Advanced Placement (AP) Art History (also known as AP Art or APAH) is an Advanced Placement art history course and exam offered by the College Board.
AP Art History is designed to allow students to examine major forms of artistic expression relevant to a variety of cultures evident in a wide variety of periods from the present to the past. Students acquire an ability to examine works of art critically, with intelligence and sensitivity, and to articulate their thoughts and experiences. The course content covers prehistoric, Mediterranean, European, American, Native American, African, Asian, Pacific, and contemporary art and architecture. [1]
The course is designed to teach the following art historical skills:
The course is also built on five core "Big Ideas":
Starting in the 2015–2016 school year, College Board has introduced a new curriculum and exam for students to apply art historical skills to questions. [2] [3]
| Unit | Time Period | Approximate Exam Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1: Global Prehistory | 30,000 - 500 BCE | 4% |
| Unit 2: Ancient Mediterranean | 3500 BCE - 300 CE | 15% |
| Unit 3: Early Europe and Colonial America | 200 - 1750 CE | 21% |
| Unit 4: Later Europe and Americas | 1750 - 1980 CE | 21% |
| Unit 5: Indigenous Americas | 1000 BCE - 1980 CE | 6% |
| Unit 6: Africa | 1100 - 1980 CE | 6% |
| Unit 7: West and Central Asia | 500 BCE - 1980 CE | 4% |
| Unit 8: South, East, and Southeast Asia | 300 BCE - 1980 CE | 8% |
| Unit 9: The Pacific | 700 - 1980 CE | 4% |
| Unit 10: Global Contemporary | 1980 CE to Present | 11% |
| Multiple Choice (50% of Score) | Free Response (50% of Score) |
|---|---|
|
|
The multiple-choice section of the exam is worth 50% of a student's score and the free response is worth 50%. Each correctly answered multiple choice question is worth one point. Wrong and omitted questions do not affect the raw score. [4] For the free-response section, the four short essays are each graded on a scale of 0 to 5 and the two long essays are each graded on a scale of 0 to 7.
| Final Score | 2016 [5] | 2017 [6] | 2018 [7] | 2019 [8] | 2020 [9] | 2021 [10] | 2022 [11] | 2023 [12] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 11.1% | 11% | 12.8% | 11.9% | 15.8% | 11% | 14.1% | 13% |
| 4 | 22.6% | 23.1% | 24.3% | 24.6% | 24.9% | 19.0% | 21.0% | 23% |
| 3 | 27.7% | 27.3% | 27.6% | 26.6% | 28.0% | 24% | 26.3% | 28% |
| 2 | 27.6% | 26.2% | 25.5% | 24.7% | 21.3% | 30% | 26.9% | 24% |
| 1 | 11.0% | 12.4% | 9.8% | 12.2% | 10.0% | 16% | 11.6% | 12% |
| % of Scores 3 or Higher | 61.4% | 61.4% | 64.7% | 63.1% | 68.7% | 54% | 64.3% | 64% |
| Mean Score | 2.95 | 2.94 | 3.05 | 2.99 | 3.15 | 2.79 | 2.99 | 3.01 |
| Standard Deviation | 1.18 | 1.19 | 1.18 | 1.21 | 1.21 | 1.24 | 1.23 | |
| Number of Students | 25,523 | 25,178 | 24,964 | 24,476 | 23,567 | 18,552 | 20,970 | |
The current curriculum, which began in 2015, focuses on 250 works of art and architecture across 10 units, beginning with prehistoric art and ending with contemporary art. [13]
Global Prehistory (30,000 - 500 BCE)
Ancient Mediterranean (3500 BCE - 300 CE)
Early Europe and Colonial Americas (200 - 1750 CE)
Later Europe and Americas (1750 - 1980 CE)
Indigenous Americas (1000 BCE - 1980 CE)
Africa (1100 - 1980 CE)
West and Central Asia (500 BCE - 1980 CE)
South, East, and Southeast Asia (300 BCE - 1980 CE)
The Pacific (700 - 1980 CE)
Global Contemporary (1980 CE - Present)
Notes
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