![]() Perhaps in response to bans on critical race theory, authors like Kimberlé Crenshaw, a scholar who pioneered the field of critical race theory, have been stricken from the curriculum. ![]() Specifically, the course has omitted content that would invite students to discuss racial oppression in the modern day. ![]() In my experience examining AP content, optional content is rare in AP curriculum. The College Board goes on to emphasize that this list of topics can be refined by states and districts. Instead, they are listed to be covered optionally by students in their research projects for the class. Discussions in the pilot course about reparations, redlining, and Black Lives Matter are now included as topics that are not required as part of the course. In the latest official course framework, many of the exact topics with which DeSantis had taken issue had been stricken from the required curriculum. The AP responded, not in defense of the pilot curriculum, but to assert that the content remained under revision until February 1 – the first day of Black History Month. In late January 2023, the DeSantis administration wrote to the College Board that it would not allow the implementation of AP African American Studies in Florida schools. The College Board insists that the political environment did not influence the recent revisions, but evidence suggests otherwise. How did the political environment shape the new course? I believe eliminating this content produces a course that leaves students insufficiently prepared to participate in a multiracial democracy. Interrogating present-day oppression is central to the discipline of African American studies. The course is billed as an African American Studies course, not an African American history course. 1, 2023 – many of these current discussions of race, racism and oppression have disappeared. In the new course framework – released on Feb. The pilot course, first made available in January 2023, was heavy on African and African American history, but in its fourth and final unit, included a robust examination of issues of race, racism and oppression in the present day. Unfortunately, the course has been watered down compared to its pilot version. Is the new AP African American studies course different from earlier versions? This course will likely give many students that opportunity for the first time. Second, across the country, few classes – with or without the AP label – are available to students interested in studying the Black experience. Given the prestige of Advanced Placement and the benefits afforded to those who participate – like more experienced teachers and better college outcomes – a course with the potential to attract more Black students to take AP is significant. Black students make up just 9% of AP participants, despite making up 15% of high school students across the United States. This fact is particularly troubling given the struggles AP courses have had in recruiting and serving Black students. This is significant for two reasons.įirst, Advanced Placement has long had courses focused on topics like European history and French language and culture, but no class that focuses primarily on the Black experience. The course curriculum puts Black people at the center. What stands out most about the new AP African American Studies course? In the following Q&A, Suneal Kolluri, who specializes in the study of AP courses, provides insight into where the course hits the mark and where it comes up short.
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