2. 2
► 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”
Rationale for Course Design
3. A Tour of the AP® U.S. History Curriculum
Framework
4. The AP USH Curriculum Framework
Nine historical thinking skills
Seven course themes
Key concepts for each of nine periods
Learning Objectives for the course as a whole
Major elements:
4
5. 5
Learning Objectives
Learning
Objective
Theme
Skill
An overarching idea for the course as a whole
Ways that historians investigate and reason about
this phenomenon
Specific events in U.S. History where we can study this
theme in context
Key
Concept
Statement about what students should know
and be able to do to regarding this overarching
idea to succeed on the AP Exam
Key
ConceptKey
ConceptKey
Concept
6. 6
Learning Objectives
Learning
Objective
Theme
Skill
Identity
Patterns of Continuity and Change over Time
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
Students are able to assess the impact of Manifest Destiny,
territorial expansion, the Civil War, and industrialization
on popular beliefs about progress and the national destiny
of the United States in the 19th century.
Key
ConceptKey
ConceptKey
Concept
8. 8
Learning Objectives
Students are able to...
In the Concept
Outline:
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 United States 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
Learning Objectives 1–3 for “Identity”
Overarching Question:
How and why have debates over American national identity changed over time?
9. 9
Skill Type
Historical Thinking Skills Foster Critical Analysis and
Interpretation
Comparison and
Contextualization
Chronological
Reasoning
Crafting Historical
Arguments from
Historical Evidence
Historical
Interpretation and
Synthesis
Historical Causation
Patterns of Continuity and Change over Time
Periodization
Historical Thinking Skill
Comparison
Contextualization
Historical Argumentation
Appropriate Use of Relevant Historical Evidence
Interpretation
Synthesis
10. 10
Nine Periods: 1491 to the Present
Period Date Range
Approximate Percentage of…
Instructional
Time
AP Exam
1 1491-1607 5% 5%
2 1607-1754 10%
45%
3 1754-1800 12%
4 1800-1848 10%
5 1844-1877 13%
6 1865-1898 13%
45%
7 1890-1945 17%
8 1945-1980 15%
9 1980-Present 5% 5%
11. Defining the Course Periods
Period Title Date Range
Exam
Weight
1 Early Contacts Among Groups in North America 1491-1607 5%
2
North American Societies in the Context of the Atlantic
World
1607-1754
45%
3 Birth of a New Nation and Struggle for Identity 1754-1800
4 Growing Pains of the New Republic 1800-1848
5
Expansion, Regional Separation, the Civil War and Its
Aftermath
1844-1877
6
Industrialization, Urbanization, and Cultural
Transformation
1865-1914
45%7
Domestic and Global Challenges and the Creation of
Mass Culture
1890-1945
8
Increasing Prosperity and Global Responsibility After
World War II
1945-1989
9 Globalization and Redefining National Identity 1980-Today 5%
1
13. 13
AP® U.S. History Exam Design
Section I
Part A: Multiple-choice questions 55 minutes (40%)
(55 questions, organized in sets of 2−5)
• 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) 45 minutes (20%)
Type, Time, and Percentage of Total AP Exam Score
Section II
Part A: Document-based question (1 question) 60 minutes (25%)
Part B: Long-essay question (1 question selected from 2) 35 minutes (15%)
14. 14
Multiple Choice Questions (55 Qs, 55 minutes, 40%)
Questions are organized in sets of 2-5
Each set relates to stimulus material (quotations, pictures, cartoons, maps, etc.)
Each set has four possible answers
One Correct Answer
Three Distracters
Each question has a stem that is meant to assess one or more of the historical
thinking skills
Each question must
Measure information that is contained in the concept outline
Align directly to one learning objective
Questions cannot be answered correctly without knowing historical content
15. 15
Questions 12–15 refer to the following quotation.
“Economic growth was indeed the most decisive force in the shaping of attitudes and
expectations in the postwar era. The prosperity of the period broadened gradually in the
late 1940s, accelerated in the 1950s, and soared to unimaginable heights in the 1960s.
By then it was a boom that astonished observers. One economist, writing about the
twenty-five years following World War II, put it simply by saying that this was a ‘quarter
century of sustained growth at the highest rates in recorded history.’ Former Prime
Minister Edward Heath of Great Britain agreed, observing that the United States at the
time was enjoying ‘the greatest prosperity the world has ever known.’”
-James T. Patterson, historian, Grand Expectations: The United States, 1945–1974, published in 1996
Sample: Stimulus for Multiple-Choice Set
Key Concept: 8.3
I. Rapid economic and social changes in American society fostered a sense of optimism in the
postwar years as well as underlying concerns about how these changes were affecting American
values.
A. A burgeoning private sector, continued federal spending, the baby boom, and technological
developments helped spur economic growth, middle-class suburbanization, social mobility, a
rapid expansion of higher education, and the rise of the “Sun Belt” as a political and economic
force.
16. 16
Sample: Multiple-Choice Question Set
12. Which of the following factors most directly contributed
to the economic trend that Patterson describes?
(A) A surge in the national birthrate
(B) The expansion of voting rights for African Americans
(C) Challenges to conformity raised by intellectuals and
artists
(D) The gradual immersion of détente with the Soviet Union
Historical Thinking Skills
Use of Evidence
Causation
13. One significant result of the economic trend described
in the excerpt was the
(A) rise of the sexual revolution in the United States
(B) decrease in the number of immigrants seeking entry to
the United States
(C) rise of the Sun Belt as a political and economic force
(D) Decrease in the number of women in the workforce
Learning Objective: WXT-3
Explain how changes in transportation,
technology, and the integration of the
U.S. economy into world markets have
influenced U.S. society since the Gilded
Age.
Historical Thinking Skills
Use of Evidence
Causation
Learning Objective: PEO-3
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.
17. 17
Sample: Multiple-Choice Question Set
14. Many of the federal policies and initiatives passed in the 1960s
address which of the following about the economic trend described in the
excerpt?
Historical Thinking Skills
Use of Evidence
Contextualization
(A) Affluence had effectively eliminated racial discrimination
(B) Pockets of poverty persisted despite overall affluence
(C) A rising standard of living encouraged unionization of industrial workers
(D) Private industry boomed in spite of a declining rate of federal spending
Learning Objective: POL-3
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.
18. 18
Sample: Multiple-Choice Question Set
15. The increased culture of consumerism during the 1950s was most
similar to developments in which of the following earlier periods?
Historical Thinking Skills
Periodization
(A) The 1840s
(B) The 1860s
(C) The 1910s
(D) The 1920s
Learning Objective: CUL-7
Explain how and why “modern”
cultural values and popular culture
have grown since the early 20th
century and how they have affected
American politics and society.
20. 20
Sample: Short-Answer Question
Briefly explain why ONE of the following options most clearly marks the
beginning of the sectional crisis that led to the outbreak of the Civil War
(4 Questions; 45 Minutes Total)
Learning Objective: 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.
(Also POL-6)
Historical Thinking Skill
Periodization
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.
Northwest Ordinance (1787)
Missouri Compromise (1820)
Acquisition of Mexican territory (1848)
B) Provide an example of an event or development to support your explanation.
C) Briefly explain why one of the other options is not as useful to mark the beginning of
the sectional crisis.
21. 21
Long-Essay Question (2 choices, 35 minutes, 15%)
Thesis=0-1 point
Support for Argument=0-2 points
Application of historical thinking skills=0-2 points
Synthesis=0-1 point
*6 points total
22. AP US: Long Essay Rubrics
Very different rubric and scoring requirements
2
23. 23
Sample: Long-Essay Question
1) Some historians have argued that the American Revolution was not
revolutionary in nature. Support, modify, or refute this interpretation,
providing specific evidence to justify your answer.
OR
2) Some historians have argued that the New Deal was ultimately
conservative in nature. Support, modify or refute this specific
evidence to justify your answer.
Learning Objective: 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.
(Also POL-5, CUL-4)
Main Historical Thinking Skill
Change and Continuity over Time
(Choice Between 2 Questions; 35 Minutes; 15%)
Learning Objective: WXT-8
Explain how and why the role of the federal government in
regulating economic life and the environment has changed since
the end of the 19th century.
(Also POL-4)
Main Historical Thinking Skill
Change and Continuity over Time
24. 24
Document-Based Question (1 Q, 60 minutes, 25%)
Never more than 7 documents
15 minutes recommended for
planning/reading docs
45 minutes recommended for
writing
Thesis=0-1 point
Support for argument=0-4 points
Evidence=0-1
Argument & skill=0-3
Contextualization=0-1 point
Synthesis=0-1 point
*7 points total
25. AP US: The New DBQ Rubric
Very different rubric and scoring requirements
2
26. AP US: The New DBQ Rubric
Very different rubric and scoring requirements
2
For 3 points:
Offers plausible analysis of BOTH the content of all
or all but one of the documents, explicitly using this
analysis to support the stated thesis or a relevant
argument;
AND
at least one of the following for all or all but one of
the documents:
• intended audience
• purpose
• historical context
• the author's point of view
27. AP US: The New DBQ Rubric
Very different rubric and scoring requirements
2
Accurately and explicitly connects historical
phenomena relevant to the argument to broader
historical events and/or processes
28. AP US: The New DBQ Rubric
Very different rubric and scoring requirements
2
29. 29
Sample: Document-Based Question
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.
Main Historical Thinking Skill
Continuity/Change
over Time
Other Skills Targeted
Argumentation
Use of Evidence
Synthesis
Contextualization
Learning Objective: PEO-3
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.
(1 Question; 60 Minutes; 25 %)
Hinweis der Redaktion
Welcome to the College Board’s presentation of the AP U.S. History Course and Exam. In this presentation, we will
describe the major elements of the AP U.S. History curriculum framework
show you how the exam will assess your students’ understanding of the major themes of U.S. History and use of historical thinking skills
A committee of AP teachers and university instructors designed 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 manageable and provide teachers with 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.
Now we will explore the critical features of the AP U.S. History course as described in the Curriculum Framework portion of the Course and Exam Description.
On this slide 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.
Here is an example of how this structure works in practice. This particular Learning Objective states that “Students are able to assess the impact of Manifest Destiny, territorial expansion, the Civil War, and industrialization on popular beliefs about progress and the national destiny of the United States in the 19th century.” In order to do this, students would need to consider the theme of “identity” in various historical contexts. Returning to the content example we explored in looking at the concept outline: 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.
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: “Students are able to…” 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.
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.
The AP U.S. History course outline is structured around the investigation of course themes and key concepts in nine chronological periods. The course includes a focus on pre-Columbian history (represented symbolically by the date 1491) and contemporary history, 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. 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.
The design of the AP US history exam is intended to measure student understanding of the learning objectives. Exam questions 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 exam design clearly reflects the expectations of the curriculum framework.
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 55 multiple-choice questions, organized in sets of two to five. 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 Course and Exam Description and Practice Exam contain sample items for each of the question types. Now we are going to look at some sample items in detail.
Each multiple-choice question set will address one or more of the learning objectives of the course.
On the slide you can see an example of a reading that forms the basis for a set of four sample multiple-choice questions from the Course and Exam Description. Here, the material is a secondary source: a quotation from a historian. The set mainly focuses on Key Concept 8.3.
Take a moment to read through the quotation now.
On your screen you can see the first two questions in the set of four based on the stimulus you just read. Take a moment to read through them now.
The questions require students to use the historical thinking skills “Appropriate Use of Relevant Historical Evidence” and “Causation,” 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.
Take a moment to read through the third question in the set.
Take a moment to read through the fourth question in the set.
The short answer questions directly address one or more of the thematic learning objectives for the course. These questions 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 taken from the Course and Exam Description. Take a moment to read through it now.
Each question asks 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.”
In the long-essay task, students are 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 choices. Take a moment to read them 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.”
On the slide 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 the curriculum framework.
The document-based question 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.
