You may have noticed that as you get older, things begin to change: your friendships, your studies, and yes, even your AP exams. Every few years, most exams undergo a rewrite to make sure that they’re the best possible measure of a student’s abilities and knowledge. While it may feel overwhelming to wrap your brain around a whole different kind of AP test, it is usually beneficial to your learning in the long run. But as you know, it is important to know as much as you can about a change before jumping in headfirst – so here’s what you need to know about the new AP World History exam to increase your chances of success.
Launching in the 2016-2017 school year, the exam incorporates feedback from a variety of teachers of higher education and AP classes. The revision is meant to enhance the emphasis on essential concepts and historical thinking skills.
The AP World History exam format
Starting in 2017, the AP World History Exam will share the same format as both the AP U.S. History and AP European History exams. The new AP World History exam will consist of short answer questions, as well as a document-based essay and a longer essay. The essays will require that students possess historical content knowledge and adequate writing skills.
There will also be multiple-choice questions to analyze content knowledge and a student’s ability to use and interpret primary and secondary sources.
Broken down, the test looks like this:
- Multiple-choice questions: 55 over 55 minutes
- Short-answer questions: 4 over 50 minutes
- Document-based question: 1 over 55 minutes
- Essay question: 1 over 35 minutes
Other exam changes
The revision includes several changes in content, including the removal of less essential topics from the concept outline. This change is meant to make the scope of course content easier to manage and more realistic for students and teachers.
Another important change is the addition of learning objectives within the framework of the curriculum. These will make it easier for students to focus on the most important parts of the course. It should also make studying for the AP World History exam easier.
Of course, the exam format has also been revised to include the new question types included above, helping students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in a variety of ways.
In light of these changes, it is important that students rely on practice tests from the current year. Because the content and questions have both changed, reviewing old tests may not be useful. Your best strategy will be to address the learning objectives throughout the course, review practice exams, and pay attention to the material presented in class.
Remember, these exams can change every year, so make sure you are aware of any and all changes going into the school year. The changes are always carefully evaluated by professionals working in education to make the test a more accurate measure of knowledge. It’s easy to fear change, but by understanding what you need to know about the new AP World History exam, you can prepare to succeed!
