Los Alamitos High School AP Courses: Grade Levels and Exams

Los Alamitos High School’s advanced coursework runs on a single system, AP; there is no IB program. The 2026-27 Curriculum Handbook lists 27 AP courses, and AP Cybersecurity and AP Business with Personal Finance were added in fall 2026. The School Profile publishes school-wide AP results but no pass rates by subject, so this page does not rank courses by pass rate. Instead it brings together each course’s grade levels, prerequisites, exam arrangements and suggested combinations to help families decide before spring registration each year.

Los Alamitos High School AP Count: Several Sources

Source	AP count and notes
2026-27 Curriculum Handbook	The AP course list has 27 courses, counting 2-D and 3-D Art and Design separately; this page follows that list
2026-27 School Profile	Reports 25 AP courses offered in 2025-26; its course list already includes the two added in fall 2026
2027 AP exam schedule	25 exams (Calculus AB and BC share a session) plus Art and Design portfolios; no AP European History
Official UC A-G list (2026-27)	Includes 32 courses, among them AP German, AP Art History, AP Physics 1 and AP European History, which are not on the handbook's AP list

The school has no IB program and no AP Capstone (Seminar and Research). The Curriculum Handbook states that students enrolled in AP courses are expected to sit for the May exam.

Los Alamitos High School 2026 AP Exam Results

Measure	2025-26
Students taking AP exams	1,060
AP exams taken	2,491
Share scoring 3 or higher	91.6%
AP Scholars with Distinction	258
Students taking at least one AP course	45% of the school

Los Alamitos High School AP Grade Levels

Compiled from the grade levels in the 2026-27 Curriculum Handbook.

Grade	AP courses available
From grade 9	AP Human Geography (2.5 GPA), AP Computer Science Principles, AP Computer Science A, AP Cybersecurity, AP Business with Personal Finance
Grade 10	AP World History (grade 10 only)
From grade 10	AP Precalculus, AP Chemistry, AP Japanese Language and Culture, AP Music Theory, AP 2-D and 3-D Art and Design
Grade 11	AP English Language, AP US History
Grades 11-12	AP Calculus AB and BC, AP Statistics, AP Biology, AP Environmental Science, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Psychology, AP French Language and Culture, AP Spanish Language and Culture, AP Spanish Literature and Culture
Grade 12	AP English Literature, AP US Government and Politics (one semester), AP Macroeconomics (one semester)

AP courses are chosen against each course's recommended prerequisites, and most require a teacher recommendation; AP Human Geography asks only for a 2.5 GPA, while AP English Language, AP Psychology, AP Cybersecurity and AP Business with Personal Finance have no prerequisite course.

Los Alamitos High School AP Prerequisites

AP course	Grade levels and prerequisites
AP Human Geography	Grades 9-12; 2.5 GPA
AP Computer Science Principles / AP Computer Science A	Grades 9-12; teacher recommendation. CSP counts toward UC A-G area d, CSA toward area c
AP Cybersecurity / AP Business with Personal Finance	Grades 9-12; no prerequisite. AP Career Kickstart courses launched in fall 2026
AP World History	Grade 10; A or B in English plus a 3.0 GPA or teacher recommendation
AP Precalculus	Grades 10-12; Algebra II/Trigonometry with a B or better, or Advanced Math/Trigonometry with an A- or better, each with teacher recommendation
AP Chemistry	Grades 10-12; an A in both semesters of Honors Chemistry and teacher recommendation
AP English Language	Grade 11; no prerequisite course
AP US History	Grade 11; A or B in both World History and English plus a 3.0 GPA or teacher recommendation
AP Calculus AB / BC	Grades 11-12; AB requires precalculus with a C+ or better, BC a B+ or better
AP Statistics	Grades 11-12; teacher recommendation plus an A in Algebra II or a B in Algebra II/Trigonometry, Advanced Math/Trigonometry or Finite Math
AP Biology	Grades 11-12; an A in both Biology and Honors Chemistry, or a B or better in AP Chemistry, plus teacher recommendation
AP Environmental Science	Grades 11-12; Biology with an A and Chemistry with an A or Honors Chemistry with a B or better, plus teacher recommendation
AP Physics C: Mechanics	Grades 11-12; concurrent enrollment in or completion of calculus, plus previous physics
AP Psychology	Grades 11-12; no prerequisite
AP English Literature	Grade 12; B+/A average in English in grades 9-11, English teacher recommendation and a writing sample; assigned summer reading
AP US Government / AP Macroeconomics	Grade 12; one semester each; teacher recommendation
AP French / AP Japanese / AP Spanish Language / AP Spanish Literature	French: French IV with a B+; Japanese (grades 10-12): Japanese III with a B+ and teacher recommendation; Spanish Language: Spanish IV with an A or Spanish IV Honors with a B; Spanish Literature: AP Spanish Language or native-speaker proficiency, with a B or better
AP Music Theory / AP Art and Design	Grades 10-12; Music Theory requires the ability to read notation, and Art and Design requires a prior art course and a portfolio review

Several thresholds are linked. AP Chemistry requires an A in both semesters of Honors Chemistry, AP Biology in turn requires an A in Honors Chemistry or a B in AP Chemistry, and the school advises students planning both to take AP Chemistry first; AP Calculus BC requires a B+ in precalculus; and AP Physics C: Mechanics requires concurrent or completed calculus. Planning science APs means working backward from grade 9 Chemistry Honors and the math starting point.

Los Alamitos High School AP Exam Registration and Fees

Fees and registration	For 2026-27, AP exams cost $110 each, and financial assistance can be requested confidentially on Total Registration. Students first join each AP class in College Board's AP Classroom with the teacher's join code and opt in to the exam by November 13, 2026, then pay on Total Registration: November 6 is the payment and full-refund deadline, a $40 late fee applies after that, and the final deadline with the late fee is November 13
Testing accommodations	Students who need testing accommodations must email Assistant Principal Alyssa Reyes by December 11 so the school can apply to College Board; students with a 504 plan or IEP are not automatically eligible
Subjects not offered	Students may request to sit AP exams in subjects the school does not offer
Arrival times	7:15 a.m. for morning exams and 11:15 a.m. for afternoon exams

2027 AP Exam Schedule

Date (2027)	Exams
May 3 (Mon)	Human Geography, Physics C: Mechanics (morning); Biology (afternoon)
May 4 (Tue)	Business with Personal Finance, US Government (morning)
May 5 (Wed)	Cybersecurity, English Literature (morning)
May 6 (Thu)	French Language, World History (morning); Chemistry (afternoon)
May 7 (Fri)	US History (morning); Macroeconomics (afternoon)
May 10 (Mon)	Calculus AB/BC (morning); Music Theory (afternoon)
May 11 (Tue)	Precalculus, Japanese Language (morning); Statistics (afternoon)
May 12 (Wed)	English Language (morning); Computer Science A (afternoon)
May 13 (Thu)	Spanish Language (morning); Environmental Science (afternoon)
May 14 (Fri)	Computer Science Principles, Spanish Literature (morning); Psychology (afternoon)
Portfolios and projects	AP Computer Science Principles performance tasks and AP world language digital projects are due April 30, 2027 (11:59 p.m. ET); AP Art and Design digital portfolios are due May 7, 2027 (8 p.m. ET)

AP Courses Los Alamitos High School Does Not Offer

AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2 and AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism: the only AP physics course in the 2026-27 Curriculum Handbook is Physics C: Mechanics, although the UC A-G list still includes AP Physics 1
AP Microeconomics: the only AP economics course is one semester of AP Macroeconomics
AP Chinese Language and Culture and AP German: the handbook's AP languages are French, Japanese, Spanish Language and Spanish Literature; the UC A-G list still includes AP German
AP Comparative Government and Politics
AP Art History: still on the UC A-G list, but absent from the handbook and the 2027 exam schedule
AP Seminar and AP Research (AP Capstone)
AP European History: the handbook describes it (grades 10-12), but it is not on the handbook's AP list or the 2027 exam schedule

Los Alamitos High School AP Course List

The list comes from the official UC A-G course list, with grade levels and prerequisites from the 2026-27 Curriculum Handbook; AP courses on the UC list that the handbook does not include are noted.

English 2 courses

Course	Level	Grades	Prerequisites / Conditions / Notes	UC A-G
AP English Language and Composition	AP	11	No prerequisite course; students should be able to read college-level textsTranscript abbreviations: AP Engl Lang, AP English Lang, Eng Lang AP	b
AP English Literature and Composition	AP	12	B+/A average in English in grades 9-11, English teacher recommendation and a writing sample reviewed by the AP instructorsTwo assigned summer readings with reader-response journals before the course begins; Transcript abbreviations: AP Engl Lit, AP English Lit, Eng Lit AP	b

Social Science 8 courses

Course	Level	Grades	Prerequisites / Conditions / Notes	UC A-G
AP Business with Personal Finance	AP	9-12	—Part of the AP Career Kickstart series; launched in fall 2026; Transcript abbreviations: AP Business	g
AP European History	AP	10-12	A or B in both World History and English, plus a 3.0 GPA or teacher recommendationDescribed in the Curriculum Handbook, but missing from its AP course list and from the 2027 AP exam schedule; confirm with a counselor whether it runs; Transcript abbreviations: AP Eur Hist	a
AP Government and Politics United States	AP	12	Teacher recommendationOne semester; can replace the required American Political Tradition course; Transcript abbreviations: AP GovPol US, AP Govt Pol US	a
AP Human Geography	AP	9-12	2.5 GPAAn AP course open from grade 9; Transcript abbreviations: AP Hum Geo, AP HumanGeogrph	a
AP Macroeconomics	AP	12	Teacher recommendationOne semester, covered in about 70 instructional days; Transcript abbreviations: AP Macro, AP MacroEcon	g
AP Psychology	AP	11-12	—Transcript abbreviations: AP Psych	g
AP United States History	AP	11	A or B in both World History and English; 3.0 GPA or teacher recommendationCan replace the required U.S. History course; Transcript abbreviations: AP US Hist, AP US History, US Hist AP	a
AP World History	AP	10	A or B in English; 3.0 GPA or teacher recommendationCan replace the required grade 10 World History course; Transcript abbreviations: AP World His, AP World Hist	a

Mathematics 4 courses

Course	Level	Grades	Prerequisites / Conditions / Notes	UC A-G
AP Calculus AB	AP	11-12	Precalculus with a C+ or betterTranscript abbreviations: AP Calc AB	c
AP Calculus BC	AP	11-12	Precalculus with a B+ or betterTranscript abbreviations: AP Calc BC, AP Calculus BC, Calculus BC AP	c
AP Precalculus	AP	10-12	Algebra II/Trigonometry with a B or better and teacher recommendation, or Advanced Math/Trigonometry with an A- or better and teacher recommendationThe first weighted course in the math sequence; Transcript abbreviations: AP PreCalc	c
AP Statistics	AP	11-12	Teacher recommendation and one of: an A in Algebra II, or a B or better in Algebra II/Trigonometry, Advanced Math/Trigonometry or Finite MathTranscript abbreviations: AP Stat, Statistics AP	c

Laboratory Science 5 courses

Course	Level	Grades	Prerequisites / Conditions / Notes	UC A-G
AP Biology	AP	11-12	A in both Biology and Chemistry Honors, or a B or better in AP Chemistry, plus teacher recommendationTranscript abbreviations: AP Bio, AP Biology, Biology AP	d
AP Chemistry	AP	10-12	An A in both semesters of Honors Chemistry and teacher recommendationStudents planning to take both AP Chemistry and AP Biology are advised to take AP Chemistry first; Transcript abbreviations: AP Chem, AP Chemistry, Chemistry AP, SDAIE Chemistry	d
AP Environmental Science	AP	11-12	Two years of college-prep science: Biology with an A and Chemistry with an A or Honors Chemistry with a B or better, plus teacher recommendationTranscript abbreviations: AP Environ Sci	d
AP Physics 1	AP	—	—Still on the UC list, but missing from the 2026-27 Curriculum Handbook and the 2027 AP exam schedule; Transcript abbreviations: AP Phys 1	d
AP Physics C: Mechanics	AP	11-12	Concurrent enrollment in or completion of calculus, plus previous physicsThe only AP physics course on the 2026-27 list; calculus-based; Transcript abbreviations: AP Phys C: M, AP Physics C	d

Computer Science & Engineering 3 courses

Course	Level	Grades	Prerequisites / Conditions / Notes	UC A-G
AP Computer Science A	AP	9-12	Teacher recommendationCounts toward UC A-G area c (mathematics); one of the Computer Science career cord courses; Transcript abbreviations: AP CompSci A, AP Computer Sci	c
AP Computer Science Principles	AP	9-12	Teacher recommendationCounts toward UC A-G area d (laboratory science); Transcript abbreviations: APCompSciPrncpl	d
AP Cybersecurity	AP	9-12	—Part of the AP Career Kickstart series; launched in fall 2026; Transcript abbreviations: AP CyberSec	d

World Language 5 courses

Course	Level	Grades	Prerequisites / Conditions / Notes	UC A-G
AP French Language and Culture	AP	11-12	French IV with a B+ or betterTranscript abbreviations: AP French, AP French Lang, French AP	e
AP German Language and Culture	AP	—	—Still on the UC list, but the 2026-27 Curriculum Handbook has no German courses; Transcript abbreviations: AP German, Ger AP Lit/Comp, German Lang AP	e
AP Japanese Language and Culture	AP	10-12	Japanese III with a B+ or better and teacher recommendationTranscript abbreviations: Advanced Placement Japanese, AP Japanese, AP Jpn Lang	e
AP Spanish Language and Culture	AP	11-12	Spanish IV with an A and teacher recommendation, or Spanish IV Honors with a B or betterTranscript abbreviations: AP Span Lang, Span Lang AP	e
AP Spanish Literature and Culture	AP	11-12	AP Spanish Language and Culture, or native speakers with Spanish proficiency, with a B or betterTranscript abbreviations: AP Span Lit, AP Spanish Lit, Span Lit AP	e

Visual & Performing Arts 5 courses

Course	Level	Grades	Prerequisites / Conditions / Notes	UC A-G
AP 2D Art and Design	AP	10-12	A prior digital art, photography or drawing course (one semester to one year), portfolio review and teacher recommendationOffered as AP Digital Art, AP Photography and AP Art and Design; can be taken for up to three years; Transcript abbreviations: AP Art 2D, AP Art 2D Draw, AP Art 2D Photo, AP Art2D DigArt, AP Digital Art, AP Draw/Pnt, AP Photo, AP Studio Art	f
AP 3D Art and Design	AP	10-12	Ceramics, portfolio review and teacher recommendationOffered as AP Ceramics; can be taken for up to three years; Transcript abbreviations: AP Art 3D, AP Art 3D Ceram, AP Ceramics	f
AP Art History	AP	—	—Still on the UC list, but missing from the 2026-27 Curriculum Handbook and the 2027 AP exam schedule; Transcript abbreviations: AP Art Hist, Art History AP	f
AP Drawing	AP	10-12	Drawing and painting for at least one year, portfolio review and teacher recommendationListed in the handbook as AP Art and Design (AP Drawing or AP 2-D Art & Design); Transcript abbreviations: AP Art	f
AP Music Theory	AP	10-12	Some previous musical experience and the ability to read notation; a skills assessment in the first weekTranscript abbreviations: AP Music, AP Music Theory, Music Theory AP	f

Los Alamitos High School AP Combinations by Intended Major

These combinations use only courses whose grade levels the handbook states, arranged by each course’s prerequisites.

STEM (intended majors: math, physics, biochemistry, engineering, computer science)

Grade 9: Geometry Honors or Algebra II/Trigonometry; Biology, or Chemistry of the Earth Honors for students in Geometry Honors or higher; AP Computer Science Principles
Grade 10: Algebra II/Trigonometry or AP Precalculus; Chemistry of the Earth Honors, or AP Chemistry for students with an A in both semesters of grade 9 Chemistry Honors; AP World History; AP Computer Science A
Grade 11: AP Precalculus or AP Calculus AB/BC; AP Biology or AP Environmental Science; AP English Language; AP US History
Grade 12: AP Calculus BC or AP Statistics; AP Physics C: Mechanics; AP English Literature; AP US Government and AP Macroeconomics
Outside school: the electricity and magnetism half of AP Physics C, AP Microeconomics

EDUBUS Assessment

At Los Alamitos High School, AP is the main source of extra points in both the school GPA and the UC GPA, because the English, math and chemistry honors courses of grades 9 and 10 are unweighted. UC counts only grades 10 and 11, so two groups of courses shape a UC application: AP World History, AP Chemistry, AP Precalculus and the AP computer science courses in grade 10, and AP English Language, AP US History, AP Calculus and AP Biology or AP Environmental Science in grade 11. Most carry grade thresholds; AP Chemistry needs an A in both semesters of grade 9 Chemistry Honors and AP World History needs an A or B in English, so each threshold has to be prepared the year before. With 91.6% of the school’s AP exams scoring 3 or higher, most students handle AP-level work; for students aiming at selective campuses, what sets them apart is a sensible AP sequence and the competitions and research they pursue beyond AP.

Los Alamitos High School AP Courses: Frequently Asked Questions

How many AP courses does Los Alamitos High School offer, for Irvine families comparing options?

Los Alamitos High School's AP count depends on the source: the AP list in the 2026-27 Curriculum Handbook has 27 courses (counting 2-D and 3-D Art and Design separately); the School Profile reports 25 offered in 2025-26; and the official UC A-G list includes 32, among them AP German, AP Art History and AP Physics 1, which are not in the handbook. AP Cybersecurity and AP Business with Personal Finance were added in fall 2026. The school has no IB program.

What is the AP pass rate at Los Alamitos High School, as Irvine families often ask?

Los Alamitos High School's 2026-27 School Profile reports that 1,060 students took 2,491 AP exams in 2025-26, 91.6% scored 3 or higher, and 258 students earned AP Scholar with Distinction; 45% of students take at least one AP course. The school does not publish pass rates or mean scores by subject.

How do Irvine families' children register and pay for AP exams at Los Alamitos High School?

Los Alamitos High School AP exams cost $110 each in 2026-27, and financial assistance can be requested on Total Registration. Students first join each AP class in College Board's AP Classroom with the teacher's join code and opt in to the exam by November 13, 2026, then pay on Total Registration, where November 6 is the payment and full-refund deadline and a $40 late fee applies afterward. Students who need testing accommodations must contact the assistant principal of curriculum by December 11.

Which AP courses can a child from an Irvine family take in grade 9 at Los Alamitos High School?

Los Alamitos High School's 2026-27 Curriculum Handbook opens these AP courses to grade 9: AP Human Geography (2.5 GPA), AP Computer Science Principles and AP Computer Science A (teacher recommendation), and AP Cybersecurity and AP Business with Personal Finance, which were added in fall 2026 with no prerequisite. AP World History is offered only in grade 10, AP Chemistry and AP Precalculus open in grade 10, and AP English Language and AP US History are offered only in grade 11.

Which AP courses does Los Alamitos High School not offer, as Irvine families should know?

Los Alamitos High School's 2026-27 Curriculum Handbook has no AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2 or AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism; its only AP physics course is Physics C: Mechanics. It also has no AP Microeconomics, AP Chinese, AP German, AP Comparative Government, AP Art History or AP Seminar and Research. The handbook states that students may request to sit AP exams the school does not offer, but the coursework has to be arranged outside school.

Data verified on 2026-11-14. Course catalogs are updated each spring; prerequisites follow the school's current Course of Study.