Thinking about
taking APUSH? This
is what you should
know . . .
The class is a college-level course with
college text.
Textbook: The American Pageant: A
History of the Republic ,
Sixteenth Edition by David M.
Kennedy, Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas
A. Bailey
The summer assignment includes reading six
chapters. For each chapter, the prospective
APUSH student must complete four handwritten pages of notes and complete an online quiz. The summer assignment will be
handed in the first day of class. A exam
over the six chapters will be given during
the first two weeks of the fall semester.
During the school year, there is at least
one chapter to read per week; there are
no vacations – reading is assigned over
every vacation throughout the year.
Book notes and the online quiz must be
completed for each of forty-one
chapters assigned in the book.
For every hour spent in class,
a corresponding hour should
be spent at home reading
and studying.
The quizzes and exams are extremely
difficult.
The course includes several types of writing
to prepare for the AP exam: a documentbased essay (DBQ), short-answer essays,
and a long-answer essay.
All writings are timed and will be graded
according to the College Board rubric for
APUSH.
If you are signing up because you
love military history, you should
know that military history is a
minimal part of the course. Political
history, economic history and social
history are the focal points of the
course.
The College Board AP exam given in the spring
consists of these parts:
Section 1:
Part A: 55 multiple-choice questions
Part B: four short answer essays
Section 2:
Part A: DBQ
Part B: Long-answer essay question
The 55 multiple choice questions will have a
time limit of 55 minutes weighted at 40%.
The short-answer essay questions portion of the
exam will take 50 minutes and is weighted at
20%.
The document-based question will be timed at
55 minutes; it will be weighted at 25%.
The long essay will be timed at 35 minutes, and
it will be weighted at 15%.
A successful APUSH student is
committed to reading and studying.
Reading comprehension is key, as is
being an articulate writer and a critical
thinker.
And yes, there is a lot of memorization
of names, dates, and events that go
into the study of US History!
Questions?
Contact Ms. Michelena at
smichelena@powayusd.com