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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Wow.  I’m getting ahead of myself reading this thread as my kids are a bit younger, but I can’t imagine taking APUSH in 9th grade.  (And this is coming from someone who went on to do a PhD in history.)  That’s not an easy exam and I don’t think many ninth graders are ready, but what do I know.  I’m surprised to see APs are a thing in 9th grade at all, but government is certainly easier than US History.[/quote]

PP--You are absolutely correct.  It's not that they can't study and pass the exam.  It's that they aren't mature enough and ready enough to really think deeply about the concepts.  My dd went through this, got an A all four quarters and a 4 on the exam.  But you should have heard her naivete when discussing history.  And at a lot of universities, a 4 or 5 on the AP exam will get you out of any more history.  Forever.  It's a real disservice to the kids (and the country).[/quote]

I also have a PhD in history, and the thing I noticed about the modern AP exams is that they involve much less memorization of names and dates than when I took them in the early 90s. I got a 4 on APUSH back then, but my kids both got 5s without lots of cramming. [/quote]

The exams were considered 'inequitable" due to demographic scoring differences and were re-designed in a similar fashion to the SAT, with multiple choice questions based on "stimulus" like reading passages.  The College Board also eliminated the SAT Subject tests that were known for being about memorization of facts.[/quote]

That’s interesting, thanks for the info. Like the PP, I took AP American History in the late 80s, and was surprised at how different the approach seems to be in the course my DD is taking this year as a 10th grader. I got a 4 as a junior back in the day, and I studied my ass off for it.

Her teacher is an experienced AP instructor who has even been a grader in the past, so I trust that he knows what’s he’s doing, but it does seem very different from when I took it. I suggested making flash cards with important dates and events and such, so she could be working on those as she goes along, but apparently the emphasis now is much more on analysis and a nuanced understanding of events and trends than on specific details. She’s really enjoying the class, and has strong opinions on a lot of the things they’re learning about, so I hope it bodes well for her exam.

But I think the differences between the AP US Government course I took as a senior in 1989-90 and the NSL course my kid took last year is even bigger. They’re definitely two different courses, and frankly, the new one is much more practical. The amount of angst I had over the Federalist Papers and the Know-Nothing Society in no way correlated to their importance in my adult life.[/quote]

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