Bellefontaine High School is proud to be one of approximately 2,500 schools participating in the AP Capstone Diploma program, a project-based learning experience valued by colleges and universities across the U.S. and around the world.
During the 2023-2024 school year, three BHS students earned the AP Capstone Diploma and three earned the AP Seminar and Research Certificate. The AP Capstone Diploma program is in its fifth year at BHS and helps students to develop critical thinking, research, collaboration, and presentation skills that are critical to academic success.
“We are very proud of our students who took on the challenge of participating in the AP Capstone Diploma program. These students did not shy away from this academic rigor and we are ecstatic about their success,” said BCS Gifted Coordinator Angie Horvath. “Our AP Capstone students and teachers, Jim Robinson and Meredith Richters, continue to show extraordinary commitment to a very strenuous program. These meaningful college readiness courses will serve our students well after high school.”
To receive the AP Capstone Diploma, students must earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar, AP Research, and on four additional AP Exams. To receive the AP Seminar and Research Certificate, students must earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research.
Student participation in the AP Capstone program has been steadily increasing, with over 100,000 students in over 2,500 schools worldwide participating during the 2023-24 academic year. Approximately 21,000 students earned the AP Capstone Diploma, and 11,100 students earned the AP Seminar and Research Certificate.
Unlike traditional AP subject exams with a single end-of-year assessment, AP Seminar and AP Research assessments are project-based and evaluate skills mastery through group projects, presentations, and individual essays completed throughout the year. Instead of focusing on one specific academic discipline, AP Seminar and AP Research are interdisciplinary: Students are empowered to create research projects based on topics of personal interest and they are assessed on the critical thinking, research, collaboration, time management, and presentation skills needed to complete their projects.
Of the students who participated in the AP Capstone Diploma program at Bellefontaine High School:
Three were awarded the AP Capstone Diploma by earning scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar, AP Research, and on 4 additional AP Exams. They are 2024 graduates Julia Easton, Oliver Moreland, and Mason Stanley.
2024 graduates Ella Kuba, Zane Tevis, and Lauren Valdez were awarded the AP Seminar and Research Certificate by earning a score of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research.
