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AP U.S. Government and Politics

Course Overview with Philosophy

AP U.S. Government and Politics provides a college-level, nonpartisan introduction to key political concepts, ideas, institutions, policies, interactions, roles, and behaviors that characterize the constitutional system and political culture of the United States. Students will study U.S. foundational documents, Supreme Court decisions, and other texts and visuals to gain an understanding of the relationships and interactions among political institutions, processes, and behavior. They will also engage in course skills that require them to read and interpret data, make comparisons and applications, and develop evidence-based arguments. In addition, they will complete a political science research or applied civics project.

Expectations & Support

Successful AP students will have the dedication, self-discipline, and the desire to apply themselves as a college student, and will budget their time effectively to manage the workload. AP courses maintain a level of rigor and a commensurate workload of a college-level course. This requires students to be organized and manage their time to support the demands of the class. Academic integrity is expected at all times, for students are given additional authority over their learning and as such, are expected to conduct themselves accordingly. A required prerequisite for this course is U.S./VA History or AP U.S./VA History.

Exams & Assessment

  • Units 1-5 Exams with multiple-choice questions and FRQs (free-response questions)

  • Textbook chapter readings and quizzes

  • 1 End-of-Course Practice Exam

  • 2-3 papers/speeches

  • Midterm and Final Exams

  • 3-4 Projects (individual/group)

  • Required AP U.S. Government and Politics Exam (in May)

Materials & Resources

  • AP Classroom

  • American Government: Stories of a Nation, Presidential Election Update, First Edition

  • Scholarly Articles

  • EBSCO and JSTOR databases

Time Commitment

AP U.S. Government and Politics requires students to read and write extensively. While time spent on these tasks may differ from student to student, on average, a student should expect to spend about 5-6 hours of work outside of class per week, including chapter textbook readings and homework, practice FRQs (free-response questions covering the four FRQ types: Concept Application, Quantitative Analysis, SCOTUS Comparison, and Argument Essay) as well as other writings and assignments.