As the upcoming school year looms, educators and students alike are eagerly looking forward to the new changes in the 6.1 APUSH curriculum. The Advanced Placement United States History program, commonly known as APUSH, is a popular, rigorous course that challenges high school students to delve deeply into America’s rich and complex past.
The College Board, which administers the APUSH program, recently announced several adjustments to the curriculum that will take effect for the 2021-2022 academic year. These changes are designed to reflect current scholarship and to better prepare students for the APUSH exam, which assesses their knowledge of American history from pre-Columbian times to the present day.
One notable change concerns the framing of the course itself. Whereas past iterations of the APUSH curriculum have emphasized themes such as democracy, freedom, and opportunity, the new 6.1 curriculum will highlight structural inequality, racial discrimination, and the struggles of marginalized groups to gain political and social power. This shift reflects a growing interest among historians and educators in exploring topics that have historically been overlooked or minimized in textbooks and classrooms.
Another key change in the 6.1 curriculum is a renewed focus on Indigenous history. Students will now be expected to study the complex and diverse societies that existed in North America prior to European colonization, as well as the devastating impact that European diseases, violence, and oppression had on these communities. The revised curriculum also emphasizes the ways in which Indigenous peoples continued to resist and adapt to European domination over time.
The new curriculum also includes updated exam objectives and a revamped exam format. Students will now be required to analyze primary sources and to apply historical thinking skills in more depth and sophistication than in previous versions of the exam. The free-response section of the exam will now include one long essay question and two short-answer questions, providing students with the chance to showcase their knowledge of specific historical periods and events.
Overall, the changes to the 6.1 APUSH curriculum are both exciting and challenging. They offer students the opportunity to engage with diverse perspectives, to grapple with complex historical issues, and to develop critical thinking skills that will serve them well both in college and beyond. As students and teachers gear up for the new academic year, they can look forward to a curriculum that reflects the rich and multifaceted nature of American history.
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