Skip To Main Content

Logo Image

Rockwood School District

Logo Title

Social Studies

The Social Studies Department provides a variety of courses that are tied to the social sciences and the humanities in order to promote civic competence. Areas such as government, history, economics, geography, sociology, and psychology are utilized to help students make informed and reasoned decisions as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society.

Instructional emphasis is placed on acquiring and applying knowledge and skills that will enable students to construct new and integrated approaches to resolving issues in an increasingly interdependent world. Students enrolled in Social Studies courses will utilize texts, primary and secondary sources, maps, graphs, charts, photographs, films, and other related materials to help students construct a framework that integrates knowledge within and across disciplines. Through the use of writing and student projects, students will have the opportunity to acquire information and manipulate data, develop and present ideas, arguments, and policies, and construct categories of information such as cause/effect, sequence, comparison/contrast, or analogy.

Students may be required to complete summer work in preparation for an AP or Honors course. The purpose of summer work is to enhance a student’s ability to start on the first day of class engaged in class discussions. Expectations for summer work will be communicated in the spring semester.

Course Details

Offered at
Eureka High
Lafayette High
Marquette High
Rockwood Summit High
Grade Levels09, 10, 11, 12
Course LengthYear
Delivery MethodTraditional Seated,
Online - Off Campus
Online Course TypeCredit Recover,
First Time Credit
Credit1.0 Social Studies

Course Description

US History is a survey of the second half of American History from the late 1800s to the present and provides continuity with the curriculum of 8th-grade American History class. The course includes studying political, economic, geographic and social developments from the modern era by exploring multiple perspectives on complex issues. The course emphasizes inquiry-based learning and critical thinking skills designed to prepare students for college, career and civic engagement. Course work will include developing historical thinking skills including reading and analysis of primary and secondary sources, gathering and organizing of information into useful forms, and construction of written responses and arguments.

Course Prerequisite

This course fulfills the United States History graduation requirement.
Students will take and must pass the Missouri Civics Education Initiative Test as a part of the course as required for graduation.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration multiple points of views represented in the sources, the types of sources available, and the potential uses of the sources.
  • Analyze change and continuity in historical eras.
  • Evaluate public policies in terms of intended and unintended outcomes, and related consequences.
  • Analyze multiple and complex causes and effects of events in the past.
  • Evaluate citizens’ and institutions’ effectiveness in addressing social, economic and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and/or international level.
  • Construct arguments using precise and knowledgeable claims, with evidence from multiple sources, while acknowledging counterclaims and evidentiary weaknesses.

Course Details

Offered at
Eureka High
Lafayette High
Marquette High
Rockwood Summit High
Grade Levels09, 10, 11, 12
Course LengthYear
Delivery MethodTraditional Seated,
Online - Off Campus
Online Course TypeFirst Time Credit
Credit1.0 Social Studies

Course Description

WG Honors US History course is designed to challenge advanced students and to prepare them for college-level work in AP social studies courses.The curriculum focuses on the study of American History from the late 1800s to the present, with a high level of academic rigor.Instruction incorporates inquiry-based learning with greater depth and complexity than the non-weighted US History course. Students will be required to analyze, interpret and critique primary and secondary sources and will be assessed based on their ability to make complex connections and draw logical conclusions, as well as on their ability to engage in rigorous historical thinking and argumentation.

Course Prerequisite

Guidelines for Success in Honors US History: Students in the Honors course should be able to read and write above grade level, and also have an interest in or aptitude for advanced process skills including research, analysis, inquiry and problem solving. Due to the demanding nature of this curriculum, an intellectual curiosity for the subject matter and a dedicated work ethic are recommended assets for students of this course. Students considering enrollment are strongly encouraged to seek input from the Middle School counselor and/or current SS teacher regarding course expectations prior to enrollment in this course.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Analyze change and continuity in historical eras.
  • Construct explanations using sound reasoning, correct sequence (linear or non-linear), examples, and details with significant and pertinent information and data, while acknowledging the strengths and weaknesses of the explanation given its purpose (e.g., cause and effect, chronological, procedural, technical).
  • Analyze multiple and complex causes and effects of events in the past.
  • Evaluate social and political systems in different contexts, times, and places, that promote civic virtues and enact democratic principles.
  • Evaluate public policies in terms of intended and unintended outcomes, and related consequences.

Course Details

Offered at
Eureka High
Lafayette High
Marquette High
Rockwood Summit High
Grade Levels10, 11, 12
Course LengthYear
Delivery MethodTraditional Seated,
Online - Off Campus
Online Course TypeCredit Recover,
First Time Credit
Credit1.0 Social Studies

Course Description

World History is a survey course focusing on the historical development of people, places, and patterns of life from ancient to recent times. Students will explore the history and characteristics of civilizations in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. This course will help students develop the historical thinking skills needed to understand complex causes contributing to events and patterns in human societies. Additionally, it will build students’ ability to think and reason through analysis, evaluation, and comparison of multiple societies and time periods. This emphasis on a global perspective will prepare students to be engaged citizens in the 21st century.

Course Prerequisite

This course fulfills the Rockwood graduation requirement of one unit of a World History course. Advanced students may choose to enroll in AP European History or AP World History to fulfill the graduation requirement.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Analyze change and continuity in historical eras.
  • Analyze multiple and complex causes and effects of events in the past.
  • Construct explanations using sound reasoning, correct sequence (linear or nonlinear), examples, and details with significant and pertinent information and data, while acknowledging the strengths and weaknesses of the explanation given its purpose (e.g., cause and effect, chronological, procedural, technical).

Course Details

Offered at
Eureka High
Lafayette High
Marquette High
Rockwood Summit High
Grade Levels10, 11, 12
Course LengthYear
Delivery MethodTraditional Seated
Credit1.0 Social Studies
College CreditYes
College Credit TypeAP

Course Description

AP World History focuses on developing students’ abilities to analyze global patterns of historical development and exchange from approximately 8,000 BCE to the present. Using primary and secondary sources, students will track historical change and continuity. Great emphasis is placed on the development of historical thinking skills, including chronological reasoning, comparison, contextualization, argumentation, interpretation, and synthesis. The course includes study of the five major geographic regions: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania.

Note: Students entering this course should be prepared to read and comprehend college-level texts and write grammatically correct, complete sentences.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Historical Thinking: Develop historical thinking skills to analyze historical sources and evidence, make historical comparisons, engage in chronological reasoning, and create and support historical arguments.
  • Environment: Analyze the interaction between humans and the environment to determine how the environment shapes human societies and how human societies affect the environment.
  • Culture: Evaluate the origins, uses, dissemination, and adaptation of ideas, beliefs, and knowledge within and between societies.
  • State Building: Analyze the process by which hierarchical systems of rule have been developed and maintained to determine the resulting cooperation and conflict.
  • Economic Systems: Evaluate the diverse patterns and systems that human societies have developed as they exploit their environments to produce, distribute, and consume desired goods and services across time and space.
  • Social Structures: Analyze the process through which social categories, roles, and practices were created, maintained, and transformed to determine the connections between changes in social structures and other historical shifts.

Course Details

Offered at
Eureka High
Lafayette High
Marquette High
Rockwood Summit High
Grade Levels10, 11, 12
Course LengthYear
Delivery MethodTraditional Seated
Credit1.0 Social Studies
College CreditYes
College Credit TypeAP

Course Description

This course fulfills the World History Graduation Requirement.

AP European History focuses on developing students’ abilities to think conceptually about European history from approximately 1450 to the present. Students will develop and apply historical thinking skills as they learn about this period of time in Europe. Five themes of equal importance provide areas of historical inquiry: Interaction of Europe and the World, Poverty and Prosperity, Objective Knowledge and Subjective Visions, States and Other Institutions, and Individual and Society. These themes require students to reason historically about continuity and change over time and make comparisons among various historical developments in a variety of times and places.

Note: Students entering this course should be able to read and comprehend college-level text and write grammatically correct, complete sentences.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Historical Thinking Skills: Chronological Reasoning-Students will be able recognize and apply historical causation, patterns of continuity and change over time, and periodization.
  • Historical Thinking Skills: Comparison and Contextualization-Students will be able compare and provide contextualization for historical themes.
  • Historical Thinking Skills: Crafting Historical Arguments from Historical Evidence-Students will be able to develop historical arguments using relevant historical evidence.
  • Historical Thinking Skills: Historical Interpretation and Synthesis-Students will be able to interpret and synthesize historical evidence.
  • Thematic Objectives: Interaction of Europe and the World
  • Thematic Objectives: Poverty and Prosperity
  • Thematic Objectives: Objective Knowledge and Subjective Visions
  • Thematic Objectives: States and Other Institutions of Power
  • Thematic Objectives: Individuals and Society

Course Details

Offered at
Eureka High
Lafayette High
Marquette High
Rockwood Summit High
Grade Levels11, 12
Course LengthSemester
Delivery MethodTraditional Seated,
Online - Off Campus
Online Course TypeCredit Recover,
First Time Credit
Credit0.5 Social Studies

Course Description

The focus of the course is to instill an understanding of how the United States government works in order to prepare students to participate actively as motivated citizens of our democratic nation. Students will learn about the origins and foundations of the United States government as outlined in the United States Constitution. Using the inquiry method, students will learn about how the three branches of government, as well as state and local governments, establish public policy and provide a system of checks and balances on political power. Through exploring political parties, interest groups, and media literacy students will gain a consciousness of their own political ideologies while developing skills to evaluate current and future government actions.

Course Prerequisite

Advanced students may enroll in AP Government in place of this course to fulfill the graduation requirements.

**This course fulfills the Missouri graduation requirement that students take and pass a course designated as containing the required instruction in federal, state and local government. In order to meet state graduation requirements, all students must pass the test on the United States and Missouri Constitutions. Students will also take the required Missouri End-of-Course Government Exam.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Explain multiple causes and effects of events and developments in the past.
  • Explain how the U.S. Constitution establishes a system of government that has powers, responsibilities, and limits that have changed over time and that are still contested.
  • Construct explanations using sound reasoning, correct sequence (linear or nonlinear), examples, and details with significant and pertinent information and data, while acknowledging the strengths and weaknesses of the explanation given its purpose (e.g., cause and effect, chronological, procedural, technical).
  • Evaluate social and political systems in different contexts, times, and places, that promote civic virtues and enact democratic principles.
  • Analyze the role of citizens in the U.S. political system, with attention to various theories of democracy, changes in Americans’ participation over time, and alternative models from other countries, past and present.

Course Details

Offered at
Eureka High
Lafayette High
Marquette High
Rockwood Summit High
Grade Levels11, 12
Course LengthYear
Delivery MethodTraditional Seated
Credit1.0 Social Studies
College CreditYes
College Credit TypeAP

Course Description

AP Government and Politics is a year-long course which contains two complementary AP programs of study: AP US Government and Politics, and AP Comparative Government and Politics. The course focuses on the government and politics of the United States and the diverse political structures of Britain, Russia, China, Iran, Nigeria and Mexico through a comparative approach. The course examines politically significant concepts and themes through which students learn to apply disciplinary reasoning, assess causes and consequences of political events and interpret data to develop evidence-based arguments.

This course fulfills the United States Government graduation requirement. In order to meet state graduation requirements all students must pass the United States and Missouri Constitution Tests.

Students will take the required Missouri End of Course Government Exam.

Note: Students entering this course should be able to read and comprehend college-level text and write grammatically correct, complete sentences.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Compare important facts, concepts and theories pertaining to U.S. government and politics.
  • Explain typical patterns of political processes and behavior and their consequences.
  • Interpret basic data relevant to U.S. government and politics.
  • Critically analyze relevant theories and concepts, apply them appropriately, and develop their connections across the curriculum.
  • Compare and contrast political concepts, themes and generalizations.
  • Explain typical patterns of political processes across countries to derive generalizations.
  • Analyze and interpret basic data relevant to comparative government and politics.
  • Compare and contrast political institutions and processes across countries to derive generalizations.

Course Details

Offered at
Eureka High
Lafayette High
Marquette High
Rockwood Summit High
Grade Levels10, 11, 12
Course LengthSemester
Delivery MethodTraditional Seated
Credit0.5 Social Studies

Course Description

Economics and Personal Financeis designed to introduce students to the foundations of economic thought, microeconomics, macroeconomics, and personal finance. Students will analyze how consumer spending and national policy affect the economy. Topics will include supply and demand, market economy, opportunity cost, spending and credit, Federal Reserve, and capitalism as compared to other economic systems. Students will learn savings and investing strategies pertaining to stocks and bonds, mutual funds, 401K’s and other aspects of personal investing.

Enrollment Notes

Students must take and pass a Rockwood course in which Personal Finance competencies are embedded. This course meets the Missouri requirement that students must earn a ½ credit in the area of Personal Finance.

Students will take the MOPFA (Missouri Personal Finance Assessment) as a part of the course requirements.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Explain points of agreement and disagreement experts have about interpretations and applications of disciplinary concepts and ideas associated with a compelling question.
  • Analyze how incentives influence choices that may result in policies with a range of costs and benefits for different groups.
  • Use margin- al benefits and marginal costs to construct an argument for or against an approach or solution to an economic issue.
  • Evaluate the extent to which competition among sellers and among buyers exists in specific markets.
  • Generate possible explanations for a government role in markets when market inefficiencies exist.
  • Describe the roles of institutions such as clearly defined property rights and the rule of law in a market economy.
  • Use current data to explain the influence of changes in spending, production, and the money supply on various economic conditions.
  • Evaluate the selection of monetary and fiscal policies in a variety of economic conditions.
  • Analyze the role of comparative advantage in international trade of goods and services.
  • Identify evidence that draws information directly and substantively from multiple sources to detect inconsistencies in evidence in order to revise or strengthen claims.
  • Assess options for individual and collective action to address local, regional, and global problems by engaging in self-reflection, strategy identification, and complex causal reasoning.

Course Details

Offered at
Eureka High
Lafayette High
Marquette High
Rockwood Summit High
Grade Levels09, 10, 11, 12
Course LengthSemester
Delivery MethodTraditional Seated
Credit0.5 Social Studies

Course Description

Civil War and Reconstructionis designed to provide students an in-depth study of the history leading to the Civil War, the events of the Civil War, and Reconstruction during the perior of 1820-1877. Through historical investigation and inquiry, students will analyze the issues and events that faced the nation and led to the conflict. Students will also understand and critique a wide range of military strategies, battles, and leaders from this period in our nation's history. The course will also address the consequences of the war, the conditions that arose during Reconstruction, and the effects upon the people of the nation.

Enrollment Notes

This course is designed for students who have an interest in the Civil War but does not fulfill or replace the United States History requirement.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration multiple points of view represented in the sources, the types of sources available, and the potential uses of the sources.
  • Explain how the U.S. Constitution establishes a system of government that has powers, responsibilities, and limits that have changed over time and that are still contested.
  • Evaluate citizens’ and institutions’ effectiveness in addressing social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and/or international level.
  • Explain why advancements in technology and investments in capital goods and human capital increase economic growth and standards of living.
  • Use maps, satellite images, photographs, and other representations to explain relationships between the locations of places and regions and their political, cultural, and economic dynamics.
  • Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique characteristics of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.
  • Analyze change and continuity in historical eras.
  • Construct arguments using precise and knowledgeable claims, with evidence from multiple sources, while acknowledging counterclaims and evidentiary weaknesses.

Course Details

Offered at
Eureka High
Lafayette High
Marquette High
Rockwood Summit High
Grade Levels10, 11, 12
Course LengthSemester
Delivery MethodTraditional Seated
Credit0.5 Social Studies

Course Description

Law and Justice is designed for students interested in building a deeper understanding of our system of legal justice in the United States. Through critical thinking and analysis, students will explore the diverse areas of our legal system, including criminal, civil, and constitutional. Students will learn about historical developments and current practices in criminal law, corrections, and the courts.Throughout the course, they will build an understanding of the meaning of justice, and the relationship between criminal justice and our legal system.

Enrollment Notes

This course is designed for students who have an interest in our legal system, but it does not replace or fulfill the United States Government requirement.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Explain how a question reflects an enduring issue in the field.
  • Analyze the impact of constitutions, laws, treaties, and international agreements on the maintenance of national and international order.
  • Distinguish the powers and responsibilities of local, state, tribal, national, and international civic and political institutions.
  • Explain how the U.S. Constitution establishes a system of government that has powers, responsibilities, and limits that have changed over time and that are still contested.
  • Evaluate citizens’ and institutions’ effectiveness in addressing social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and/or international level.
  • Evaluate public policies in terms of intended and unintended outcomes, and related consequences.
  • Analyze historical, contemporary, and emerging means of changing societies, promoting the common good, and protecting rights.
  • Evaluate the credibility of a source by examining how experts value the source.
  • Construct arguments using precise and knowledgeable claims, with evidence from multiple sources, while acknowledging counterclaims and evidentiary weaknesses.
  • Assess options for individual and collective action to address local, regional, and global problems by engaging in self-reflection, strategy identification, and complex causal reasoning.

Course Details

Offered at
Eureka High
Lafayette High
Marquette High
Rockwood Summit High
Grade Levels11, 12
Course LengthSemester
Delivery MethodTraditional Seated
Credit0.5 Social Studies

Course Description

Sociology is designed to introduce students to the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior.Students will learn to think like sociologists as they investigate the structure of groups, organizations, and societies, and how people interact within these contexts. Students will examine sociological theories, research and data in order to investigate the world and better understand human behavior.This understanding will enable students to effectively participate in a diverse society, and develop a sense of personal and social responsibility.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Explain the sociological perspective and how it differs from other social sciences.
  • Define social context in terms of the external forces that shape human behavior.
  • Illustrate how sociological analysis can provide useful data-based information for decision making.
  • Illustrate how sociological analysis can provide useful data-based information for decision making.
  • Explain the social construction of self and groups.
  • Construct explanations using sound reasoning, correct sequence (linear and non-linear), examples, and details with significant and pertinent information and data.

Course Details

Offered at
Eureka High
Lafayette High
Marquette High
Rockwood Summit High
Grade Levels11, 12
Course LengthSemester
Delivery MethodTraditional Seated
Credit0.5 Social Studies

Course Description

Psychology is the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of individuals. In this course, students will learn about and work with the theories, research methods and practices used to observe, measure and explain behavior. Students will build an understanding of key topics in psychology including intelligence, personality theories, and psychological disorders, and the scientific methods used to investigate human behavior. Students will learn how to apply this knowledge to the benefit of their own lives and our society.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Explain how a question reflects an enduring issue in the field.
  • Investigate human behavior from biological, cognitive, behavioral, and sociocultural perspectives.
  • Explain the complexities of human thought and behavior, as well as the factors related to the individual differences among people.
  • Describe biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors that influence individuals’ cognition, perception, and behavior.
  • Explain the interaction of biology and experience (i.e., nature and nurture) and its influence on behavior.
  • Use critical thinking skills to become better consumers of psychological knowledge.
  • Acknowledge the interconnectedness of knowledge in the discipline of psychology.
  • Apply psychological knowledge to their daily lives.

Course Details

Offered at
Eureka High
Lafayette High
Marquette High
Rockwood Summit High
Grade Levels11, 12
Course LengthSemester
Delivery MethodTraditional Seated,
Online - Off Campus
Online Course TypeFirst Time Credit
Credit0.5 Social Studies

Course Description

Contemporary Issues is designed to provide students an opportunity to understand and analyze contemporary local, national and international issues in order to become more engaged and informed citizens. Students will gain an understanding of the origins and causes of these issues. Students will critique past and current attempts to resolve them, and propose and debate alternative solutions. Students will also examine how the media and social networks influence our understanding of the world by analyzing a variety of primary and secondary resources. The contemporary issues and events examined will include national and international conflicts, economics, the environment, human rights, world health, and related national and international policies.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration multiple points of view represented in the sources, the types of sources available, and the potential uses of the sources.
  • Analyze the impact and the appropriate roles of personal interests and perspectives on the application of civic virtues, democratic principles, constitutional rights, and human rights .
  • Analyze relationships and interactions within and between human and physical systems to explain reciprocal influences that occur among them.
  • Evaluate how political and economic decisions throughout time have influenced cultural and environmental characteristics of various places and regions.
  • Explain how the perspectives of people in the present shape interpretations of the past .
  • Distinguish between long-term causes and triggering events in developing a historical argument.
  • Evaluate the credibility of a source by examining how experts value the source.
  • Construct arguments using precise and knowledgeable claims, with evidence from multiple sources, while acknowledging counterclaims and evidentiary weaknesses.
  • Assess options for individual and collective action to address local, regional, and global problems by engaging in self-reflection, strategy identification, and complex causal reasoning.

Course Details

Offered at
Eureka High
Lafayette High
Marquette High
Rockwood Summit High
Grade Levels11, 12
Course LengthSemester
Delivery MethodTraditional Seated
Credit0.5 Social Studies

Course Description

Politics and Conflict in the Modern World is designed for students interested in developing a knowledge and understanding of the origins, nature, and effects of 21st Century political and civil conflicts at both the national and international level. Students will evaluate the role of national and international policy in facing these conflicts, along with the role of individuals and non-governmental agencies. Through analysis of sources from a variety of perspectives, students will engage in debate, and construct arguments related to the challenges and opportunities of developing potential resolutions to current conflicts.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Explain how supporting questions contribute to an inquiry and how, through engaging source work, new and compelling and supporting questions emerge.
  • Distinguish the powers and responsibilities of local, state, tribal, national, and international civic and political institutions.
  • Analyze the impact of constitutions, laws, treaties, and international agreements on the maintenance of national and international order.
  • Evaluate citizens’ and institutions’ effectiveness in addressing social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and/or international level.
  • Critique relationships among governments, civil societies, and economic markets.
  • Evaluate multiple procedures for making governmental decisions at the local, state, national, and international levels in terms of the civic purposes achieved.
  • Analyze historical, contemporary, and emerging means of changing societies, promoting the common good, and protecting rights.
  • Analyze how incentives influence choices that may result in policies with a range of costs and benefits for different groups.
  • Evaluate how economic globalization and the expanding use of scarce resources contribute to conflict and cooperation within and among countries.
  • Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.
  • Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.
  • Use disciplinary and interdisciplinary lenses to understand the characteristics and causes of local, regional, and global problems.

Course Details

Offered at
Eureka High
Lafayette High
Marquette High
Rockwood Summit High
Grade Levels09, 10, 11, 12
Course LengthYear
Delivery MethodTraditional Seated
Credit1.0 Social Studies
College CreditYes
College Credit TypeAP

Course Description

AP Human Geography is designed to help students become more engaged in contemporary global issues, geographically literate and able to analyze the world from a multicultural perspective. Students will learn about the methods and tools geographers use in their science and practice, including interpreting maps, geospatial data, as well as geographic information systems (GIS) in order to see geography as a field of inquiry. Topics of study in the course include population and migration, economic development and industrialization, cultural patterns, and urban and rural development. The course is equivalent to an introductory college-level course.

Note: Students entering should be able to read and comprehend college-level texts and write grammatically correct, complete sentences.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Interpret maps, data sets, geographic models, and analyze geospatial data.
  • Understand and explain the implications of associations and networks among phenomena in places.
  • Recognize and interpret the relationships among patterns and processes at different scales of analysis, from the local to the global.
  • Define regions and evaluate the regionalization process.
  • Characterize and analyze changing interconnections amongst people and places.

Course Details

Offered at
Eureka High
Lafayette High
Marquette High
Rockwood Summit High
Grade Levels11, 12
Course LengthYear
Delivery MethodTraditional Seated
Credit1.0 Social Studies
College CreditYes
College Credit TypeAP

Course Description

The AP Economics course is a full-year course that contains two complementary programs of study: AP Macroeconomics and AP Microeconomics. Each program corresponds to one semester of a typical introductory college course in economics. AP Macroeconomics focuses on the principles that apply to an economic system as a whole. AP Microeconomics focuses on the principles of economics that apply to the functions of individual decision-makers, both consumers and producers, within the economic system.

NOTE: Students will take the MOPFA ( Missouri Personal Finance Assessment) as part of the course requirements.This course meets the Missouri graduation requirements for personal finance proficiency.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Macroeconomics: Students understand the principles of economics and how economists use those principles to examine aggregate economic behavior.
  • Macroeconomics: Students learn how the measures of economic performance, such as gross domestic product (GDP), inflation, and unemployment are constructed and how to apply them to evaluate the macroeconomic conditions of an economy.
  • Macroeconomics: Students will recognize the global nature of economics and examine the impact of international trade and finance on national economies.
  • Macroeconomics: Students will understand various economic schools of thought.
  • Macroeconomics: Students consider solutions to economic problems.
  • Microeconomics: Students understand the principles of economics as they apply to individual decision-making units, including individual households and firms.
  • Microeconomics: Students will examine the theory of consumer behavior, the theory of the firm, and the behavior of profit-maximizing firms under various market structures.
  • Microeconomics: Students will evaluate the efficiency of the outcomes with respect to price, output, consumer surplus, and producer surplus.
  • Microeconomics: Students will examine the behaviors of households and businesses in factor markets, and learn how the determination of factor prices, wages, interest, and rent influence the distribution of income in a market economy.
  • Microeconomics: Students will consider instances in which private markets may fail to allocate resources efficiently and examine various public policy alternatives aimed at improving efficiency of private markets.

Course Details

Offered at
Eureka High
Lafayette High
Marquette High
Rockwood Summit High
Grade Levels11, 12
Course LengthYear
Delivery MethodTraditional Seated
Credit1.0 Social Studies
College CreditYes
College Credit TypeAP

Course Description

AP United States History focuses on developing students’ conceptual and historical thinking as they learn about U.S. History from approximately 1491 to the present. Seven themes of equal importance provide areas of historical inquiry for investigation throughout the course: identity; peopling; politics and power; work, exchange and technology; America in the world; environment and geography; and ideas, beliefs and culture. Emphasis will be placed on interpreting and analyzing evidence from primary and secondary sources along with crafting arguments from historical knowledge and sources.

Note: Students entering this course should be able to read and comprehend college-level texts and write grammatically correct, complete sentences.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • Develop historical thinking skills to analyze historical sources and evidence, make historical connections, engage in chronological reasoning, and create and support historical arguments.
  • Examine how and why definitions of American and national identity and values have developed, as well as on related topics such as citizenship, constitutionalism, foreign policy, assimilation, and American exceptionalism.
  • Analyze how different social and political groups have influenced society and government in the United States, as well as how political beliefs and institutions have changed over time.
  • Determine the factors behind the development of systems of economic exchange, particularly the role of technology, economic markets, and government.
  • Evaluate the roles that ideas, beliefs, social mores, and creative expression have played in shaping the United States, as well as how various identities, cultures, and values have been preserved or changed in different contexts of U.S. history.
  • Examine why and how the various people who moved to and within the United States both adapted to and transformed their new social and physical environments.
  • Analyze the role of geography and both the natural and human-made environments on social and political developments in what would become the United States.
  • Evaluate the interactions between nations that affected North American history in the colonial period, and determine the influence of the United States on world affairs.

Course Details

Offered at
Eureka High
Lafayette High
Marquette High
Rockwood Summit High
Grade Levels11, 12
Course LengthYear
Delivery MethodTraditional Seated
Credit1.0 Social Studies
College CreditYes
College Credit TypeAP

Course Description

AP Psychology introduces students to the systematic and scientific study of human behavior and mental processes. While considering the psychologists and studies that have shaped the field, students explore and apply psychological theories, key concepts, and phenomena associated with such topics as the biological bases of behavior, sensation and perception, learning and cognition, motivation, developmental psychology, testing and individual differences, treatment of abnormal behavior, and social psychology. Throughout the course, students employ psychological research methods, including ethical considerations, as they use the scientific method, analyze bias, evaluate claims and evidence, and effectively communicate ideas.

Note: Students entering this course should be prepared to read and comprehend college-level and write grammatically correct, complete sentences.

Expected Course Outcomes

  • History and Approaches: Includes history, perspectives, theoretical approaches and major historical figures
  • Research Methods: includes types of research, research design, basic statistical concepts, and ethical issues
  • Biological Bases of Behavior: includes influence of neural function, nervous system and the brain, and genetic contributions to behavior
  • Sensation and Perception: includes basic principles and processes of sensory perception, common sensory disorders, interpretation of sensory inputs.
  • States of Consciousness: includes impact of states of consciousness on behavior, hypnotic phenomena, major psychoactive drug categories and sleep
  • Learning : includes types of learning, including classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning
  • Cognition: includes how humans learn, remember, and retrieve information
  • Motivation and Emotion: includes basic motivational concepts for understanding the behavior of humans
  • Developmental Psychology: includes prenatal development, motor development, socialization, cognitive development, adolescence, and adulthood
  • Personality: includes major theories of how humans develop enduring patterns of behavior and personal characteristics
  • Testing and Individual Differences: includes an understanding of intelligence and assessment of individual differences, test construction and fair use
  • Abnormal Behavior: includes formal conventions that guide psychologists’ judgments about diagnosis and problem severity