AP® / Deutsches Sprachdiplom DSD 1 Preparatory Class

This class is intended to prepare students for the AP® German exam, administered in May each year. The course follows the Collegeboard guidelines for the AP® curriculum. AP® courses are considered college-level courses, and after passing the exam with a score of at least 3, the students may receive college credit (rules vary among state and private colleges, however).

Typically, the students have taken or will also take the DSD 1, a globally administered test by the German government's Zentralstelle für das Auslandsschulwesen. This exam may serve as a first step to satisfy the language proficiency requirements for students who wish to study in Germany. The next higher level, the DSD 2, satisfies the language proficiency requirements completely.

The course develops four core skills that will be tested in both exams: Listening comprehension, reading comprehension, written expression, and oral expression. The course curriculum comprises a thorough grammar and vocabulary review, practice exams, as well as classroom study with current printed and audio-visual materials and textbooks.

This class is offered every other year and will start in the fall of 2011. Students have to be in 9th grade or above to enroll in this class and should be prepared to complete 2-3 hours of homework assignments each week.