During a time of so much misinformation and misconceptions, it is important for everyone to know United States history because it is a course that teaches the origins and shifts in our country and dives into several time periods such as Colonial America, The New Nation, Civil War, Reconstruction and Gilded Age, Progressive era, and global conflicts. While regular US History does a good job, AP U.S. History provides another level.
Aside from the difficulty, APUSH is very different compared to a regular U.S. history course.
In a regular U.S History class, it still covers the same number of time periods but there is a slower gap in between time periods.
In a regular course in your first semester you focus on Early America through the Reconstruction period 1492-1865 and in your second semester you focus on the Gilded Age through modern America 1865-present.
However, in APUSH, the course is broken up into 9 time periods that are covered at a faster pace.
Period 1 focuses on 1491-1607 European exploration of the new world. Period 2 focuses on 1607-1754 European interactions with Natives. Period 3 focuses on 1754-1800 the American Revolution and formation of the country. Period 4 focuses on 1800-1848 covering American Expansion and Reforms. Period 5 focuses on 1844-1877 covering the Civil War and Reconstruction. Period 6 focuses on 1865-1898 covering the Gilded Age. Period 7 focuses on 1890-1945 covering the Progressive Era, WWI ,Great Depression, WWII, and the New Deal. Period 8 focuses on 1945-1980 covering the Postwar period and Cold War. And finally Period 9 which focuses on 1980-The present covering the end of the Cold War and modern events.
It is a lot but in this course you tend to focus more on the periods that make up a huge portion of the exam which are usually periods 3-8. In regular and AP you do tend to do some fun activities which are related to the topics, which then allows for you to collaborate with group members. “It’s not a hard subject, it’s a lot of work. As long as you are not behind you should succeed on the class and exam,” instructor Bradley Ashby said.
APUSH is a college level course which gives it many benefits. If you pass the exam in May with a 3 or better, you can receive college credit, which is beneficial because it can free up space in your schedule for college allowing you to not have to take the course later on.
It is also the perfect class for those who are history enthusiasts. It allows you to expand your knowledge on events you thought you knew by giving you more in depth details which is a useful skill to have.
Be aware that the workload can be a lot. “The workload isn’t terrible, it only gets bad if you let it get bad,” junior Daniela Bobadilla Reyes said.
Just be mindful there may be days where assignments feel like they are piling up, but for the most part most students get through it.
“It’s a lot of work,” Ashby said. “As long as you are not really far behind on reading and writing I can get you to a place where you can do well in my class.”
The pass rate for the APUSH Exam is 72.2% and in recent years it has gone up. In 2024, the pass rate went up by 24.5% and reports around the mixed reactions of this year’s AP Exam could result in another increase in pass rates for 2025.
“I got a 3 on the AP exam and before taking the class I honestly expected the worst. I didn’t think I would be capable of managing all of the work,” senior Aniken Deniz said. “I received a 5 on the AP exam and as I signed up I was a little nervous about the rumors of the class being difficult and time consuming, but I had confidence because I enjoyed the subject,” senior Kevin Cerrato said.
Despite many feeling that they wouldn’t be able to handle it, many still pushed through and defined their expectations compared to the beginning of the course. “The best part of the class was the stories Ashby would tell us and the style of teaching he had when giving us lectures” Deniz said. “The best part of the class was between the fun projects and discussing the scores of the tests with the class,” Cerrato said.
While APUSH is not an easy course that shouldn’t stop you from challenging yourself. “Don’t let early results get you down and transfer out, because early results typically come out more on the negative side since it’s a work load,” Ashby said.
“I would most definitely recommend this class to all students since you will enjoy it and get to learn things,” Deniz said. “I would definitely recommend the course to others because it is a fun class and helps you boost your writing skills,” Cerrato said.
