Secrets of the U.S. History Advanced Placement Exam

Mon 11 2008

Answers to free response questions constitute almost one-third of a student’s final grade on the Advanced Placement (AP) United States history examination.

In the Newsletter of the Organization of American Historians, November 2007, Michael Henry, a consultant for the College Board, examines the types of questions and prompts that appeared on the test from 1994 to 2006. Guiding Instruction: The AP U.S. History Free Response Essays offers insights into the patterns of questions and their frequency and suggests how to help students prepare for the exam.

About the Author

Lee Ann Ghajar is a digital history associate in Public Projects at CHNM and a PhD candidate in American history at George Mason University.