AP African American Studies facts for kids

Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies (also known as APAAS, or APAFAM) is a pilot college-level course and examination offered to a limited number of high school students in the United States through the College Board's Advanced Placement program. The course will be dedicated solely to learning about and researching the African diaspora and is designed to elevate African-American history and education. The pilot course will begin in the 2022–2023 school year in 64 selected schools across the United States. Starting in the 2023–2024 school year, the pilot course will expand to approximately 200 schools. The course is expected to launch worldwide beginning in August 2024.

History and development

For decades, critics of College Board and advanced placement programs have argued that curricula have focused too much on Euro-centric history. Between 2017 and 2020, College Board partnered with the University of Notre Dame and Tuskegee University to pre-pilot AP African American Studies in 11 selected schools. In 2020, College Board reshaped some curricula among history-based AP courses to further reflect the African diaspora. In 2021, College Board announced that it would be officially piloting AP African American Studies course to begin in the 2022–2023 academic year. In its first year, the course will be piloted in approximately 60 schools across the United States. AP African American Studies will be the first ethnic studies course offered by College Board, and the first pilot course since 1952.

According to a source at College Board, topics in the pilot course will range from Queen Nzinga in northern Angola, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Black Panthers. Topics will also including lesser-known activists like Valerie L. Thomas, the African American scientist who invented the Illusion transmitter at NASA. Brandi Waters, Ph.D, is the director of the AP African American Studies course development. She stated, "this course will offer students across the country a rigorous and inspiring introduction to African American studies." Advocates of the launch of AP African American Studies argue the course will help attract more African American students to AP programs and will bolster minority scores. According to 2019 data, 32% of black students passed their AP exams compared to 44% of white and Asian students respectively. Some information regarding the course's structure and exam have not been released; College Board will reveal more about the course as the pilot program progresses. Additionally, College Board described that AP African American Students would further "[attract] Black and Latinx high school teachers."

Political Issues

The AP African American Studies Founding Group at Howard University, in Washington, DC

Dawn Williams, dean of Howard University’s School of Education, said that AP African American Studies consists of a "curriculum that’s been vetted for years by experts in the field." Leaders in the field of Black studies, such as Henry Louis Gates and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham assisted in the creation of the course.

Course development timeline

• 2017-2020
  • Pre-pilot in 11 schools
• February 2022:
  • Pilot schools and educators identified and briefed
• July 2022:
  • Pilot educators trained at Howard University
• August/September 2022:
  • Pilot course launched
• May 2023:
  • Pilot course exam
• August/September 2023:
  • Additional schools (approximately 200) and educators added to pilot program
• May 2024:
  • Pilot course exam II
• August/September 2024:
  • Official Course Launch

Course overview

Exam

A pilot exam will be administered in May 2023 and 2024 to prepare for the launching of the course in August 2024. These pilot exams, however, will not be scored like traditional AP exams and their data will not be sent to students, teachers, or colleges and universities.