High School Social Studies

Exploring history, geography and government.

The four standard required courses include:

Each of these courses is based upon a program of studies (POS) aligned with state and national standards. Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) tests are administered at the end of the World History and Geography I, World History and Geography II, and Virginia and United States History courses.

In schools that offer Advanced Placement (AP) courses, students can meet graduation requirements by enrolling in Advanced Placement (AP) United States History (11) and Advanced Placement AP U.S. Government (12).

In International Baccalaureate(IB) schools, students enrolled in IB programs would complete the following four courses to meet the four-credit requirement: World History II for IB Schools (9), Government for IB Schools (10), IB History: The Americas (11) and IB History 2: 20th Century Topics (12).

Electives offered by each a high school depend upon the program needs and interests of that school.

Content courses for English Learner (EL) students are provided. A variety of supplemental instructional materials and technologies complement the basal textbooks adopted for the required courses.

Graduation Requirements and Course Planning

Find out what courses are needed to graduate.
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High School Social Studies Course Sequence

Learn more about the course sequence for high school social studies.
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Additional Courses