Advanced Placement World History is a complex and incredibly time intensive course. While this course is offered to 10th graders, it is not a sophomore level course and can be very challenging for most students. Below are some frequently asked questions about the course and AP classes in general.
What is AP? Advanced Placement is the term given to college level classes by the College Board (the people who make the SAT). The College Board creates an exam that is given in May to every student in the nation on the same day. Based on scores on this exam, students can earn college credit at most universities. The exam is scored between 1 and 5 with 5 being the highest possible score. Exam scores do not affect a student's high school average.
How much work is there? Students are required to read a 20-30 page chapter of their textbook each week. They are also expected to complete "Discussion Questions" about the text every week. These discussion questions are answered in either essay format or in the form of a graphic organizer depending on the instructions for that chapter. In addition, students are tested once a week over the textbook and write in-class "free response" essays every two weeks. Other assignments include food days, comprehensive timelines, and a final notebook check.
What are Free Response questions? Free Response questions are the essays that are given on the AP exam. There are Document Based Questions (DBQs), Change Over Time Essays (COT), and Comparative Essays (Comp). There is one of each type of essay (3 total) on the AP exam and these essays comprise half of the exam score. We will write one of these essays approximately every two weeks.
Why is my grade so low? This is HARD! Really, really hard. Test questions are taken straight from the book and unless you have read and taken notes, you will not succeed. In-class essays are timed and involve complex thinking. Students who are not good at these skills will not do well on these tasks. Although most students wind up with a B average, there will be students with Cs and only a few As. Do not assume that an A in Political Science equates to an A in AP World History. On the positive side, your skills will improve over time and you will get better at taking tests and writing essays.