AP U. S. History: Beneficial or Problematic?

Abstract

FOR SEVEN OF THE LAST EIGHT YEARS I have graded AP United States History exams at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, serving for the last three years as a table leader supervising other graders. This is a terribly important enterprise for all who teach United States history, whether on the high school or college level. But I have become more disturbed each year by what I see as problems, and suspect that to ignore them in the long run will imperil the program itself. The problems include too many exams (some taken inappropriately), which causes difficulties in maintaining standards. AP courses are meant to provide college level work, including not just the facts but also learning how to think historically, use primary source documents, and write coherentlyinstead too often they become lessons how on to take THE TEST. There are also problems in attracting graders, which reflect attitudes towards what does and does not count as professional activities for historians, particularly those teaching at the college level. What started out as a means of selecting the best and brightest of high school students, putting them through a rigorous history course, and rewarding them by permitting them to take an exam which could place them out of college level courses, is becoming a test of minimum standards that reputable colleges may soon ignore.