Oxford Academy AP Courses:
How to Choose Among 25

The 2026-27 Oxford Academy course selection list includes 25 AP courses, 22 of which are taught on campus, while the other three are available only through the district’s online program. In May 2025, students took 1,604 exams across the 19 AP courses with test takers at the school, and 91.5% scored 3 or higher. Unlike other public high schools in Orange County, this school sets both a floor and a ceiling for AP courses: every student must complete at least 4 before graduation, but students in grades 9 and 10 cannot freely add more. This page brings together subject pass rates, grade levels, and prerequisites to help families decide which courses to take and in which grade.

AP Scale and Calculation Method

The 91.5% here is calculated per exam. Another common measure in school profiles is the share of students who scored 3 or higher on at least one exam; that is a per-student measure, and its figure is usually higher. The two cannot be used interchangeably, and before comparing with another school, families should confirm which measure that school uses.

Pass Rates by Subject

Several patterns deserve attention. First, the four subjects with the most exams are AP English Language, AP US Government & Politics, AP European History, and AP US History, all in the humanities. This corresponds directly to the course structure: all grade 11 students take AP English Language and AP US History, and all grade 12 students take AP Government + Economics H. Second, the two courses required of all students both have pass rates above 97%, which shows that the uniform honors sequence prepares students well for these two subjects. Third, the three subjects with the lowest pass rates are AP Psychology, AP Spanish Language, and AP US Government & Politics. The first two are electives; the third is one half of a paired course taken by all grade 12 students, with the largest number of exams and the most varied mix of students.

Grade-Level Limits

In grade 9, only students in the Software Systems and Development pathway (whose first course is AP Computer Science Principles) may take AP courses; all other students take no AP courses. In grade 10, students may take at most 2 AP courses, a cap that does not apply to students in the Software Systems and Development pathway. From grade 11, all students are required to take AP English Language and AP US History; AP courses in science, mathematics, and the pathways are selected according to their respective prerequisites. Every student must complete at least 4 AP courses before graduation.

Prerequisites for Each AP Course

The following requirements come from the 2026-27 course selection list, one course per row.

AP Courses the School Does Not Offer

• AP Physics C
• AP Precalculus
• AP Research (the school offers only AP Seminar)
• AP Art History
• AP Music Theory
• AP Chinese Language and Culture (Chinese is available only through Cypress College dual enrollment courses)
• AP French Language and Culture and AP Japanese Language and Culture

Of these, AP Physics C has the greatest effect on students preparing to apply to engineering and physics programs: the Oxford Academy science sequence ends with AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2, with no calculus-based physics course. AP Chinese Language and Culture is also not offered; Chinese American families who want their student to study Chinese can only take Cypress College dual enrollment CHIN 101 through 204, which are college courses rather than AP courses. Three more courses are available only through the district’s online program:

• AP Human Geography
• AP World History
• AP Business Principles

Students may take at most 2 district online courses per semester, and half of the seats in each course are reserved for students at the host school, so enrollment is not guaranteed.

AP Course List

Recommended Combinations by Intended Major

Data verified on 2026-09-21. Course catalogs are updated each spring; prerequisites follow the school's current Course of Study.