Yes. Advanced classes are designed to prepare students for the demands of Advanced Placement courses available in high school. The pace of instruction is faster than academic classes, and students are expected to go into greater depth in content.
While GT classes prepare students for the rigors of an AP class, they also have curricula specifically designed to meet the academic needs of gifted and talented students. Learning is project-based, emphasizes open-ended problem solving, and requires students to generalize the vast amount of knowledge they already have to the topics being studied. Very little time is spent on repetition. Students are expected to spend the majority of their time analyzing and evaluating content and creating new perspectives and products. These are not “honors” classes; there are expectations for high level products and processing of information. The homework in these classes may prove to be more time-consuming. Although class time is given to complete projects, students in these classes typically strive for “perfection” and will therefore bring more work home to finish.
Both Advanced and GT classes cover all areas detailed in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
