Advanced Placement U.S. History curriculum needed a redesign, but not this kind.
Proponents of the College Board’s redesigned Advanced Placement U.S. History (APUSH) curricular framework claim it provides flexibility for teachers and a welcome answer to traditional courses demanding the memorization of what Charles Dickens might call, “imperial gallons of facts.” The APUSH redesign emphasizes historical thinking skills and its framework document features key themes and concepts rather than laundry lists of topics.
Critics of the College Board’s redesigned APUSH framework decry it as a Common Core-inspired, leftist attempt at the social engineering of our best and brightest. APUSH students will be lulled into viewing the United States as an oppressor of the underserved through a course of study which eliminates from consideration key figures, facts, and events essential to an understanding of America as a nation with a conscience.
Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in between. It is hard to believe the College Board’s intent is leftist indoctrination. However, the current criticism of APUSH is hardly “much ado about nothing.” The redesigned curricular framework could use a redesign.
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