AP Art History
Encyclopedia
AP Art History is a course offered in high school
through the Advanced Placement Program
that gives college level material at the high school level. This class is operated by College Board
. College Board administers a test near the end of the course to assess how much the student has learned in Art History
, and depending on the score received, colleges generally accept a passing score as credit for an equivalent class at their institution.
is designed to allow students to examine major forms of artistic expression relevant to a variety of cultures evident in wide variety of periods from present times into the past. In this course, students acquire an ability to examine works of art critically, with intelligence and sensitivity, and to articulate their thoughts and experiences. The main focus is on European Art
, but the course does deal with African
, Hindu
, South and East Asian
, and Islamic Art
. Pre-Historic art
has now been removed from the curriculum. Students may choose to complement the course with review textbooks.
Ancient through Medieval: 30%
Renaissance to Present: 50%
Beyond European Tradition: 20%
The seven short essays involve responding to an image or images (projected on a screen) and/or a quotation (printed in the test booklet). Students must demonstrate their knowledge of trends in art history, identifying key characteristics of the works of different periods and cultures. This portion of the exam also takes one hour, with either five or ten minutes allotted for each short essay question.
Each of the two long essays require that a student be able to cite two examples of works of art that exemplify certain themes in art history. Students are also expected to recall works from beyond the European tradition for at least one of the essays. The two essays take 30 minutes each. One is written following the exam's 115 multiple-choice questions but before the seven short essays. The other comes during the exam's final segment, after the seven short essays.
While the criteria varies from year to year, receiving a "5" from the ETS usually entails earning around 70% of the total points on the test, or having a raw score of 140.
The grade distribution for 2010 was:
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
through the Advanced Placement Program
Advanced Placement Program
The Advanced Placement program is a curriculum in the United States and Canada sponsored by the College Board which offers standardized courses to high school students that are generally recognized to be equivalent to undergraduate courses in college...
that gives college level material at the high school level. This class is operated by College Board
College Board
The College Board is a membership association in the United States that was formed in 1900 as the College Entrance Examination Board . It is composed of more than 5,900 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. It sells standardized tests used by academically oriented...
. College Board administers a test near the end of the course to assess how much the student has learned in Art History
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
, and depending on the score received, colleges generally accept a passing score as credit for an equivalent class at their institution.
The course
The Art History AP course, under the direction of College BoardCollege Board
The College Board is a membership association in the United States that was formed in 1900 as the College Entrance Examination Board . It is composed of more than 5,900 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. It sells standardized tests used by academically oriented...
is designed to allow students to examine major forms of artistic expression relevant to a variety of cultures evident in wide variety of periods from present times into the past. In this course, students acquire an ability to examine works of art critically, with intelligence and sensitivity, and to articulate their thoughts and experiences. The main focus is on European Art
Western art history
Western art is the art of the North American and European countries, and art created in the forms accepted by those countries.Written histories of Western art often begin with the art of the Ancient Middle East, Ancient Egypt and the Ancient Aegean civilisations, dating from the 3rd millennium BC...
, but the course does deal with African
African art
African art constitutes one of the most diverse legacies on earth. Though many casual observers tend to generalize "traditional" African art, the continent is full of people, societies, and civilizations, each with a unique visual special culture. The definition also includes the art of the African...
, Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
, South and East Asian
Art of East Asia
Arts of the Far East include:*Buddhist art*Chinese art*Japanese art*Korean art*Tibetan art*Thai art*Laotian art*Vietnamese art...
, and Islamic Art
Islamic art
Islamic art encompasses the visual arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people who lived within the territory that was inhabited by or ruled by culturally Islamic populations...
. Pre-Historic art
Pre-historic art
In the history of art, prehistoric art is all art produced in preliterate, prehistorical cultures beginning somewhere in very late geological history, and generally continuing until that culture either develops writing or other methods of record-keeping, or it makes significant contact with another...
has now been removed from the curriculum. Students may choose to complement the course with review textbooks.
Topics
The ETS's framework for the exam is as follows:Ancient through Medieval: 30%
- Greece and Rome (10-15%)
- Early Christian, Byzantine, Early Medieval (5-10%)
- Romanesque (3-7%)
- Gothic (7-10%)
Renaissance to Present: 50%
- Fourteenth Through Sixteenth Centuries (12-17%)
- Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries (10-15%)
- Nineteenth Century (10-15%)
- Twentieth Century (10-15%)
Beyond European Tradition: 20%
- Africa (including Egypt); the Americas; Asia; Near East, Oceania, and global Islamic tradition
The exam
The AP Art History exam is exactly three hours long. It consists of 115 multiple-choice questions (4 answer choices), seven short essays, and two long essays. Part A of the multiple-choice section includes four sets of slide-based questions that will present either a single image or two images of different works of art. The slide or slides in each set of part A will show for 4 minutes only. Part B of the multiple choice section contains 85 questions, some of which do not pertain to any specific image, and involve the basic recalling of facts. Other questions, though, refer to black and white images within the test booklet. Overall, the multiple-choice section of the exam takes one hour to complete.The seven short essays involve responding to an image or images (projected on a screen) and/or a quotation (printed in the test booklet). Students must demonstrate their knowledge of trends in art history, identifying key characteristics of the works of different periods and cultures. This portion of the exam also takes one hour, with either five or ten minutes allotted for each short essay question.
Each of the two long essays require that a student be able to cite two examples of works of art that exemplify certain themes in art history. Students are also expected to recall works from beyond the European tradition for at least one of the essays. The two essays take 30 minutes each. One is written following the exam's 115 multiple-choice questions but before the seven short essays. The other comes during the exam's final segment, after the seven short essays.
Scoring
The multiple-choice section of the exam accounts for 40% of a student's score. The free-response is worth 60%. Each correctly answered multiple-choice question is worth one point. As of 2011, wrong and omitted questions do not affect the raw score, therefore guessing is encouraged . For the free-response section, the seven short answers are worth 35% of the total grade, and each is graded on a scale of 0 to 4. Finally, the two long essays are each graded on a scale of 0 to 9, totaling 25% of the grade.While the criteria varies from year to year, receiving a "5" from the ETS usually entails earning around 70% of the total points on the test, or having a raw score of 140.
Grade distribution
In the 2010 administration, 21,643 students took the exam from schools. The mean score was a 2.89.The grade distribution for 2010 was:
| Score | Percent |
|---|---|
| 5 | 12.4% |
| 4 | 22.9% |
| 3 | 26.1% |
| 2 | 18.6% |
| 1 | 20.0% |