Curriculum & Standards

Bishop Carroll is committed to providing a high-quality, Christ-centered education for all students.

Course offerings include Advanced Placement and accelerated programs for core subject areas, including: Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, English, History, Math, Spanish, Art and more. Bishop Carroll’s focus is to prepare college-bound graduates to compete on campus and in the global marketplace.

Local colleges and universities partner with Bishop Carroll on opportunities for students to earn college credits through their BC coursework. Students who complete these courses graduate with both high school and college transcripts as well as college credits. Students typically have the opportunity to earn as many as 31 credits.

Bishop Carroll believes its reading emphasis makes it unique. All students are required to complete a supplemental reading requirement each year in order to graduate. Summer reading assignments are also made to prepare students for the upcoming school year and give teachers a common ground with which to begin instruction. The English Department chooses summer books for their timeliness and timelessness. Summer reading is assessed by classroom teachers during the first week of school. Successful completion of summer reading is necessary for fall sports participation.

Students who struggle with reading or math can find support and appropriate instruction in the developmental programs. Math courses are broken down into simple units for steady progress. A reading specialist works with students whose reading skills are below the targeted grade level, and support is provided by classroom teachers to enable struggling readers to improve and succeed.

Grading Scale

A — 93-100
B — 85-92
C — 75-84
D — 70-74
Failure — Below 70

Class rank

Rank is determined by a weighted grading system. Advanced – 1.1, Honors – 1.05, Academic – 1.00

Graduation requirements

Graduation from Bishop Carroll requires the satisfactory completion of no less than twenty-eight units of study in acceptable sequence.

4.0 credits – Religion
4.0 credits – English
3.0 credits – Social Studies
4.0 credits – Math
4.0 credits – Science
2.0 credits – Foreign Language Arts/Reading Lab
1.5 credits – Physical Education/Health
0.5 credits – Music/Art
0.5 credits – Computer Science
1.0 credit – Accelerated Reader

24.5 credits – Mandated Courses
3.5 credits Elective Courses

28.0 credits

Accelerated reader

A total of 28 Accelerated Reader, or AR, points are an annual requirement.

Of those 28 points, 14 must be completed by Tuesday, September 20, 2016. View the 2016 summer AR guidelines here.

Honors/Advanced Courses

Honors courses are available in every core area. Bishop Carroll Catholic High School offers the opportunity to earn college credits in Pre-Calculus/Trigonometry 12; Java; Physics; Advanced Latin 3 and 4; Anatomy and Physiology; Advanced Biology; Modern American History; Advanced English, and Spanish 4. In addition, several courses are also designated “AP” or Advanced Placement.

General & Academic Information

For motivated students, advanced courses are available in many subject areas: Art, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, English, History, Math, Spanish and more. Most upper-level advanced courses have AP designation or Dual enrollment for the 2015-2016 school year. These courses prepare Bishop Carroll graduates for the competitive global marketplace of the 21st Century.

Dual Enrollment – College in High School program

Local colleges and universities offer students the opportunity to earn credits through courses taken at Bishop Carroll. Students pay minimal fees for the credits, and graduate with a college transcript as well as a high school one. In the 2015-2016 school year, students have the opportunity to earn over 40 credits before graduation.

Upon the successful completion of these courses, the credit will appear on an official college transcript that can be sent to other colleges for transfer of credit. While most colleges will honor the credit through College in High School, we recommend that students inquire at the college of their choice for clarification of how the credit may be applied.

All of the following courses are offered in conjunction with local colleges. Students pay a minimal fee for the credits. All courses are three credits unless noted.

• Calculus 
• Advanced Trigonometry/Pre-Calculus 
• AP English 
• Advanced Latin 3 
• Advanced Latin 4 
• Advanced Spanish 3 
• Advanced Spanish 4 
• Advanced Physics 
• Advanced Anatomy and Physiology 
• Advanced Modern American History 
• AP Biology 
• AP Computer Science 
• Accounting 
• Advanced Chemistry 
• Professor in Residence Program through Saint Francis University 
• Statistics 101 
• Business 101

AP Courses

In addition to the extensive list of College in High School classes, Bishop Carroll also offers many Advanced Placement courses. Students who choose to take these courses and the AP test at the end of the year and achieve a certain score may have the class count towards their credit completion in college. Many of these courses are also college in high school courses so students have the option in many scenarios of getting the AP credit or the transfer credit.

Current AP courses at Bishop Carroll include:

AP Calculus
AP Computer Science
AP U.S. Government and Politics
AP Biology
AP Literature and Writing

For motivated students, advanced courses are available in many subject areas: Art, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, English, History, Math, Spanish and more. Most upper-level advanced courses have AP designation or Dual enrollment for the 2015-2016 school year. These courses prepare Bishop Carroll graduates for the competitive global marketplace of the 21st Century.