The College Board is considering reinstating some content that was cut from Advanced Placement World History after high school teachers argued that the elimination of pre-colonial Africa, Asia, Americas, and the Middle East would hurt children of color.
In the spring, the organization announced changes to the test in response to teachers who complained of having to cram too much content into a short amount of time. The idea was to test content from 1450, the expansion of European power, through the present time, beginning in 2019-20. Earlier history would be covered in an untested pre-AP course.
Much criticism ensued. At an open forum in Salt Lake City, for example AP history teacher Amanda DoAmaral argued that if the content is not tested, teachers won’t teach it. That will hurt “black and brown students,” she said. “Their histories don’t start at slavery,” she said. “Their histories don’t start at colonization. I just feel like you’re another person of authority telling my students that they don’t matter, and you need to take responsibility for that.”
A high school student’s petition to stop the revision, meanwhile, has garnered more than 5,000 signatures.
