AP test debate: How much world history should high-schoolers know?

At its peak in the 13th century, the Mongol Empire covered more than 9 million square miles, ranking as the largest contiguous land empire ever recorded. But despite the Mongols’ historical dominance, their future – at least in high school history classes – is notably less certain.  

In late May, the College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) program, which develops tests that offer college credit to high-performing high schoolers, announced changes to its World History exam. Advanced students typically spend their sophomore year preparing for the test in a class that covers 10,000 years of human history. But driven by teacher concerns over this tremendous breadth, the College Board has removed any content prior to the year AD 1450, starting

An unwieldy topicImpact on students of colorEvaluating the responses