AP (Advanced Placement): Advanced placement courses provide students the opportunity to earn nationally-recognized college credit while still in high school. The courses are taught at Richfield High School by teachers who have gone through AP training. The College Board provides a host of resources for students, including practice AP exams and lists of colleges and universities that accept AP credit. Take the AP Exam at the end of class; your score determines college credit. Current AP courses offered:
- English – AP English Language and Composition (grade 11)
- Social Studies – AP Human Geography (grade 9), AP World History (grade 10), AP Psychology (grades 10-12)
- Science – AP Biology (grades 11-12)
- World Language – AP Spanish Language and Culture (DLI grade 11), AP French Language and Culture (grade 12), AP Spanish Literature
- Music- AP Music Theory (grades 11-12)
CIS (College in the Schools): An educational program for high school students run by the University of Minnesota. It allows students to take college level classes in their high school and, as a result, earn college and high school credit free. The curriculum is controlled by the University of Minnesota. These are on-campus course opportunities. Current CIS courses include:
- English – CIS English (grade 12)
- Math- CIS Calculus (grades 11-12), CIS Applied Statistics (grades 11-12), CIS College Algebra through Modeling (grade 12)
- Social Studies – CIS American History (grade 11), CIS Political Science (grade 12), CIS Micro Economics (grades 11-12), CIS Macro Economics (grade 12), CIS African American Studies (grades 11-12)
- Science – CIS Human Physiology (grades 11-12), CIS Intro to Physics (grades 11-12), CIS Physics by Inquiry (grades 11-12), CIS Climate Crisis (grades 11-12)
- World Language – CIS German
College Prep (CP): See Honors description.
Credit: We are on a semester system where each semester class is worth 1.0 credit. A student must earn a passing grade in order to earn a credit in a class.
CTE (Career & Technical Education): A multi-year sequence of courses that integrates core academic knowledge with technical and occupational knowledge to provide students with a pathway to postsecondary education and careers. Earn Technical or Community college credits (Articulated College Credit) in grades 10-12.
Elective: These are classes that students can choose to enroll in that are not specifically required to graduate, but will count as part of the total credits toward graduation. (i.e. Art, Business/Marketing, FACS, Global Language, Music, Technology)
Honors: Honors-level courses are offered mostly in 9th and 10th grade. Enrolling in advanced classes not only provides an extra challenge to students, it also shows colleges that students completed a more rigorous course load in high school. Honors classes are labeled as either Honors or College Prep (CP). Current honors courses include:
- English- Honors English 9, Honors English 10
- Math- Honors Geometry, Honors Advanced Algebra, Honors Pre-Calculus
- Science- College Prep Biology, College Prep Chemistry
PSEO (Post-Secondary Enrollment Options): A program that allows 11th and 12th grade students to learn college credit while still in high school, through enrollment in and successful completion of college-level courses. These are typically off-campus course opportunities. Sophomores have limited eligibility and may request information directly from their counselor.
Required: Required classes are English (8), Social Studies (8), Math (6), Science(6), Health (1), Physical Education (2), and Fine Arts (2) that students MUST pass in order to graduate.