Course Catalog

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.

Students can earn college credits by taking University of Minnesota (U of M) courses at Richfield High School through the College in the Schools (CIS) program or by taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses.

Learn more on the Earning College Credits web page.

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2. Parents and students are primarily responsible for planning an education program and maintaining an account of their total credits leading to graduation.
3. All students MUST be enrolled in at least one (1) course in English and one (1) in social studies each semester.
4. All students must maintain enrollment in a minimum of five (5) credit classes each semester. Students not maintaining the minimum will be subject to referral to an alternative program or subject to dismissal from school for the remainder of the semester. 
5. Students may withdraw from a course during the first 15 days of a semester without a record of the course on their transcript. Students will be placed in a study hall. Students who withdraw from a course after the 15th day of the semester will receive a “W” on their transcript. The “W” grade will be equivalent to an “F” grade and will be averaged into each student’s cumulative grade point average.
6. Students who seek to transfer credits earned in alternative programs while concurrently enrolled full-time at RHS should be aware of the following Richfield Public Schools Board Policy 620: 1) Students must receive prior approval from the school district, consistent with state law, for any courses to be completed for credit outside the district, 2) Students may transfer a limit of 2 semester credits per year from an alternative program, and 3) Counselors will verify evidence of contact hours (approximately 60 hours per semester credit). 
7. Course Weighting. Courses containing AP/CIS/NCC/PSEO in the title are graded at 120%, HONORS classes are graded at 110%. This is due to increased rigor and homework requirements. Students enrolled in these classes will be required to complete work independently. Students should expect a considerable amount of homework including challenging reading and writing assignments. Successful completion of each Honors/AP course requires approximately four-six hours of individual study time per week. For University of Minnesota College In the Schools classes for fall or spring semester, one credit represents, for the average University undergraduate student, three hours of academic work per week (including lectures, essays, laboratories, recitations, discussion groups, study, and so on), averaged over the semester, in order to complete the work of the course to achieve an average grade.
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Requests for schedule changes are not accepted after the third school day of the semester. Schedule changes will be approved on a space in class available basis for the following reasons only:

• Inappropriate placement
• Failed/not taken the prerequisite course
• Conflicts in schedule
• Class balance
• Schedule error(s)

Students earn eligibility to participate in co-curricular activities by meeting the accumulated credit expectations to certify them as making “satisfactory progress towards graduation."

• Semester 1 = 5 (Freshman)
• Semester 2 = 10 (Sophomore)
• Semester 3 = 16 (Sophomore)
• Semester 4 = 22 (Junior)
• Semester 5 = 29 (Junior)
• Semester 6 = 36 (Senior)
• Semester 7 = 43 (Senior)

Credits to Graduate = 49 

A first time sophomore must have earned at least ten (10) credits during his/her two semesters in ninth-grade to be eligible for co-curricular programs the fall semester of his/her sophomore year.
All first time ninth-grade students are eligible for participation in co-curricular programs during the fall semester. To be eligible for participation in the spring semester, they will need to have earned a minimum of five (5) credits.

NCAA Student Athlete Eligibility

Students should be aware that high school course selection and performance will impact eligibility to participate in NCAA athletics. Students will need to meet requirements to receive athletics aid, practice, and compete their first year. For current and complete details, please visit the NCAA Eligibility Center website.

Early in their high school career students should discuss their college plans with their counselor. Counselors can make recommendations for appropriate courses for specific colleges. Students who plan to apply to a four-year college should plan to complete these high school courses:

• 4 years of English
• 4 years of Social Studies
• 4 years of Mathematics
• 4 years of Science
• 2-4 years of one World Language
• 1 year each of Art and Physical Education
• ½ year of Health

Foundation Knowledge and Skills

Academic & Technical Literacy

• Employability
• Ethics
• Systems
• Teamwork
• Career Development
• Problem Solving
• Critical Thinking
• Information Technology Application
• Legal Responsibilities
• Communication
• Safety, Health and Environment
• Social Studies
• Math
• Science
• English
• Personal Finance

Career Fields

Last December, the Richfield school board passed Policy 601: Academic Standards and Instructional Curriculum. This policy makes key changes to grading practices and, influenced by this policy, some course offerings at RMS and RHS. While some changes take effect starting next year, others are phased in over time with all changes in full effect for the class of 2026 (our current eighth grade class). You can find the full summary of changes on the 2022-23 Program Changes page.