AP U.S. history course revised to emphasize U.S. ideals
By Rebecca Klein, Huffington Post
After facing months of intense scrutiny over a new Advanced Placement U.S. history course outline that some conservatives perceived as containing anti-American biases, the College Board released a new framework for the class Thursday morning. This structure places more of an emphasis on concepts surrounding American national identity, the country’s founding leaders and documents and the effective role of free enterprise in U.S. history.
The College Board, the company that created and runs the Advanced Placement program, said the updated course framework reflects feedback it received from educators and historians during a public review period. The changes make it so “statements [in the framework] are clearer and more historically precise, and less open to misinterpretation or perceptions of imbalance” and so that specific important individuals and documents are clearly included, according to the group’s website.
After deciding to redesign the course in 2006, the College Board released a new course outline last year that hit classrooms in the fall. It was designed by a committee of professors and teachers, and generated controversy from critics who said it took an overly critical approach to teaching American history.