". Burnaby News Leader. October 3, 2013. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131005111520/http://www.burnabynewsleader.com/news/226326641.html ↩

  4. "Schools offering AP Capstone". Retrieved May 2, 2017. https://advancesinap.collegeboard.org/ap-capstone/current-ap-capstone-schools ↩

  5. AP Capstone official website https://advancesinap.collegeboard.org/ap-capstone ↩

  6. College Board. "AP Seminar 2015 Student Score Distributions" (PDF). https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap15-seminar-score-dist.pdf ↩

  7. College Board. "AP Seminar 2016 Student Score Distributions" (PDF). https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap16_seminar_scoring_global.pdf ↩

  8. College Board. "AP Seminar 2017 Student Score Distributions" (PDF). https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap17-seminar-scoring-global.pdf ↩

  9. "Student Score Distributions, AP Exams - May 2018" (PDF). The College Board. Retrieved December 24, 2022. https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/research/2018/Student-Score-Distributions-2018.pdf ↩

  10. "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS" (PDF). College Board. May 2019. https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/research/2019/Student-Score-Distributions-2019.pdf ↩

  11. "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS" (PDF). Retrieved June 9, 2021. https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/research/2020/Student-Score-Distributions-2020.pdf ↩

  12. "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS" (PDF). Retrieved January 10, 2024. https://reports.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/2021-ap-student-score-distributions_1.pdf ↩

  13. "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS" (PDF). Retrieved January 10, 2024. https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-score-distributions-by-subject-2022.pdf ↩

  14. "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS" (PDF). Retrieved January 10, 2024. https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-score-distributions-by-subject-2023.pdf ↩

  15. "2024 AP Score Distributions". Retrieved July 8, 2024. https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/about-ap-scores/score-distributions ↩

  16. "Are there any student prerequisites for AP Seminar or AP Research? – AP Central | College Board". apcentral.collegeboard.org. Retrieved December 15, 2023. https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-capstone/frequently-asked-questions/are-there-any-student-prerequisites-ap-seminar-or-ap-research ↩

  17. AP Capstone official website https://advancesinap.collegeboard.org/ap-capstone ↩

  18. College Board. "AP Research 2016 Student Score Distributions" (PDF). https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap16_research_scoring_global.pdf ↩

  19. College Board. "AP Research 2017 Student Score Distributions" (PDF). https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap17-research-scoring-global.pdf ↩

  20. College, Board. "AP Research 2018 Student Score Distributions" (PDF). https://apcentral-y2ffarwztgd04mxuwfj25nrfrvo-origin.collegeboard.org/pdf/ap18-research-score-distribution.pdf ↩

  21. "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS" (PDF). Retrieved July 9, 2020. https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/research/2019/Student-Score-Distributions-2019.pdf ↩

  22. "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS" (PDF). Retrieved June 9, 2021. https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/research/2020/Student-Score-Distributions-2020.pdf ↩

  23. "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS" (PDF). Retrieved January 10, 2024. https://reports.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/2021-ap-student-score-distributions_1.pdf ↩

  24. "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS" (PDF). Retrieved January 10, 2024. https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-score-distributions-by-subject-2022.pdf ↩

  25. "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS" (PDF). Retrieved January 10, 2024. https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-score-distributions-by-subject-2023.pdf ↩

  26. "2024 AP Score Distributions". Retrieved July 8, 2024. https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/about-ap-scores/score-distributions ↩

  27. "What is the AP Capstone Diploma program? – AP Central | College Board". apcentral.collegeboard.org. Retrieved December 15, 2023. https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-capstone/frequently-asked-questions/what-ap-capstone-program ↩