Pre-AP Biology

In Pre-AP Biology, students engage in real-world data analysis and problem-solving that sparks critical thinking about our living world. As students engage in grade-level content, they utilize the kind of scientific reasoning skills needed to analyze the natural world—and to succeed in future science and social science courses in high school and college.

The areas of focus are reasoning skills that provide vertical alignment within a discipline, giving students the opportunity to develop and strengthen these skills as they progress through subsequent Pre-AP courses and into advanced coursework.

• Emphasis on analytical reading and writing
• Strategic use of mathematics
• Attention to modeling

Pre-AP Biology has four main units. Review their key topics and the recommended length for each unit:

• Unit 1: Ecological Systems (~5 weeks)
• Unit 2: Evolution (~4 weeks)
• Unit 3: Cellular Systems (~10 weeks)
• Unit 4: Genetics (~9 weeks)

These four big ideas are addressed across all units:

• The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.
• Growth and reproduction in biological systems are dependent upon the cycling of matter and the transformation of energy.
• Biological systems, occurring at various scales, respond and adapt to stimuli in order to maintain dynamic homeostasis.
• Genetic mechanisms are essential to maintaining biological systems.

Each unit contains:

• Model lessons: Student and teacher resources that demonstrate how to translate the course framework, shared principles, and areas of focus into daily instruction.
• In-lesson formative assessments: Short, open-ended problems that highlight the targeted content and skills for each lesson.
• 2 learning checkpoints: These multiple-choice and technology-enhanced questions are modeled closely after the types of questions students encounter on AP Exams and the SAT. Learning checkpoints require students to examine graphs, data, and short texts—often in authentic contexts—to respond to questions that measure students' understanding of the unit’s concepts and skills.
• 1 performance task: A sustained problem-solving task that asks students to synthesize the unit’s skills and concepts while answering questions about a novel context.
• Practice performance tasks: 1 or 2 practice performance tasks with scoring guidelines and instructional suggestions.

Before implementing a Pre-AP course, teachers need to complete Pre-AP Course Audit. This process is required to: 

• Grant teachers access to Pre-AP Classroom, including instructional materials, professional learning, and assessment tools 
• Authorize the school to use "Pre-AP" in its course names 
• Include the school in Pre-AP Course Ledger