1. AP® U.S. History: An Overview of the Course and Exam
Welcome to the College Board’s presentation of the redesigned AP U.S. History Course and Exam. In this presentation, we will
describe the major elements of the redesigned AP U.S. History curriculum framework
show you how the redesigned exam will assess your students’ understanding of the major themes of U.S. History and use of historical thinking skills
and show you how we will support AP teachers as you begin to teach the course.

2. When Will the Course and Exam Change?
Course will be taught starting
First exam: May 2015
Curriculum Framework available as of Fall 2012 at advancesinap.collegeboard.org
The redesigned AP U.S. History course will first be taught in the school year, with the exam set to be administered in May of 2015.
This presentation is meant to accompany the AP U.S. History Curriculum Framework, which describes the details of the redesigned AP U.S. History course and exam. The framework is now available for download at advancesinap.collegeboard.org. This document presents a clear set of skills and learning objectives that students should be able to demonstrate at the end of the AP U.S. History course, and that will be assessed on the exam. We recommend that you download the framework and have it ready at hand during this presentation.

3. Why Change? Part of broader effort across AP®
Responds to appeals from teachers for clarified learning objectives, increased flexibility and depth
Embraces college-level emphasis on historical thinking skills
Aligns the expectations for all 3 AP history courses
Encourages students to “think like historians”
The changes to the AP US History course are part of a broader effort to redesign courses across AP to make them align with current practices in teaching and learning. A committee of AP teachers and university instructors has redesigned the curriculum to clearly identify course learning objectives and required content knowledge, and to define the thinking skills necessary to study history at the college level. This approach is being adopted by the AP World and AP European History courses as well. The intent is to make the breadth of the course more manageable and provide teachers with greater flexibility in instruction. The course also aims to prepare students for successful placement into higher-level college and university courses, ultimately helping them to “think like historians”, able to better understand historical events and their significance.

4. A Tour of the AP® U.S. History Curriculum Framework
Now we will explore the critical features of the AP U.S. History course as described in the Curriculum Framework.

5. The Curriculum Framework
Provides clear learning objectives
Emphasizes historical thinking skills
Defines what is assessable on the AP Exam
Helps teachers prioritize
The curriculum framework provides clear learning objectives for the AP US History course. It also defines the historical thinking skills used by historians and explains the essential skills and understandings that students should be able to demonstrate by the end of the AP course.
By helping teachers prioritize among possible topics to cover across the scope of U.S History, the framework seeks to allow teachers to explore certain topics in greater depth. This framework thus relieves the pressure for teachers to cover all possible events and details of U.S. history at a superficial level, while still preparing students for the rigors of advanced college-level work in history.
Download from advancesinap.collegeboard.org

6. 7 Course Themes Identity Peopling Ideas, Beliefs, and Culture
Work, Exchange, and Technology
Identity
Peopling
Course Themes 7
Politics and Power
Ideas, Beliefs, and Culture
At the highest level, the course is organized around seven course themes. These themes structure the course around significant long-term trends and processes in what has become the United States. The themes provide an overarching framework for inquiry that can be used to guide students throughout the course.
The themes are:
Work, Exchange, and Technology;
Peopling;
Ideas, Beliefs, and Culture;
America in the World;
Environment and Geography—both Physical and Human;
Politics and Power; and
Identity
Environment and Geography — Physical and Human
America in the World

7. Historical Thinking Skills Foster Critical Analysis and Interpretation
Skill Type
Historical Thinking Skill
Chronological Reasoning
Historical Causation
Patterns of Continuity and Change over Time
Periodization
Comparison and Contextualization
Comparison
Contextualization
Crafting Historical Arguments from Historical Evidence
The curriculum framework defines historical thinking skills that are central to the study and practice of history. Students who become proficient in these skills will be able to act as apprentice historians—using the cognitive tools of the discipline to master its subject matter.
The curriculum framework describes four categories of skills and nine unique historical thinking skills within those categories.
The skills chronological reasoning and comparison and contextualization pertain to “thinking historically,” or the habits of mind that historians use when they approach the past in a critical way.
The skills crafting historical arguments from historical evidence and historical interpretation and synthesis pertain to the tools used by historians when they construct and test historical arguments about the past.
Students best develop historical thinking skills by investigating the past in ways that reflect the discipline of history, particularly through the exploration and interpretation of a rich array of primary sources and secondary texts, and through regular development of historical argumentation in writing.
These Historical Thinking Skills will be identical in all three AP History Courses.
Historical Argumentation
Appropriate Use of Relevant Historical Evidence
Historical Interpretation and Synthesis
Interpretation
Synthesis

8. Nine Periods: 1491 to the Present
Date Range
Approximate Percentage of…
Instructional
Time
AP Exam 1 5% 2
10%
45% 3
12% 4 5
13% 6 7
17% 8
15% 9
1980-Present
The course outline is structured around the investigation of course themes and key concepts in nine chronological periods. You will notice that the revised AP U.S. History course includes pre-Columbian history (represented symbolically by the date 1491) and contemporary history. We made this change because these are important components of the average college U.S. history survey course that are critical for success in subsequent history courses. The inclusion of these periods helps ensure that your students receive college credit and/or advanced placement into the appropriate college courses.
To allow time to teach pre-Columbian and contemporary periods, the framework reduces the emphasis previously given to other periods of US history. The curriculum framework suggests the percentage of instruction that should be devoted to each period, and describes the percentage of assessment that will be devoted to each on the exam.
You will notice some overlap between periods. Following the example of many subfields within U.S. history, as well as the approach adopted by most U.S. history textbooks, the concept outline reflects an acknowledgment that historians differ in how they apply boundaries between distinct historical eras.

9. Concept Outline Promoting Flexibility and Depth
The concept outline defines required course content:
Key and supporting concepts
Essential historical details
The statements in the outline focus on large-scale historical processes and major developments.
Teachers choose relevant details to illustrate concepts.
While the timeframe of the course has expanded, this does not mean there is more to teach. We have better defined course expectations so that teachers can focus on what’s important – building students’ conceptual understandings and application of historical thinking skills.
The curriculum framework provides a concept outline that defines the required course content for each period of U.S. History.
The statements in the outline focus on large-scale historical processes and major developments. Teachers may then choose their own relevant historical evidence to illustrate historical phenomena. This frees teachers from the obligation to cover all possible individuals, events, and groups in history, and instead, allows them to focus on only those examples that are most useful to them in helping students understand the larger historical developments. This change will help push students well beyond memorization to develop a solid understanding of key concepts which they can demonstrate using relevant examples.
In general, the curriculum framework is predicated on a close relationship between curriculum and assessment. As such, the concept outline defines both course content and the key and supporting concepts and essential historical details that are assessable on the exam.
Let’s take a closer look at how this concept outline works.

10. Concept Outline A Closer Look Period 5, Key Concept 5.1
The United States became more connected with the world as it pursued an expansionist foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere and emerged as the destination for many migrants from other countries.
I. Enthusiasm for U.S. territorial expansion, fueled by economic and national security interests and supported by claims of U.S. racial and cultural superiority, resulted in war, the opening of new markets, acquisition of new territory, and increased ideological conflicts. (ID-2) (WXT-2) (WOR-5)(WOR-6)(ENV-3)(ENV-4)
I.D. U.S. interest in expanding trade led to economic, diplomatic, and cultural initiatives westward to Asia.
In the curriculum framework, key and supporting concepts are elaborated for each period in an outline form using numbers, Roman numerals and letters.
In this example, we see key concept 5.1 in Period 5, which shows that students would need to be familiar with U.S. expansionist foreign policy in the mid 1800s. More specifically, students should understand the factors that fueled territorial expansion, the general effects of that growth (as defined by Roman Numeral I) and more specifically, concrete developments that resulted.
Teachers should illustrate these developments with concrete examples of their own choosing. The curriculum framework provides some examples of illustrative content, shown throughout the document in gray boxes like the one at the bottom of this slide. However, the content in the gray boxes is not required. Teachers are encouraged to explore other examples beyond those mentioned and should feel confident that this will not compromise their students’ ability to perform well on the AP exam.
One final point: you will notice that each key concept is supplemented by codes in parentheses, such as “ID-2.” These codes reference related learning objectives, the final critical component of the Curriculum Framework, which we will discuss soon.
Take a few moments to look over this excerpt from the concept outline.
Teachers have flexibility to use examples such as the following:
clipper ships, Commodore Matthew Perry’s expedition to Japan, missionaries.

11. Focusing on Key Developments
2.1.III In teaching about British colonial development, teachers can choose to illustrate each region by focusing in depth on one colony from three regions, not the specifics of all 13 colonies. 4.1.II Teachers can illustrate the growth of democratic and social idealism by focusing in depth on one or more antebellum reform movements, not every group, individual, or movement (Charles Finney, Brook Farm, Oneida Community, temperance movements…). 7.1.II Teachers can focus in depth on one or more pieces of federal legislation illustrating the Progressive desire to regulate corporate abuses and the economy, not all acts and agencies (Elkins Act, Pure Food and Drug Act, Federal Reserve Act…).
Emphasizing overarching patterns allows teachers to explore specific topics in depth with their students. On this slide you can see several examples of how the concept outline provides teachers with greater flexibility. Take a moment to read these through now.

12. Learning Objectives:
Thematic Learning Objectives describe what students should know and be able to do by the end of the AP® U.S. History course.
All questions on the AP® U.S. History Exam will measure student understanding of the Learning Objectives.
Learning Objectives are designed to allow students flexibility in drawing on examples to answer questions.
The curriculum framework presents a set of specific learning objectives--organized by the seven course 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 students to have developed in order to merit placement out of the introductory college U.S. history survey course. All questions on the AP U.S. History Exam will measure student understanding of the specified thematic learning objectives. The learning objectives are designed to allow students flexibility in drawing on different historical examples to answer questions.

13. Learning Objectives Theme Identity Key Concept Key Concept Key Concept
e.g., Period 5, Key Concept 5.1.I
Enthusiasm for U.S. territorial expansion, fueled by economic and national security interests and supported by claims of U.S. racial and cultural superiority, resulted in war, the opening of new markets, acquisition of new territory, and increased ideological conflicts.
Key Concept
Key Concept
Key Concept
Key Concept
Skill
Patterns of Continuity and Change over Time
On your screen you can see an example of how all of the elements of the curriculum framework—theme, concept and skill—come together in a Learning Objective, and provide opportunity for flexibility and choice in designing a curriculum.
This particular Learning Objective states that “Students demonstrate understanding of ways the debates over national identity have changed over time.” In order to do this, students would need to consider the theme of “identity” in various historical contexts. Returning to the concept example we just explored in this presentation: a student could choose to focus on the developments that psychologically fuelled the push for territorial expansion in the mid 1800s, and the effects that expansion had on the national psyche. They would need to reason about change and continuity over time to critically analyze how American national identity has evolved.
Students demonstrate understanding of ways that debates over national identity have changed over time.
Learning Objective

14. Learning Objectives 1–3 for “Identity”
In particular, students can...
In the concept outline:
Students demonstrate understanding of ways that debates over national identity have changed over time.
ID-1 Analyze how competing conceptions of national identity were expressed in the development of political institutions and cultural values from the late colonial through the antebellum periods
2.3.II, 3.1.II,
3.2.I, 4.1.III
ID-2
Assess the impact of Manifest Destiny, territorial expansion, the Civil War, and industrialization on popular beliefs about progress and the national destiny of the U.S. in the 19th century
4.1.III, 5.1.I, 5.3.III, 6.3.II
ID-3
Analyze how U.S. involvement in international crises such as the Spanish American War, World Wars I and II, the Great Depression, and the Cold War influenced public debates about American national identity in the 20th century
7.1.III, 7.3.II, 7.3.III, 8.1.III
Each theme has between five and nine statements identifying particular learning objectives for that theme. These areas appear in the Curriculum Framework, each statement beginning with: “In particular students can…” Here we see the first three objectives for the theme of “Identity.” Notice how each objective identifies key topics and major developments that are significant for understanding American national identity in different time periods of US history.
The curriculum framework also indicates where specific content related to each learning objective can be found in the concept outline. By the same token, the concept outline specifically indicates related learning objectives, the codes in parentheses that we noted before.
This approach ensures that teachers can continue to teach the course chronologically while still highlighting the relationship between specific historical developments and larger thematic understandings.
The flexibility afforded by the Learning Objectives relieves the pressure on teachers to cover all possible combinations of themes, concepts, and skills.

15. The AP® U.S. History Exam
The design of the AP US history exam is intended to measure student understanding of the learning objectives. Exam questions will now seek to elicit student reasoning with the different historical thinking skills, focus on student understanding of long-term, significant historical developments, and allow students flexibility in drawing on different historical examples to answer questions.
Let’s take a look at how the new exam design clearly reflects the expectations of the curriculum framework.

16. AP® U.S. History Exam Design
Type, Time, and Percentage of Total AP Exam Score
Section 1
Part A: Multiple-choice questions minutes – 30% (35–40 questions, organized in sets of 2-6)
Each set is focused on one or more learning objectives.
Each set is organized around primary or secondary sources.
Part B: Short-answer questions (4 questions) minutes – 25%
On the slide you can see the design of the AP U.S. history exam. It consists of four parts in two sections.
The first part presents between 35 and 40 multiple-choice questions, organized in sets of two to six. Each set is focused on one or more of the learning objectives. Additionally, each set is based on a stimulus, either a primary or secondary source, a historian’s argument, or a historical problem.
The second part comprises four short-answer questions. Each will require students to use historical thinking skills to respond to a primary source, a historian’s argument, a secondary source, or general propositions about U.S. history.
The third part is a document-based question, which will require students to assess verbal, quantitative or visual materials as historical evidence, then formulate a thesis and support it.
The fourth part, a long-essay question, will give students a choice between two prompts, and an opportunity to demonstrate what they know best, using relevant historical evidence.
The Curriculum Framework contains sample items for each of the question types. Now we are going to look at some sample items in detail.
Section 2
Part A: Document-based question (1 question) minutes – 25%
Part B: Long-essay question (1 question) minutes – 20%

17. Sample: Stimulus for Multiple-Choice Set
Questions 1.1–1.3 refer to the following quotation. 
“I believe that progressivism was a radical movement, though not by the common measures of economic and political radicalism... Progressives were radical in their conviction that other social classes must be transformed and in their boldness in going about the business of that transformation... The sweep of progressivism was remarkable, but because the progressive agenda was so often carried out in settlement houses, churches, and schoolrooms, in rather unassuming day-to-day activities, the essential audacity of the enterprise can be missed. Progressivism demanded a social transformation that remains at once profoundly impressive and profoundly disturbing a century later.”
Michael McGerr, A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America 1870–1920, 2003
Each multiple-choice question set will address one or more of the learning objectives of the course.
On your screen you can see an example of a reading that would form the basis for a set of three multiple-choice questions. Here, the material is a secondary source: a quotation from a historian. The questions based on this stimulus primarily assess Learning Objective POL-3, and several key concepts from the concept outline.
Take a moment to read through the quotation now.
Learning Objective: POL-3
Students can explain how activist groups and reform movements, such as antebellum reformers, civil rights activists, and social conservatives, have caused changes to state institutions and U.S. society.
(Also WXT-7)
Key Concept: 7.1.II
Progressive reformers responded to economic instability, social inequality, and political corruption by calling for government intervention in the economy, expanded democracy, greater social justice, and conservation of natural resources.
(Also, Key Concepts 4.1.II, 6.2.I)

18. Sample: Multiple-Choice Question Set
Historical Thinking Skills
Use of Evidence
Comparison
1. Which of the following activities from the middle of the 19th century most closely resembles the Progressive Era reforms that McGerr describes?
(A) Participation by women in moral reform efforts
(B) Calls for the annexation of Texas
(C) Efforts by nativists to restrict immigration
(D) Removal of American Indians from the Southeast to the West
2. Which of the following efforts most directly resulted from the Progressive Era reform movements?
(A) Attempts to consolidate large corporations
(B) Local campaigns against urban social problems
(C) Calls to restrict migration from southern and eastern Europe
(D) Plans to develop an extensive social welfare system by the federal government
Historical Thinking Skills
Use of Evidence
Causation
On your screen you can see the first two questions in a set of three based on the stimulus you just read. Take a moment to read through them now.
The questions require students to use historical thinking skills, assessing their ability to reason about the stimulus material in tandem with their knowledge of the historical issues at hand. The possible answers for the questions reflect the level of detail found in the relevant sections of the curriculum framework’s concept outline.

19. Sample: Multiple-Choice Question Set
3. Which of the following movements from the period of 1870 to would most directly support McGerr’s argument in the excerpt above?
(A) The movement for temperance and Prohibition, which sought to limit consumption of alcohol
(B) The movement by good-government advocates, who sought to eliminate public corruption
(C) The movement by the federal government to conserve and protect environmental resources
(D) The movement to protect consumers from unfair practices by businesses
Take a moment to read through the third question in the set.
Historical Thinking Skills
Use of Evidence
Argumentation

20. Sample: Short-Answer Question
(4 Questions; 50 Minutes Total)
United States historians have proposed various events to mark the beginning of an American identity.
A) Choose ONE of the events listed below, and explain why your choice best represents the beginning of an American identity. Provide at least ONE piece of evidence to support your explanation.
End of the Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War) in 1763
Signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776
Ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1788
B) Contrast your choice against ONE of the other options, demonstrating why that option is not as good as your choice.
The short answer questions will directly address one or more of the thematic learning objectives for the course. These questions will require students to use historical thinking skills to respond to a primary source, a historian’s argument, secondary sources such as data or maps, or general propositions about U.S. history. On your screen you can see an example of a short-answer question. Take a moment to read through it now.
Each question will ask students to identify and analyze examples of historical evidence relevant to the source or question; these examples can be drawn from the concept outline or from other examples explored in-depth in classroom instruction. Notice how the question reflects the learning objective from the theme of “identity,” and primarily assesses students’ use of the historical thinking skill of “periodization.”
Learning Objective: ID-1
Students can analyze how competing conceptions of national identity were expressed in the development of political institutions and cultural values from the late colonial through the antebellum periods.
(Also ID-5)
Historical Thinking Skill
Periodization

21. Sample: Long-Essay Question
(Choice Between 2 Questions; 35 Minutes)
Some historians have argued that the development of the policy of containment after the Second World War marked a turning point in United States foreign policy. Support, modify, or refute this contention using specific evidence.
Learning Objective: WOR-7
Students can analyze the goals of U.S. policymakers in major international conflicts, such as the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, and the Cold War, and explain how U.S. involvement in these conflicts has altered the U.S. role in world affairs.
Historical Thinking Skill
Periodization
The long-essay task is similar to what appears on the current exam. Students will be given a choice between two prompts, and 35 minutes to draft a response. This item requires the development of a thesis or argument supported by an analysis of specific, relevant, historical evidence. On your screen you can see an example of a long-essay prompt. Take a moment to read through this now.
Questions will be limited to topics or examples specifically mentioned in the concept outline, but framed to allow student answers to include in-depth examples of large-scale phenomena, either drawn from the concept outline, or from topics discussed in the classroom. The item measures the use of historical thinking skills to explain and analyze significant issues in U.S. history as defined by thematic learning objectives. Notice how the question reflects the learning objective, from the theme of “America in the World,” and primarily assesses students’ use of the historical thinking skill of “periodization.”

22. Sample: Document-Based Question
(1 Question; 60 Minutes)
Analyze major changes and continuities in the social and economic experiences of African Americans who migrated from the rural South to urban areas in the North in the period 1910–1930.
Learning Objective: PEO-3
Students can analyze the causes and effects of major internal migration patterns such as urbanization, suburbanization, westward movement, and the Great Migration in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Historical Thinking Skills
Continuity/Change over Time
Argumentation
Use of Evidence
Synthesis
On your screen you can see an example of a document-based question prompt. This example also names the relevant learning objective being measured, from the theme of “Peopling,” and the relevant historical thinking skills students use in answering this question. The section of the curriculum framework featuring draft questions contains the seven documents that students would need to draw from to respond to this question. Take a moment to read the prompt. You may also want to look at the documents in your downloaded curriculum framework.
The document-based question remains largely the same as it is in the current exam. It emphasizes the ability to analyze and synthesize historical data and assess verbal, quantitative or visual materials as historical evidence. It will be judged on students’ ability to formulate a thesis and support it with relevant evidence. The documents students will be asked to analyze may include a range of materials; charts, graphs, cartoons, pictures and written materials are all fair game.
The document-based question will typically require students to call upon a wide range of historical thinking skills, and relate the documents to a historical period or theme. For this reason, outside knowledge beyond the specific focus of the question is important and must be incorporated into the student’s essay to earn the highest scores.

23. Preparing for the New Course
For new teacher support resources and professional development opportunities, visit
advancesinap.collegeboard.org
Right now you can:
Explore the Curriculum Framework
Discuss the upcoming changes with your department chair or principal
Meet with your Vertical Team
Become familiar with the AP® Course Audit process
The Curriculum Framework describing the scope of the new course is available for download at advancesinap.collegeboard.org. You can also download state standard alignment guides, which show how to use state-mandated content as illustrative examples for the course. Check back regularly for new teacher support resources, including course alignment guides and professional development opportunities.
You can begin to prepare for the redesigned course by familiarizing yourself with the Curriculum Framework and starting to apply the learning objectives to your current course. You can also begin to take steps at your school, by discussing the upcoming changes with your department chair or principal, and by meeting with your vertical team to determine the implications of the redesigned course. Finally, you can begin to become familiar with the AP Course Audit process, which opens in 2014.

24. Thank You!
On behalf of the Advanced Placement Program®, thank you very much for your time to learn more about the upcoming changes to AP® U.S. History. We look forward to partnering with you as you build students’ success in your AP classroom and for the future!
On behalf of the Advanced Placement Program, thank you very much for learning more about the upcoming changes to AP U.S. History. We look forward to partnering with you as you build students’ success in your AP classroom and for the future!