Our primary goal is to help you prepare to
successfully take the U.S. Government and Politics exam from the
College Board. In so doing we also want to make you an effective
citizen of our democratic republic.
AP U.S. Government & Politics Exam:
Monday, May 3rd at 8 am!
Here's the problem: class instruction will end
four months before the test. What chance will you have of passing
the AP exam? Slim, unless you arrange to come to the review sessions
that will be scheduled beginning immediately after spring break. So
either commit yourself to those review sessions or don't waste your
money on the exam.
This is a political science class, not a
history class!
Early on we will visit the history of our republic because that is
when the rules were created. So we need to know about the founding,
especially the Constitutional Convention and the early days of the
republic when procedures were being developed. But then our focus
will turn to the policy process.
We will focus on everything that impacts the policy making process.
Policy is made by Congress and the President, and influenced by the
Supreme Court. So the question is what impacts that process. We have
to look at the institutional rules but also at how we make policy
decisions. How do people get elected to office? Why do people behave
politically in the ways they do? We have to consider socialization
and the role of the media, etc.
You have taken U.S. History, probably AP!
We want you to remember the content but you must understand that
this is a different kind of test for a different kind of course. The
"free response" questions on the government exam, for example, are
completely different from those on the APUSH exam. We want short, to
the point responses. Forget well developed paragraphs with clearly
articulated explanations. More on this later. For now, just know
that you cannot answer our free response questions like you did
those on the APUSH exam.
Welcome. Ask questions. Make suggestions. Enjoy the class!
