Course Syllabus

Vision/Mission Statement

The mission of Aloha High School is to empower students to meet standards of excellence, which foster intellectual curiosity and ready them to be responsible, productive, employable citizens in a culturally diverse society.

Course Overview and Purpose

The purpose of the course is to give students a thorough understanding of the principles of economics that apply to economic systems as a whole. AP Macroeconomics emphasizes the study of national income, economic performance measures, economic growth and international economics. Students will learn to think like economists: to question, to evaluate marginal costs and marginal benefits, and to explore the many ways in which one action causes secondary actions.

Ten Principles of Economic Thinking

The topics studied in an AP Macroeconomics course should be judged in light of the following:

1. Everything has a cost.6. Economic thinking is marginal thinking.

2. People choose for good reasons.7. Price is affected by people’s choices.

3. Incentives matter.8. Systems are created to influence choice.

4. Economic actions carry secondary effects.9. Inflation and Unemployment creates trade-offs.

5. People gain from voluntary trade. 10. The test of a theory is its ability to predict.

Warrior Expectations

Be Respectful: Respect the teacher, your school, your classmates, and yourself. This includes staying awake, not being a disruption to anyone, keeping language and attitude clean, and waiting for the teacher (not the bell) to dismiss the class.

Be Responsible:Be on time daily (in your seat before the bell rings), bring your supplies everyday, work hard and don’t quit, take care of bathroom needs before the bell rings, and be ready to learn. Do all homework and class-work and do not cheat. Unexcused absences will not be tolerated. No credit given for missed work.

Beware of Reality:All school rules and policies will be enforced. This includes everything from the dress code to the tardy policy and all the rules in between.

ELECTRONIC DEVICES: See attached addendum titled: Aloha High School Cell Phone Policy.

Things You Will Need
Three-Ring BinderBlue or Black PensCalculator*

Binder PaperColored Pencils/Pens Textbook (covered)

Ruler/Straight edge#2 Pencils with Erasers

Class Expectations

Plan, Prepare and Participate: AP Macroeconomics is a challenging class! Plan your days and weeks according to the reading calendars. Prepare nightly with readings and assignments. Participate in class – ask questions and add comments.

3-Ring Binders: Binders will include all work done for AP Macroeconomics. The binder will hold all of the student’s reading notes, vocabulary, thought questions, study guides, essays, reading quizzes, charts, graphs and homework for each unit and kept for the entire course. The format for organization will be given and students are expected to follow that format. Binders will be graded on neatness, organization, accuracy and completeness. Binder contents will be collected at the end of the semester for a grade.

Study Guides / Homework: Study Guides are essential to understanding. Points are awarded for full answers. Homework will be assigned throughout the course. Students are expected to complete the homework as instructed and turn in all assignments on time.

Tests: Tests will consist of Unit Exams, Pop quizzes and nightly reading quizzes. PREAPARATION is key. If a student is absent on the day of a quiz or test, the student is responsible for writing and taking a quiz or test of the same length. Due the day following the missed test or quiz.

Make-Up Work: Students will have 1 day to make up work for each excused absence. This does not apply to long-term assignments, reading quizzes or tests. See above.

Late Work: Late work is not accepted. Students are responsible for writing all assignments down. If students need a clarification on an assignment, they can meet with the teacher before or after school.

Videos: Educational videos and movies will be shown. All materials have a rating of PG13 or lower.

Honor Code/Plagiarism:Any form of academic dishonesty, such as cheating, plagiarism, or the deliberate misrepresentation of fact, is dealt with severely. In particular, discussing exam questions with students who have not yet taken the exam is considered cheating. Such behavior is counter to the goals of Aloha High School and is unfair to the other class members; hence it is not tolerated in any form. Academic dishonesty results in a failing grade for the particular assignment with no makeup work available. Each student is responsible for his or her own behavior; ignorance is not an excuse!

Finals:It is the expectation that students enrolled in an AP Macroeconomics course will take the National Exam given May 10, 2017 – 12:00. Students who score a 3, 4, or 5 on this test may petition to change/raise their grade for the semester of this class.

End of Year Project: The National AP exam is in May. After the national exam students will participate in an end of year Economic Literacy Project. The focus will be based on content from the class with the specifics being created by the class. Presentations and discussion of the topics will take place during Semester Final Exams.

Grading Policy

The Beaverton School District has initiated a Standards Based Grading System for a majority of Core Classes. A standards-based classroom is built around learning targets. Learning targets are the major concepts and skills that will be taught in the class. The teacher will determine a student’s level of proficiency for each learning target.

The Summary Judgments will be averaged and a letter grade will be recommended based on the following table:

Score

/ Grade / %
9-10 / A / 85-100
7-8.99 / B / 67-84
5-6.99 / C / 50-66
3-4.99 / D / 40-49
0-2.99 / N/F / 39 below

Book: Economics: Principles, Problems, and Policies. McConnell and Brue. 17th edition.

College Board Specifics

Basic Economic Concepts (8-14%)

  1. Scarcity, choice and opportunity costs
  2. Production possibilities curve
  3. Comparative advantage, absolute advantage, specialization and exchange
  4. Demand, supply and market equilibrium
  5. Macroeconomic issues: business cycle, unemployment, inflation and growth

Measurement of Economic Performance (12-16%)

  1. National income accounts
  2. Circular flow
  3. Gross domestic product (GDP)
  4. Components of gross domestic product
  5. Real versus nominal gross domestic product
  6. Inflation measurement and adjustment
  7. Price indices
  8. Nominal and real values
  9. Costs of inflation
  10. Unemployment
  11. Definition and measurement
  12. Types of unemployment
  13. Natural rate of unemployment

National Income and Price Determination (10-15%)

  1. Aggregate demand

1. Determinants of aggregate demand

2. Multiplier and crowding-out effect

  1. Aggregate Supply

1. Short-run and long-run analysis

2. Sticky versus flexible wages and prices

3. Determinants of aggregate supply

  1. Macroeconomic equilibrium

1. Real output and price level

2. Short and long run

3. Actual versus full-employment output

4. Economic fluctuation

Financial Sector (15-20%)

A. Money, banking and financial markets

1. Definition of financial assets: money, stocks, bonds

  1. Time value of money (present and future value)
  2. Measures of money supply
  3. Banks and creation of money
  4. Money demand
  5. Money market
  6. Loanable funds market

B. Central bank and control of the money supply

1. Tools of central bank policy

  1. Quantity theory of money
  2. Real versus nominal interest rates

Inflation, Unemployment and Stabilization policies (20-30%)

A. Fiscal and monetary policies

1. Demand-side effects

2. Supply-side effects

3. Policy mix

4. Government deficits and debt

B. Inflation and unemployment

1. Types of inflation

a. Demand-pull inflation

b. Cost-push inflation

2. The Phillips curve: short run versus long run

3. Role of expectations

Economic Growth and Productivity (5-10%)

A. Investment in human capital

B. Investment in physical capital

C. Research and development and technological progress

D. Growth policy

Open Economy: International Trade and Finance (10-15%)

A. Balance of payments accounts

1. Balance of trade

2. Current account

3. Capital account

B. Foreign exchange market

1. Demand for and supply of foreign exchange

2. Exchange rate determination

3. Currency appreciation and depreciation

C. Net export and capital flow

D. Links to financial and goods markets

Macroeconomics – Beaverton School District Learning Targets

1. I can demonstrate an understanding of basic economic concepts.

2. I can analyze and determine domestic output and national income through growth and productivity.

3. I can use graphical analysis to explain aggregate demand and aggregate supply.

4. I can use graphical analysis to explain Fiscal policy.

5. I can use graphical analysis to explain Monetary policy.

6. I can use graphical analysis to explain international trade and finance.


I have read, understand, and agree to support Ms. Smith’s policies & class procedures as listed in her AP Macroeconomic syllabus for the entire course.

Print Student NamePrint Parent/Guardian Name

Student Signature & DateParent/Guardian Signature & Date

Parent’s e-mail and/or cell number

Home of the Warriors - Page 1

Keep this syllabus in your AP Macroeconomics binder.

“What we know is a drop, what we don’t know is an ocean.” Sir Newton