The American Psychological Association (APA) advised the AP Psychology curriculum to prioritize the scientific aspect of modern college psychology classes.
In 2017, the (APA) reported a case regarding whether psychology is a science and should be included in high school STEM programs. The argument was supported by science summit groups and was taken seriously. As a result, in October 2021, the Introductory Psychology Initiative (IPI) recommended the inclusion of an introductory psychology course.
IPI then approached the College Board to revise the current AP Psychology curriculum. To lower the differences between high school and college psychology curricula, the College Board sought to follow professional organizations’ opinions.
Tom Maranville, social studies department chair at Dulaney High School (DHS), understands these new changes as emphasizing the scientific side of psychology.
“The new curriculum is gonna want you to actually read the research and how it was performed,” said Maranville.
Maranville notes the larger impact on the course’s structure.
“So they want to be much more scientific based other than just the broad overview of psychology itself,” said Maranville.
With this drastic change, Maranville hopes to be able to collaborate with Kendra Swam, the other AP Psychology teacher at DHS, in creating a new teaching style for the course next year.
“With all the budget cuts in Baltimore County, I will try to get a summer workshop. So Ms. Swam and I will come in, and we will sit down for, you know, two, three, four days and lay out the whole curriculum for the whole year,” said Maranville.
These adjustments also alter the AP exam. The FRQs will now be similar to AP histories with a stimulus and related follow up questions. Maranville and Swam will be required to write their own FRQs, as no examples of newer FRQs were provided.
