Criticism of the new Advanced Placement U.S. History (APUSH) curriculum framework is misplaced and fails to acknowledge the merits of the new structure’s intent.
The College Board is the New York-based company that creates, administers and scores a wide array of K-12 standardized tests, including Advanced Placement exams. According to its new framework, released in time for the 2014-15 round of tests, the purpose of the APUSH course and the subsequent exam is to develop historical thinking skills at the level of an introductory college survey course, focusing on seven learning objectives including “identity” and “America in the world.”
The College Board should be applauded for a new approach and a new test format that encourages students to focus on critical thinking and analysis of primary source documents — skills that will serve them well not only in college but also throughout their professional lives. Rather than solely emphasizing facts that will help them answer multiple-choice questions, students are also asked to assess trends and construct sound arguments to respond to broader thematic questions in short-answer and essay formats.
This new system has sparked a burgeoning national debate, with supporters appreciating the framework’s nods to diversity and the multi-faceted nature of our nation’s history, while detractors claim the new framework is too narrow and too negative. The Republican National Committee has even gone so far as to decry it as a “radically revisionist view.”
Debate about history is not a new concept, nor is it an unproductive exercise. And revising how we think about history can allow us to step outside our own experience and understand how our shared historical narrative has been constructed. If we continued to think about American history in the same way we did a century ago, how could we ever progress?
Instead of debating what specifically should or should not be included in a history curriculum, lawmakers and educators ought to work together to engender a constructive discussion that leads to generations of more informed Americans.
The Texas State Board of Education, in an extreme case, has moved to throw out the APUSH curriculum altogether, citing the differences between the College Board framework and the state’s history standards. Such an action would deprive thousands of students the chance to receive college credit through the APUSH exam, as well as reject the idea that students ought to become more informed about both the triumphs and the inequities of our nation’s history.
