AP United States History

This article is part of the Advanced Placement series.

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Current subjects:

Art History Biology Calculus (AB & BC) Chemistry Chinese Language and Culture Comparative Government & Politics Computer Science A Computer Science Principles English Language & Composition English Literature & Composition Environmental Science European History French Language German Language Human Geography Italian Language and Culture Japanese Language and Culture Latin Macroeconomics Microeconomics Music Theory Physics 1: Algebra-based Physics 2: Algebra-based Physics C: Mechanics Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism Psychology Research (Second part of AP Capstone program) Seminar (First part of AP Capstone program) Spanish Language Spanish Literature Statistics Studio Art (2-D, 3-D, & Drawing) U.S. History U.S. Government & Politics World History

In development:

Russian Language and Culture

Former subjects:

Computer Science AB French Literature German Literature Latin: Vergil Latin Literature Physics B

Advanced Placement United States History (also known as AP U.S. History or APUSH) is a course and examination offered by College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program.

The AP U.S. History course is designed to provide the same level of content and instruction that students would face in a freshman-level college survey class. AP U.S. History classes generally use a college-level textbook as the foundation for the course.

Commonly used textbooks that meet the curriculum requirements include:

American conservatives have criticised the curriculum for downplaying American exceptionalism and failing to foster patriotism. In 2014, there were protests against it in the Jefferson County Public Schools district in Colorado. In 2015, a bill to replace the curriculum was passed by the Oklahoma House of Representatives’ Education Committee, but later withdrawn.

The AP U.S. History exam lasts 3 hours and 15 minutes and consists of two sections; additionally, each section is divided into two parts. Section I, part A includes 55 multiple choice questions with each question containing four choices. The multiple choice questions cover American History from just before European contact with Native Americans to the present day. Moreover, section I, part B includes four short-answer questions. In total, students are given 105 minutes (55 for the multiple choice section and 50 for the four short-answer questions) to complete section I.

Section II of the exam is the free-response section, composed of a document-based question (DBQs) and one thematic essay. Section II, part A is composed of the DBQ, which provides an essay prompt and seven short primary sources or excerpts related to the prompt. Students are expected to write an essay responding to the prompt in which they utilize the sources in addition to outside information. Section II, part B consists of two essay prompts. Each thematic essay question on the AP exam may address any one of four possible historical thinking skills: patterns of continuity and change over time, comparison, causation, or periodization. Students must respond to only one of the two essay prompts. Both of the essay questions will address the same historical thinking skill. In addition, neither essay's time frame will be exclusively before 1607 (the founding of Jamestown) or after 1980 (President Reagan's election). There is a mandatory fifteen-minute reading period for students to read the essay prompts, take notes, and brainstorm; they may not begin to write the essays until this period has ended. Students will then have 90 minutes to write the two essays (60 for the DBQ and 30 for the thematic essay).

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