The A.P. US History Exam
The A.P. U.S. History exam, administered Friday May 8, 2015, is 3 hours and 15 minutes long.
Half of the exam is a 55 minute, 55 (or 35-40, there's currently conflicting information about how many questions the new test will have) question multiple choice section. Only 5% of the multiple choice questions will come from the period of 1491-1607, 45% of the questions will come from the time period of 1607-1877, another 45% of questions will come from 1865-1980 (yes there is some overlay there,) and the last 5% of the questions will come from 1980-present.
The questions will be organized into sets of two to six questions that ask students to respond to stimulus material — a primary or secondary source, a historian’s argument, or a historical problem.
The other half of the exam is a 140 minute essay section. Students are required to answer 6 of 7 essay questions (described in more detail below)
The A.P. U.S. History exam is graded on a five point scale. Generally, most public universities award
credit or placement to students who earn a 3 or higher while many private colleges require a score of 4
or higher. However, since each school is free to set its own policy, students need to check the specific
policies of the institutions they are interested in attending
Half of the exam is a 55 minute, 55 (or 35-40, there's currently conflicting information about how many questions the new test will have) question multiple choice section. Only 5% of the multiple choice questions will come from the period of 1491-1607, 45% of the questions will come from the time period of 1607-1877, another 45% of questions will come from 1865-1980 (yes there is some overlay there,) and the last 5% of the questions will come from 1980-present.
The questions will be organized into sets of two to six questions that ask students to respond to stimulus material — a primary or secondary source, a historian’s argument, or a historical problem.
The other half of the exam is a 140 minute essay section. Students are required to answer 6 of 7 essay questions (described in more detail below)
The A.P. U.S. History exam is graded on a five point scale. Generally, most public universities award
credit or placement to students who earn a 3 or higher while many private colleges require a score of 4
or higher. However, since each school is free to set its own policy, students need to check the specific
policies of the institutions they are interested in attending
Short-Answer Questions
Students will receive 4 short answer questions that will be broken down into multiple parts (a part A, B, C for example) where students will look at stimulus material — a primary or secondary source, a historian’s argument, or a historical problem and provide their insight into it. Students will be required to provide relevant information and bring in their outside knowledge on the questions being asked. These are not essays and generally do not require a thesis.
The D.B.Q. (Document Based Question)
Although confined to no single format, the documents are unlikely to be the familiar classics (such as the Emancipation Proclamation or the Declaration of Independence), but their authors may be major historical figures. The documents vary in length and are chosen to illustrate the interactions and complexities of the historical process. They may include charts, graphs, cartoons, and pictures, as well as written materials. The DBQ typically requires students to relate the documents to a historical period or theme and thus to focus on major periods and issues. For this reason, outside knowledge -- information gained from materials other than the documents -- is very important and must be incorporated into your essay if the highest scores are to be earned.
The Long-Essay question
Students will receive 2 long-essay questions that they must select one to write on. Students will receive one topic choices from early United States History (generally regarded as prior to the end of the Civil War (prior to 1865)) and one choice from post Civil War (after 1865). Students will have 35 minutes to plan and write one essay.