The AP US History course was re-designed in 2014 to focus more on historical thinking and analysis.
Here are links to the new curriculum:
Here are links to the new curriculum:
The AP US History course has now been broken up into 9 specific time periods for students to focus from Pre-Columbian Native American groups to the Modern Day.
Period 1: 1491-1607 The Interaction between Native Americans and Europeans, and the settling of the West. 5%
Period 2: 1607-1754 The Fight for control of North America between the Natives and Europeans and distinctive colonial societies that were formed 10%
Period 3: 1754-1800 British attempts to re-assert control over America, Colonial reaction, and attempts to create a new republic, and struggles with the new, social, political, and economic identity. 12%
Period 4: 1800-1848 The struggle of the New Country to define democratic ideals in the face of rapid economic, territorial, and demographic changes. 10%
Period 5: 1844-1877 Regional tensions, over slavery, the causes and effects of the Civil War and reconstruction and the effect on society. 13%
Period 6: 1865-1898 Transformation of the US from a predominantly Agricultural country to an increasingly industrialized, urban society and significant economic, political, social, environmental, cultural, and diplomatic changes 13%
Period 7: 1890-1945 An increasingly pluralistic United States faced profound domestic and global challenges, debated the degree of government activism, and sought to define its international role. 17%
Period 8: 1945-1980 After WWII, grappling with the prosperity and new international responsibilities, while also trying to live up to the American ideal 15%
Period 9: 1980-Now Transition into a new century with challenges and responsibilities, renewed ideological and cultural debates, new foreign policy, and revolutionary changes in science and technology 5%
Historical Thinking Skills in APUSH: The curriculum framework begins by describing the historical thinking skills that are central to the study and practice of history. These are organized into four types of skills: chronological reasoning, comparison and contextualization, crafting historical arguments from historical evidence, and historical interpretation and synthesis. Teachers should develop these historical thinking skills with students on a regular basis over the span of the course. The historical thinking skills provide opportunities for students to learn to think like historians, most notably to analyze evidence about the past and to create persuasive historical arguments. Focusing on these practices enables teachers to create learning opportunities for students that emphasize the conceptual and interpretive nature of history rather than simply memorization of events in the past.
SKILL TYPE
Students demonstrate these directly when writing LE (Long Essay) or DBQ (Document Based Essay)
I. Chronological Reasoning
Thematic Learning Objectives: The framework presents a set of learning objectives, organized by seven major themes that describe what students should know and be able to do by the end of the AP U.S. History course. These represent the major historical understandings that colleges and universities want AP students to have developed in order to merit placement out of the introductory college U.S. history survey course. Students should use a range of historical thinking skills to investigate the thematic learning objectives.
Ideas, Beliefs, and Culture CUL
America in the World WOR
Environment and Geography ENV
Politics and Power POL
Identity ID
Peopling; migration PEO
Work, Exchange, Technology WXT
Period 1: 1491-1607 The Interaction between Native Americans and Europeans, and the settling of the West. 5%
Period 2: 1607-1754 The Fight for control of North America between the Natives and Europeans and distinctive colonial societies that were formed 10%
Period 3: 1754-1800 British attempts to re-assert control over America, Colonial reaction, and attempts to create a new republic, and struggles with the new, social, political, and economic identity. 12%
Period 4: 1800-1848 The struggle of the New Country to define democratic ideals in the face of rapid economic, territorial, and demographic changes. 10%
Period 5: 1844-1877 Regional tensions, over slavery, the causes and effects of the Civil War and reconstruction and the effect on society. 13%
Period 6: 1865-1898 Transformation of the US from a predominantly Agricultural country to an increasingly industrialized, urban society and significant economic, political, social, environmental, cultural, and diplomatic changes 13%
Period 7: 1890-1945 An increasingly pluralistic United States faced profound domestic and global challenges, debated the degree of government activism, and sought to define its international role. 17%
Period 8: 1945-1980 After WWII, grappling with the prosperity and new international responsibilities, while also trying to live up to the American ideal 15%
Period 9: 1980-Now Transition into a new century with challenges and responsibilities, renewed ideological and cultural debates, new foreign policy, and revolutionary changes in science and technology 5%
Historical Thinking Skills in APUSH: The curriculum framework begins by describing the historical thinking skills that are central to the study and practice of history. These are organized into four types of skills: chronological reasoning, comparison and contextualization, crafting historical arguments from historical evidence, and historical interpretation and synthesis. Teachers should develop these historical thinking skills with students on a regular basis over the span of the course. The historical thinking skills provide opportunities for students to learn to think like historians, most notably to analyze evidence about the past and to create persuasive historical arguments. Focusing on these practices enables teachers to create learning opportunities for students that emphasize the conceptual and interpretive nature of history rather than simply memorization of events in the past.
SKILL TYPE
Students demonstrate these directly when writing LE (Long Essay) or DBQ (Document Based Essay)
I. Chronological Reasoning
- 1. Historical Causation
- 2. Patterns of Continuity and Change
- 3. Periodization
- 4. Comparison
- 5. Contextualization
- 6. Historical Argumentation
- 7. Appropriate Use of Relevant Historical Interpretation.
- 8. Interpretation
- 9. Synthesis
Thematic Learning Objectives: The framework presents a set of learning objectives, organized by seven major themes that describe what students should know and be able to do by the end of the AP U.S. History course. These represent the major historical understandings that colleges and universities want AP students to have developed in order to merit placement out of the introductory college U.S. history survey course. Students should use a range of historical thinking skills to investigate the thematic learning objectives.
Ideas, Beliefs, and Culture CUL
America in the World WOR
Environment and Geography ENV
Politics and Power POL
Identity ID
Peopling; migration PEO
Work, Exchange, Technology WXT
40THE AP TEST
The AP U.S. History Exam is 3 hours and 15 minutes long and includes both a 105-minute multiple-choice/short-answer section and a 90-minute free-response section. Each section is divided into two parts, as described below. Your performance on these four parts will be compiled and weighed to determine your AP Exam score.
Section I:
The AP U.S. History Exam is 3 hours and 15 minutes long and includes both a 105-minute multiple-choice/short-answer section and a 90-minute free-response section. Each section is divided into two parts, as described below. Your performance on these four parts will be compiled and weighed to determine your AP Exam score.
Section I:
- Part A: Multiple Choice (55 questions; 55 Minutes; 40% of total exam score)
- Part B: Short-answer questions (3 questions; 40 minutes; 20% of total exam score)
- Question 1 (required): periods 3-8
- Question 2 (required): periods 3-8
- Students choose between Question 3, periods 1-5, and Question 4, periods 6-9
- Part A: Document-based question (1 question; 60 minutes; 25% of total exam score)
- Part B: Long essay question (1 question (chosen from a pair); 40 minutes; 15% of total exam score) (AP Central)
- Updates for 2017-18: . The question choices will continue to focus on the same theme and skill but will now allow students to select among three options, each focusing on a different range of time periods:
- Option 1: periods 1-3
- Option 2: periods 4-6
- Option 3: periods 7-9