This article examines Advanced Placement Human Geography (AP HG) in the context of its place in efforts to reform geography education. It presents a critical analysis of the AP program and its curriculum, asserting that it represents "powerful knowledge" as conceptualized by Young. It concludes with a call for research in AP HG aligned…

Advanced Placement (AP) Human Geography faced a number of hurdles that nearly derailed the course before it launched in 2000-2001. A dedicated cadre of geography professionals and high school teachers rose to the challenge and the course remains one of the fastest growing AP courses currently offered by College Board. Seventeen readers and leaders…

Economic geographers have traditionally concerned themselves with the primary and secondary sectors of the economy. As the world becomes more service-oriented, however, as much attention must be paid to the service economy and the role of technology. This article focuses on deindustrialization and the rise of the contemporary service--and…

Over the past fifteen years, AP Human Geography has grown in numbers and spread to almost every state. This article synopsizes the early history of the subject, summarizes the course and the exam, highlights positive impacts on the discipline of geography, and focuses on the following three issues: teachers who come to the course having majored in…

Advanced Placement Human Geography (APHG) has grown steadily from 3,272 tests at the first test administration in 2001 to 14,139 tests in 2005. This paper examines the dynamics of growth throughout the United States through numbers of students and numbers of high schools involved in the program. APHG is discussed relative to the establishment of…