Starting in the 2022-2023 school year, McDonogh will move beyond the AP curriculum by offering a superior range of courses for all Upper School students. McDonogh is confident that this move—already accomplished by so many influential independent schools in the US—will give strength and additional rigor to our program, will inspire even more creativity in our faculty, and, most importantly, will allow our students to thrive and distinguish themselves in meaningful ways.
We believe that the College Board, AP’s parent, needlessly controls our course offerings, which would be far better served by the expertise of our greatest asset: our faculty. Combined with our LifeReady foundation, our move beyond AP provides a perfect opportunity to create an even more timely, challenging, and superior education for each and every student. With singular resources like Roots Farm, the Fader Innovation Center, our 800+ acre campus, Greatest Good McDonogh, and the potential relationships with organizations in Baltimore, the possibilities are limitless.
McDonogh’s leadership and faculty are reviewing our graduation requirements, evaluating and revising our current offerings, and creating superior programming that will continue to extend—and improve on—the world-class education McDonogh has always offered. While McDonogh students will still be prepared to sit for AP exams, without the constraints of AP, teachers will have the ability to design unique and challenging courses, aligned to careful success criteria, that cannot be found in any other school.
As we move forward with this exciting endeavor, we know our students and parents have questions. Please visit our extensive frequently asked questions (FAQs) below and don’t hesitate to reach out to Head of Upper School Merritt Livermore for more information.