Compromising on a Timeline for History

Responding to criticism of its earlier plan to begin the Advanced Placement World History exam around the year 1450, the College Board on Wednesday announced that it would begin the test with questions starting at about 1200.

The board also committed to offering a second AP world history course focused on the ancient world, in another apparent compromise to those who said that a single world history course focused on the modern era risked being too Eurocentric.

Currently, the single AP World History exam covers about 10,000 years. While some teachers like the scope of the exam, others say that it is simply too sweeping and that real learning suffers as a result. Taking the concerns of that latter group into account, the board, which administers the AP program, said earlier this year that it would limit the exam to questions about content from 1450 onward.