China Advanced Placement, abbreviated as CAP, is a national pilot project launched by Tsinghua University High School and approved by the Ministry of Education. In April 2014, the project "Theories and practices Research of Setting up China advanced placement" (No. 14JF002) led by principal Wang Dianjun, is a specially authorized project of the philosophy and social sciences researches of the Ministry of Education in 2014. The aim of CAP is to allow promising high school students to study university lessons in advance, to let them gradually get used to the mode of thinking and learning in universities, and to provide the most appropriate education for the qualified students, helping them prepare for future studies and careers. At the same time, Tsinghua University High School hopes, through the CAP, to facilitate in deepening the reform of teaching and learning in high schools and pushing forward a new mode of cultivating talents in China.
As a product of the online education advancing to a new stage, MOOC has realized the close combination of information technology with education and teaching. Based on the advantage of MOOC and CAP, the integration of the two came into being, which is MOOCAP (China Advanced Placement on the MOOC platform). On November 28, 2015, the Council of MOOCAP was founded at Tsinghua University. At the third meeting of the Council held in November 20, 2016, the China MOOCAP Council changed its name to the China Advanced Placement (CAP) Council".
Currently there are a total of 9 MOOCAP courses including calculus (AP class), linear algebra (AP class), probability and statistics (AP Class), physical mechanics (AP Class), physical electromagnetics (AP Class), chemistry (AP Class), general biology (AP Class), the principles of microeconomics (AP Class) and general academic English (AP Class), all of which have already been launched on the MOOC website (http://www.xuetangx.com). The corresponding textbooks are already available or remaining to be published soon.
Up to now, some MOOC courses have been certified by Tsinghua University, Xi'an Jiao Tong University and Renmin University of China, and credit certification from more universities will be launched and carried out on a gradual basis.
As a pioneer in CAP, Tsinghua University High School has made remarkable contributions to curriculum design and training of teachers. There have been six training sessions or seminars so far, with a total of 3000 teachers from nationwide schools participating in these training programs.
