Dear Colleagues:
It is difficult for me to express the depth of my feelings about the heroic actionsof our country during World War II. Our veterans and our allies prevented theextermination of my people.
I often wonder what my life would have been like had I lived in anothercountry or another time; being Jewish, I could have lived a life of horror andhelplessness. I am safe and free because of the spirit that moved this country
to act. That spirit is best expressed in the founding documents of our nation, an
immovable commitment to liberty and human dignity, a willingness to shed ourblood when those rights are threatened.
It is with this in mind that I write to address recent concerns regarding the newframework for the College Board’s AP® U.S. History course.
I want to begin by thanking our critics for their vigilance; they are patriots whocare deeply about what students learn.
I joined the College Board as president in October 2012, after the new U.S. History
framework was developed and released. But that fact does not mean I take any
more lightly my responsibility to ensure that this course, and everything we do,prepares students to thrive in our democracy.
Although I did not work on the new AP U.S. History framework, I did help shape
the College Board’s recent announcement that, on every SAT®, we will now
require that students analyze a founding document or a work from the enduring
great conversations on liberty and dignity that those documents inspired.
The College Board made this historic decision for a simple reason — to havecommand of these documents opens worlds of opportunity in college, career,and civic life.
So it is with deep concern that I’ve reviewed the claim that the new AP U.S.
History course “will erase the great sacrifices from the minds of America’schildren.” That concern has moved the College Board to take an unprecedented
action today: We are releasing a full sample exam for the new AP U.S. History
course to the American public.
You can view it online here.

45 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10023

collegeboard.org

People who are worried that AP U.S. History students will not need to study
our nation’s founders need only take one look at this exam to see that ourfounders are resonant throughout. The exam opens with an excerpt from The
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. On this college-level exam, students
will need to not only analyze George Washington’s “Farewell Address” withcare, but also articulate the influence of Washington’s words on American
foreign policy in the 20th century. Students encounter one of Franklin Delano
Roosevelt’s earliest calls to our country to gather itself to combat tyranny
abroad. Every question on the new AP U.S. History Exam now requires
students to demonstrate an understanding of America’s important historical
documents and leaders. Students who pass this exam will not only be more
ready for college, they will be more ready to be citizens.
We hope that the release of this exam will address the principled confusionthat the new framework produced. The concerns are based on a significant
misunderstanding. Just like the previous framework, the new framework does
not remove individuals or events that have been taught by AP teachers in prioryears. Instead, it is just a framework, requiring teachers to populate it with
content required by their local standards and priorities.
We will soon release a clarified version of the course framework to avoid any
further confusion. And, for the first time, we commit to releasing the AP U.S.
History Exam every year to the teaching community for consideration anddeliberation. AP courses and exams are designed not by the College Board
but by college professors and K­–12 teachers throughout this country; we aregrateful for their work and will do more than ever to share the content withteachers, students, and parents.
Respectfully,David Coleman
President and CEO
The College Board

45 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10023

collegeboard.org