在受到批评后250年可能重回AP世界史课程

250 Years Might Return to AP World History Course After Criticism

The College Board has answered criticism about proposed changes to the Advanced Placement World History exam. Educators and others had objected to its plans to make the exam cover history beginning in the year 1450. Now, the group says the exam material will cover history beginning about 250 years earlier.

The College Board announced the latest plan on its website last week. In the same announcement, the organization also proposed creating a new AP world history class, called AP World History: Ancient. That class would cover events from earlier than 1200 Common Era.

The College Board said it values the thoughtful comments from the teaching community about the first proposal. The Board said the reaction showed that it and educators share the same goals of “engaging students in the rich histories of civilizations” and making sure learning communities have enough time to cover such study.

Changing history

The College Board is a not-for-profit group that directs the AP program and AP exams in American high schools. Schools pay for use of College Board AP teaching materials, including tests. The material on AP exams influences what information is covered in AP classes.

The current AP World History class covers history from 10,000 years ago to the present.

In May, the College Board announced that it wanted to limit the amount of material covered in its AP exam. It said it was acting¹ partly because of messages from teachers who said they could not cover all the exam material in one AP course.

The College Board also said that its AP history program should more closely copy college world history programs. They generally cover the subject in two to three separate courses.

However, the College Board's first proposal of starting with the year 1450 received wide criticism from the U.S. teaching community. Many felt such a change would give Western European history higher importance in the class over other cultures.

Mixed feelings

Reactions to the newest plan have been mixed.

Peter Stearns, a professor at George Mason University in Virginia, is pleased.

“They’re really trying to get a start date that avoids any impressions that somehow world history has been guided by the rise of the West.”

Stearns added that starting in 1200 permits the AP exam to include material, “On all sorts of societies that are not affected² by western influence at that point at all.”

However, other educators are not so happy.

Merry Wiesner-Hanks is a history professor at the University of Wisconsin, and president of the World History Association. She sent a letter to Trevor Packer, head of College Board’s AP program. Wiesner-Hanks wrote that changing the course to begin at year 1200 “will not address the foundational claims of world history as a field.”

She also said that the speed in which these changes are being made is too fast. She said it does not provide enough time for thoughtful discussion on creating a new teaching program.

And that issue, “has been one of the major issues expressed by teachers,” Wiesner-Hanks wrote in a separate e-mail to VOA.

Last month, the World History Association posted an open letter to the College Board online. The letter protested the changes. They called instead for an examination of the “density” of subjects covered.

Is a new class realistic?

Many educators are wondering if a whole new AP history class can be created. The College Board says on its website that to develop such a course, it would first need to confirm that colleges would be willing to give credit for an additional exam. And it said it would have to measure interest among high schools in offering two, separate AP world history courses.

GMU’s Peter Stearns is not sure the idea is realistic.

“Where I’m concerned more is I don’t think lots of high school have the resources or interest level to try and do two different AP World History courses…”

He argues high schools are more interested in STEM³ subjects: science, technology, engineering and math.

Wiesner-Hanks agrees, saying she fears only the wealthier schools will be able to offer two separate AP World History courses.

I'm Caty Weaver⁴.

And I’m Phil Dierking.

Words in This Story

course - n. a series of classes about a particular subject in a school?

engage - v. to get and keep (someone's attention, interest, etc.)?

impression - n. the effect or influence that something or someone has on a person's thoughts or feelings?

society - n. people in general thought of as living together in organized communities with shared laws, traditions, and values?

foundation - n. something (such as an idea, a principle, or a fact) that provides support for something

1 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 stem   

n.茎，干，船首，词干，血统；vt.堵住，阻止，抽去梗；vi.起源于，发生

参考例句：

• Cut the stem cleanly,just beneath a leaf joint.把茎切整齐点，正好切在叶根下。
• The ship was in a blaze from stem to stern.整艘船从头到尾都着火了。

4 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。