BUILDING ON THE FOUNDATION:
THE BASIS TUCSON HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM

The BASIS high school curriculum is organized around the College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) Program. It is a uniquely challenging curriculum that meets the State of Arizona’s Standards and Requirements, and it is specifically designed to equip students for success in college. All of BASIS’s core subject courses are either AP or Honors courses. The Honors level courses, developed by BASIS teachers, offer higher-than-average academic content, as well as concentrate on developing higher cognitive skills necessary for success in AP courses. In that sense they are actually “AP Prep” courses.

The BASIS high school curriculum is extremely rigorous, yet accelerated enough to allow students to complete their minimum required college preparatory course work and go on to college following their third year. However, the vast majority of students choose to stay for a fourth year. The BASIS senior year curriculum offers a unique opportunity for students to fully utilize the fruits of their hard work and to put important finishing touches on their high school transcript. During the first half of their senior year, students complete rigorous “capstone” courses in traditional academic fields. During their second semester, students complete an independent research project consisting of either study aboard or an internship in Scottsdale, another U.S. location, or abroad. Students must plan and propose their projects, which must be closely tied to their future career or educational plans. While students are closely monitored and evaluated during the Senior Project, the level of independence, self motivation, and creativity required during this time finalizes the students’ preparation for their academic future, serving as a bridge between the high school and college experience.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT CURRICULUM

WHY AP COURSES?
Research findings indicate that students who take AP courses—regardless of whether they receive high scores on the AP exam—do better while in college and are much more likely to graduate from college than students who do not take AP courses. AP courses also allow students to gain enough knowledge about various disciplines to help them decide on a major to pursue in college. Students who receive sufficiently high scores on AP examinations can earn college credit.

AP courses provide students with the opportunity to pursue college-level studies while they are still in high school. BASIS high school students can literally begin their college education in small classes at a pace tailored to their intellectual level of development, rather than in crowded, frenetically paced survey courses that typify the college freshman experience. 

WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT BASIS AP COURSES?
Many Scottsdale area high schools offer AP courses to selected students, and these are generally taken in the 11th and 12th Grades. At BASIS, all students are required to take a minimum of eight AP courses, beginning with two AP courses in the 9th Grade. Additionally, BASIS high school students are required to take the AP exam in six courses, and the exam results are factored into their grades for those courses. This approach is unique to BASIS and helps differentiate BASIS students in the college admissions process. BASIS School practices what the College Board preaches—we, too, believe that “AP is not a program for the elite but a program for the prepared.” The BASIS curriculum is designed to prepare students for the AP challenge, which, in turn, prepares students for college and university life.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND SEQUENCE

SCIENCE
In 9th Grade, BASIS students begin with one Honors science course in biology, chemistry, or physics. In 10th Grade, students continue with the chosen science as an AP course and select an additional Honors science course. Students in 11th Grade continue with the second selected science as an AP course and take the third and last required Honors science course. By 11th Grade all students are required to obtain 5 science credits: 3 in Honors courses and 2 in AP science courses. (Note: Students have the option of choosing AP Economics in place of a second AP science.) The science curriculum is completed with a Science Lab in 12th Grade. Students taking Calculus III in 12th Grade are not required to take this course.

MATH
The BASIS high school math sequence includes Pre-Calculus and Calculus, and either AP Calculus or Advanced Mathematics. Students who choose AP Calculus in 11th Grade can enroll in Calculus III in 12th Grade. All 12th Grade students complete their math course work with Applied Math. Applied Math includes Statistics and selected advanced math topics. BASIS no longer enrolls incoming high school students in Algebra courses. The lowest level of math taught to incoming high school students is Pre-Calculus. BASIS offers Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry courses during the summer, to help students transferring from other schools achieve success in the BASIS math curriculum.

ENGLISH
BASIS students are required to take 4 credits of English, beginning in 9th Grade with AP English Language and a Composition and Writing Lab. They continue with Honors Literature in 10th Grade, AP English Literature in 11th Grade, and a Capstone Humanities Seminar during the first semester of their senior year.

SOCIAL STUDIES
BASIS students are required to take 3 AP history courses, beginning in 9th Grade with AP World History. They continue with AP European History in 10th Grade and AP U.S. History in 11th Grade. Students also are offered AP Economics and AP U.S. Government courses, in which they may enroll in place of a second AP science or AP Calculus.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Students may choose to take either Spanish,  French, or Mandarin Chinese, and they are required to take their chosen language at each high school grade. Students who wish to pursue their foreign language study may take AP Spanish or AP French in 11th Grade. Students who take an AP foreign language in 11th Grade will continue their foreign language studies in 12th Grade in an independent study or TA (Teaching Assistant) activities for lower grades.

OTHER REQUIRED COURSES
Students must take a minimum of one fine art course (they may choose from Music, Art, or Drama) and one sports/athletic activity credit. The latter credit may be fulfilled by taking a sport elective at BASIS, or by participating on a BASIS team or other competitive team.

SENIOR PROJECT
In 12th Grade, students spend the second semester either in an intern position at a public or private sector institution or enrolled in an external study program. The internship or the external study program may be located either in the U.S. or abroad and should be related to the course of study that the student intends to pursue after graduating from BASIS. While local internships are possible, we encourage parents to consider having their child intern outside of Scottsdale and, if possible, outside of the U.S. The Senior Project is the capstone to a rigorous three-and-a-half-year academic program, and it is intended to give students the perspective and real-world skills they will need to succeed in college.