AP World History
Encyclopedia
Advanced Placement World History (also known as AP World History, AP World, WHAP, or APWH) is a college
-level course offered through the College Board's
Advanced Placement Program
designed to help students develop greater understanding of the evolution of global processes and contacts and interactions between different types of Human societies. This understanding is advanced through a combination of selective factual knowledge and appropriate analytical skills. The chronological time frame is from 8000 BCE
to the present.
The course is divided into five units consisting of the following time periods and big picture ideas:
The first section of the AP World History exam consists of 70 multiple choice questions with a 55 minute time limit.
The Multiple Choice section is weighted as 50% of one's total score.
Note: While previously the exam deducted 1/4 of a point for every incorrect answer, starting from 2011 on, there will be no penalty for incorrect answers. It is to one's advantage to attempt every question possible within the time limit.
The second section, the free-response section, consists of 3 essays which may be answered in any order. However, it is recommended that students answer the DBQ first to get it out of the way as it requires little to no prior knowledge of historical background.
This section begins with a mandatory 10 minute reading period, during which students are instructed to read the DBQ, (including the documents) CCOT, and Comparative questions. It is vitally important to take careful notes and plan one's essays during these 10 minutes. After the reading period, students are given 120 minutes to write all 3 essays, though they may continue to take notes before starting to write their essays; notes taken during the reading period may be used. Each essay is out of 7 points (a detailed rubric can be found in the AP World History course description), but students can earn up to two points of extra credit after receiving 7 points by going above and beyond what is expected. Therefore, students can receive a maximum of 27 points on these essays. Students are encouraged to pace themselves.
In 2007, 101,975 students took the exam, with a mean score of 2.72, and a standard deviation of 1.28. In 2009, 143,426 students took the exam, with a mean score of 2.64, and a deviation of 1.31. In 2010, 167,789 students took the exam, with a mean score of 2.57, and a standard deviation of 1.29. It is interesting to note that this test had one of the lowest average means for all AP exams in the year 2010, partially due to the test being one of the first APs a prospective student takes.
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
-level course offered through the College Board's
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...
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...
designed to help students develop greater understanding of the evolution of global processes and contacts and interactions between different types of Human societies. This understanding is advanced through a combination of selective factual knowledge and appropriate analytical skills. The chronological time frame is from 8000 BCE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
to the present.
The course is divided into five units consisting of the following time periods and big picture ideas:
- Unit 1 - 8000 BCE to 600600Year 600 was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 600 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Smallpox arrives in Europe for the first...
CE - River Valley civilizationCivilizationCivilization is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such civilizations are generally...
s, Classical civilizations: RomanRoman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, HanHan DynastyThe Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
and GuptaGupta EmpireThe Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed approximately from 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. Founded by Maharaja Sri-Gupta, the dynasty was the model of a classical civilization. The peace and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas enabled the...
empires - Unit 2 - 600 CE to 1450 CE - Rise and spread of IslamMuslim historyMuslim history is the history of Muslim people. In the history of Islam the followers of the religion of Islam have impacted political history, economic history, and military history...
, ChristianityChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, Nomadic Kingdoms, IndianHistory of IndiaThe history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago. The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from...
and ChineseChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
diplomacy - Unit 3 - 1450 CE to 1750 CE - Columbian and hemispheric exchange, gunpowder empiresGunpowder warfareEarly modern warfare is associated with the start of the widespread use of gunpowder and the development of suitable weapons to use the explosive, including artillery and handguns such as the arquebus and later the musket, and for this reason the era is also summarized as the age of gunpowder...
- Unit 4 - 1750 CE to 1914 CE - ImperialismImperialismImperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
, colonialismColonialismColonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
, and industrialization - Unit 5 - 1914 CE to present - World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Cold WarCold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, de-colonization, and globalizationGlobalizationGlobalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
The first section of the AP World History exam consists of 70 multiple choice questions with a 55 minute time limit.
| Period/Era | Dates | % of Multiple Choice Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Technological and Environmental Transformations | to c. 600 B.C.E. | 5% |
| Organization and Reorganization of Human Societies | c. 600 B.C.E. - c. 600 C.E. | 15% |
| Regional and Transregional Interactions | c. 600 - c. 1450 C.E. | 20% |
| Global Interactions | c. 1450 - c. 1750 C.E | 20% |
| Industrialization and Global Integration | c. 1750 - c. 1900 C.E. | 20% |
| Accelerating Global Change and Realignments | c. 1900–Present | 20% |
The Multiple Choice section is weighted as 50% of one's total score.
Note: While previously the exam deducted 1/4 of a point for every incorrect answer, starting from 2011 on, there will be no penalty for incorrect answers. It is to one's advantage to attempt every question possible within the time limit.
The second section, the free-response section, consists of 3 essays which may be answered in any order. However, it is recommended that students answer the DBQ first to get it out of the way as it requires little to no prior knowledge of historical background.
- Document-based questionDocument-based questionA document-based question , also known as data-based question, is an essay or series of short-answer questions that is constructed by students using one's own knowledge combined with support from several provided sources...
(DBQ) - Continuity & Change Over Time question (CCOT)
- Comparative and Contrast question (COMP)
This section begins with a mandatory 10 minute reading period, during which students are instructed to read the DBQ, (including the documents) CCOT, and Comparative questions. It is vitally important to take careful notes and plan one's essays during these 10 minutes. After the reading period, students are given 120 minutes to write all 3 essays, though they may continue to take notes before starting to write their essays; notes taken during the reading period may be used. Each essay is out of 7 points (a detailed rubric can be found in the AP World History course description), but students can earn up to two points of extra credit after receiving 7 points by going above and beyond what is expected. Therefore, students can receive a maximum of 27 points on these essays. Students are encouraged to pace themselves.
Grade Distribution
AP World History Test Grade Distribution:| Final Score | Percent (2007) | Percent (2008) | Percent (2009) | Percent (2010) | Percent (2011) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 11.2% | 8.9% | 11.1% | 9.8% | 9.4% |
| 4 | 16.9% | 16.1% | 16.0% | 15.5% | 16.0% |
| 3 | 26.1% | 23.4% | 23.4% | 23.8% | 23.1% |
| 2 | 24.3% | 25.7% | 24.6% | 24.2% | 25.7% |
| 1 | 21.5% | 25.8% | 24.9% | 26.7% | 25.8% |
In 2007, 101,975 students took the exam, with a mean score of 2.72, and a standard deviation of 1.28. In 2009, 143,426 students took the exam, with a mean score of 2.64, and a deviation of 1.31. In 2010, 167,789 students took the exam, with a mean score of 2.57, and a standard deviation of 1.29. It is interesting to note that this test had one of the lowest average means for all AP exams in the year 2010, partially due to the test being one of the first APs a prospective student takes.