APUSH Complexity Point Scoring Activity #1

Would you award the point?

For this activity, assume that you have been hired by College Board to “serve as a reader” for the 2021 AP US History Exam, with this exam calling upon the students to respond to the following DBQ prompt:

Evaluate the extent to which the lives of women changed from 1890–1920.

Also, assume that you have just read an essay that includes the thesis appearing below.

The lives of women changed greatly during the Progressive Era. From 1890–1920, women increasingly moved to the cities, joined volunteer organizations, and attacked economic inequality.

Assume also that you have decided to award this essay all the possible points, with the exception of the Complexity Point.

Lastly, assume that this essay closes out with the below

Women during the Progressive Era transcended many boundaries politically and socially. They began to emerge from many years of oppression and find their voice in society. Even though this period is an example of great change for women, the change is not as great as seen in the period of 1971 to 2021.

During this period women continued to fight for their rights, specifically the rights of their bodies. The Supreme Court case known as Roe v Wade is a prime example of how women continued to fight for their rights. In simple terms, Roe v Wade was the Supreme Court’s decision that an abortion is legal and that the Constitution protects a pregnant women’s right to make her own decision without excessive government input. This landmark decision not only provided women the right to have an abortion, but also clearly sets the tone that women should have control over their own body.

From 1971–2021, the lives of women changed in many other signifiance ways as well. During this period of time, women, for the first time in history, were able to (1) acquire and take full advantage of the birth control pill; (2) run for and get elected to positions of immense political power, (3) stand up to and be protected from domestic violence, (4) formally commit to and marry another woman.

True, from 1890–1920 the lives of women changed greatly but their lives didn’t change nearly as much as they did from 1971–2021.

Would you award this essay the Complexity Point? I would.

Regardless, I think the best strategy for students wanting to earn the complexity point is to tack onto the end of the essay a minimum of seven sentences that seek to “qualify or modify the essay’s argument by considering a diverse or alternative view.”

That’s the strategy the student took in the example given above.

The DBQ Rubric

For a student to earn the Complexity Point, the students’ response must demonstrate a complex understanding. This could include:

• Explaining nuance by analyzing multiple variables.
• Explaining both similarity and difference, both continuity and change, or multiple causes, or both causes and effects.
• Explaining relevant and insightful connections within and across periods.
• Qualifying or modifying an argument by considering diverse or alternative views or evidence.

For More on the Complexity Point

For students wanting to learn more about the Complexity Point (and also how best to prepare for the other sections of the APUSH exam), I recommend that they purchase the Wiley AP US History Prep book, written by a “dream team” of APUSH leaders.

“I think one of the great benefits of this particular review book,” one of the book’s authors recently told me, “is the section on the Complexity Point.”

I also recommend this book for the fact that it contains “online access to 500 multiple choice questions.” If students go through all of those they should be able to nail the MCQ section of this year’s AP Exam.