2014-2015 Changes to the AP US History Exam 2014-2015
After the 2014 AP test, College Board is changing the AP Test in a way that encourages critical thinking and and a more equal look at each time period in American History. The Pre (1491-1607) and Post (1980-Present) periods that previously had an insignificant role in the AP Exam are being much more heavily emphasized. Half of the multiple choice questions are being removed and replaced with short answer free response questions. That majority of the free response questions will not focus on one time period as in the past, but on an idea that spans through most of all time periods.
One of the major results from the changes is that rather than hitting every key event in a time period just in case it might be on the test, teachers can focus on a few key events that exemplify the below mentioned themes, so that students can gain full knowledge of the topics so they can transfer that knowledge to the test. The course will also do away with pure memorization and will focus more on being able to interpret, argue for or against, and use chronological reasoning to derive information from a passage set.
After the 2014 AP test, College Board is changing the AP Test in a way that encourages critical thinking and and a more equal look at each time period in American History. The Pre (1491-1607) and Post (1980-Present) periods that previously had an insignificant role in the AP Exam are being much more heavily emphasized. Half of the multiple choice questions are being removed and replaced with short answer free response questions. That majority of the free response questions will not focus on one time period as in the past, but on an idea that spans through most of all time periods.
One of the major results from the changes is that rather than hitting every key event in a time period just in case it might be on the test, teachers can focus on a few key events that exemplify the below mentioned themes, so that students can gain full knowledge of the topics so they can transfer that knowledge to the test. The course will also do away with pure memorization and will focus more on being able to interpret, argue for or against, and use chronological reasoning to derive information from a passage set.
*This table illustrates about how much of each time period will be represented on the test in May
New Key ideas:
What the college board wants students to be able to do is to take one of these ideas, combine it with multiple key events throughout the time line, and for each event offer an explanation of what this means and how it became the way it was. For example, students can take the theme of identity and use it with US territorial expansion in the early 1800's. Expansion during this time period was fueled by Manifest Destiny, racial and cultural conflicts throughout the century (whether it be Black vs. White, Catholics vs. Protestants, Irish vs. Everybody, etc.). This could then be taken further through time, to explain how these issues affected the Civil War, the involvement in the Caribbean and the protection of the Americas from Europe, the Great Depression, The World Wars, and the Cold War.
- Identity
- Peopling
- Work, Exchange, and Technology
- Politics and Power
- Environment and Geography
- America in the World
- Ideas, Beliefs, and Culture
What the college board wants students to be able to do is to take one of these ideas, combine it with multiple key events throughout the time line, and for each event offer an explanation of what this means and how it became the way it was. For example, students can take the theme of identity and use it with US territorial expansion in the early 1800's. Expansion during this time period was fueled by Manifest Destiny, racial and cultural conflicts throughout the century (whether it be Black vs. White, Catholics vs. Protestants, Irish vs. Everybody, etc.). This could then be taken further through time, to explain how these issues affected the Civil War, the involvement in the Caribbean and the protection of the Americas from Europe, the Great Depression, The World Wars, and the Cold War.
*These are the types of skills the AP graders want students to be able to use when they answer the multiple choice and short answer questions
Sample Questions:
Questions 1-3 refer to the following quotation.
“Our . . . destiny [is] to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions. . . . The Anglo-Saxon foot is already on [California’s] borders. Already the advance guard of the irresistible army of Anglo-Saxon emigration has begun to pour down upon it, armed with the [plow] and the rifle, and marking its trail with schools and colleges, courts and representative halls, mills and meetinghouses. A population will soon be in actual occupation of California. . . . Their right to independence will be the natural right of self-government belonging to any community strong enough to maintain it.”
– John L. O’Sullivan, 1845
Draft Multiple Choice Set of Questions
1. The ideas expressed in the passage above most clearly show the influence of which of the following?
(A) Models of limited government inherent in the Articles of Confederation
(B) Beliefs in separation of powers articulated in the United States Constitution
(C) Concerns about foreign alliances expressed in George Washington’s Farewell Address
(D) Concepts of republican self-rule found in the Declaration of Independence
2. The process described in the passage above most directly led to political controversies in the 1840s and 1850s over the
(A) expansion of slavery into newly acquired territories
(B) authority of the Supreme Court to overturn federal laws
(C) role of the federal government in economic development
(D) use of natural resources in newly acquired territories
3. Which of the following events in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries represents a continuation of the process described in the passage above?
(A) Efforts to restrict immigration to the United States
(B) The Supreme Court’s endorsement of racial segregation
(C) The United States gaining possession of overseas territories
(D) Political parties’ attempts to regulate economic activities
Questions 1-3 refer to the following quotation.
“Our . . . destiny [is] to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions. . . . The Anglo-Saxon foot is already on [California’s] borders. Already the advance guard of the irresistible army of Anglo-Saxon emigration has begun to pour down upon it, armed with the [plow] and the rifle, and marking its trail with schools and colleges, courts and representative halls, mills and meetinghouses. A population will soon be in actual occupation of California. . . . Their right to independence will be the natural right of self-government belonging to any community strong enough to maintain it.”
– John L. O’Sullivan, 1845
Draft Multiple Choice Set of Questions
1. The ideas expressed in the passage above most clearly show the influence of which of the following?
(A) Models of limited government inherent in the Articles of Confederation
(B) Beliefs in separation of powers articulated in the United States Constitution
(C) Concerns about foreign alliances expressed in George Washington’s Farewell Address
(D) Concepts of republican self-rule found in the Declaration of Independence
2. The process described in the passage above most directly led to political controversies in the 1840s and 1850s over the
(A) expansion of slavery into newly acquired territories
(B) authority of the Supreme Court to overturn federal laws
(C) role of the federal government in economic development
(D) use of natural resources in newly acquired territories
3. Which of the following events in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries represents a continuation of the process described in the passage above?
(A) Efforts to restrict immigration to the United States
(B) The Supreme Court’s endorsement of racial segregation
(C) The United States gaining possession of overseas territories
(D) Political parties’ attempts to regulate economic activities
Test Format
- Fifty-five multiple-choice questions (55 minutes, 40 percent)
- Four short-answer questions (45 minutes, 20 percent)
- One document-based question (60 minutes, 25 percent)
- One long essay question (35 minutes, 15 percent)