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2017 AP Exam Score Distributions

Total Registration has compiled the following scores from Tweets that the College Board's head of AP*, Trevor Packer, has been making during June. These are preliminary breakdowns that may change slightly as late exams are scored.

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AP Score Distributions 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

This table is sortable by clicking on the header - Clicking on an Exam Name will show a comparison of the score distributions for all years compiled

Exam 5 4 3 2 1 3+ Date Tweeted Trevor's Comments
2-D Art and Design 19.1% 31.3% 34.7% 13.1% 1.8% 85.1% Jun 20
  • It may seem like scoring art would be subjective; but the AP Studio Art faculty show otherwise, w/highly reliable scoring year to year.
  • Studio Art Drawing & 2D Portfolios are the strongest yet this decade, achieving a big jump in 5s this yr
  • 9 students, out of 33,000 worldwide, earned all 72/72 points possible on this year’s AP Studio Art-2D Design portfolio.
  • Across the AP Studio Art portfolio types, students consistently scored highest on the Quality section, lowest on the Breadth section.
3-D Art and Design 12.1% 22.1% 37.6% 25.1% 3.1% 71.8% Jun 20
  • It may seem like scoring art would be subjective; but the AP Studio Art faculty show otherwise, w/highly reliable scoring year to year. 3D=weaker this yr.
  • 4 students, out of 5,500 worldwide, earned all 72/72 points possible on this year’s AP Studio Art-3D Design portfolio.
  • Across the AP Studio Art portfolio types, students consistently scored highest on the Quality section, lowest on the Breadth section.
Art History 11.0% 23.1% 27.3% 26.2% 12.4% 61.4% Jun 14
  • This year’s AP Art History students performed almost exactly the same as last years’, so the score distributions are virtually the same.
  • Multiple-choice topics: students earned highest scores on African art and lowest scores on architecture.
  • Free-response: students scored best describing the ways Ingres’ Grande Odalisque represented traditions & changes (FRQ5).
  • To improve AP Art History scores, focus on the skill of attribution; students had lowest scores on FRQ4: secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-art-…
Biology 6.2% 20.9% 36.7% 27.8% 8.4% 63.8% Jun 20
  • AP Biology students and teachers have achieved the highest number of scores of 3+ of any of the past 5 years. 
  • 1 student out of 256,000 worldwide earned all 120/120 pts possible on this year’s AP Biology exam. Looking forward to him/her curing cancer.
  • Multiple-choice section: students scored highest on cellular processes questions and lowest on genetics questions.
  • Free-response: students did very well on constructing & analyzing food webs (Q4) and evaluating the impact of algal growth (Q5).
  • Free-response: many students really struggled with detecting DNA damage (Q6); 59% earned 0 pts on it: secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-biol…
Calculus AB 18.6% 18.1% 21.0% 21.9% 20.4% 57.7% Jun 21
  • Scores of 4 and 5 on AP Calculus AB and BC now typically require students to earn points for reasoning and accurate notation.
  • Ben Hedrick and I will post next week a memo on the AP Calculus online teacher community w/specific details about this year’s scores.
  • Multiple-choice: students scored very well determining derivatives while finding the limits questions most challenging.
  • AP Calculus AB free-response: students earned the highest points, on average, when modeling rates (Q2): secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-calc…
  • The most challenging question on this year’s AP Calc AB exam involved modeling w/separable diff (Q4); 49% of students earned 0 points on it. 
  • 3 students, out of 317,000 worldwide, earned all 108/108 points possible on this year's AP Calculus AB Exam.
Calculus BC 42.4% 18.3% 19.9% 14.3% 5.1% 80.6% Jun 21
  • Scores of 4 and 5 on AP Calculus AB and BC now typically require students to earn points for reasoning and accurate notation.
  • Ben Hedrick and I will post next week a memo on the AP Calculus online teacher community w/specific details about this year’s scores.
  • 1 student, out of 133,000 worldwide, earned all 108/108 points possible on this year’s AP Calculus BC Exam.
  • Students generally scored so high on each topic in the multiple-choice section that there’s nothing to single out.
  • Free-response questions: students scored highest on graphic analysis of f’ (Q3): secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-calc…
  • Students found modeling w/separable diff(Q4) & Maclaurin series (Q6) very difficult; about 24% of students earned 0 pts on them.
  • I once heard calculus described as one of the supreme achievements of the human mind. It’s hard to disagree.
Chemistry 9.2% 15.7% 26.1% 27.0% 22.0% 51% Jun 16
  • 3 students, out of 160,000 worldwide, earned all 100/100 points possible on this year’s AP Chemistry exam.
  • Multiple-choice: students scored well -- best on atomic structure questions, least well on equilibrium.
  • The most difficult AP Chemistry question was Q6 on Mg(OH)2. More than 40% of students scored 0 on it.
  • AP Chemistry students scored best on Q1 (CCl4 synthesis): secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-chem…
Chinese Lang. and Culture 68.4% 11.3% 12.5% 3.3% 4.5% 92.2% Jun 26
  • Large increase in % of 5s in AP Chinese this year; also, AP Chinese has risen to 3rd, behind Spanish & French, in student participation.
  • Multiple-choice: students generally found interpersonal listening questions more difficult than interpretive listening & reading.
  • AP Chinese students performed best, overall, in crafting an email response (Q2): secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-chin…
  • The most difficult AP Chinese task for students, overall, was the conversation regarding a study abroad program(Q3): secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/video_audio…
Computer Science A 24.4% 20.9% 21.9% 11.5% 21.3% 67.2% Jun 12
  • AP Computer Science has expanded from 26,000 to 61,000 students since 2012, when the most frequent score was a 1. This year: it’s a 5.
  • The most difficult multiple-choice questions for AP Computer Science A students seemed to be the “object-oriented programming” ones.
  • AP Computer Science A students dominated the 2nd free-response question (class design); more than half the students earned 8-9 pts out of 9. 
  • On the other hand, 30% of AP Computer Science A students were stumped by Q3 (string processing), earning 0 pts: secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-comp…
  • 105 students, out of 61,000 worldwide, earned all 80 points possible on this year’s AP Computer Science A Exam.
Computer Science Principles 14.0% 21.6% 39.0% 18.5% 6.9% 74.6% Jun 27
  • To determine the scores needed to earn 2, 3, 4, 5 on the first-ever AP Computer Science Principles exam professors from diverse colleges took the exam themselves, evaluating each question for difficulty, using standard setting protocols. The professors were surprised and impressed by the difficulty of the exam, attesting it would challenge their own college students. They established the required scores purely based on high expectations, not knowing how many students would meet those standards. The result: kudos to the first pioneering cohort of AP CSP teachers & students, many of whom met the high standards the panel set.
  • Multiple-choice: students scored exceptionally well, and generally aced the questions on global impacts & analyzing impacts.
  • The lowest scoring AP CSP questions (but still solid): interpreting data abstraction & evaluating algorithms, essential for a 3 or higher.
Drawing 21.9% 27.8% 35.9% 12.8% 1.6% 85.6% Jun 20
  • It may seem like scoring art would be subjective; but the AP Studio Art faculty show otherwise, w/highly reliable scoring year to year.
  • Studio Art Drawing & 2D Portfolios are the strongest yet this decade, achieving a big jump in 5s this yr
  • 14 students, out of 20,000 worldwide, earned all 72/72 points possible on this year’s AP Studio Art-Drawing portfolio.
  • Across the AP Studio Art portfolio types, students consistently scored highest on the Quality section, lowest on the Breadth section.
English Language 9.1% 18.4% 27.8% 30.7% 14.0% 55.3% Jun 22
  • As educators, we can’t decide what students will do w/the opportunities we give; we can only decide whether to give opportunities. This resonates for me, since as a kid who got Cs in 9th-grade history, I sure didn’t seem like AP material for 10th grade AP Euro. I’m grateful my school took a chance & gave me the opportunity. AP Eng Lang teachers = delivering such opportunities at massive scale. 100,000+ more students have been given the opportunity to take AP EngLang this year vs 2013, & the %3+ is better this year than then.
  • Multiple-choice: students scored highest on 20th-century prose texts, then pre-20th, then lowest on 21st-century prose.
  • Essays: students generally performed best on the synthesis re: the future of public libraries (Q1): secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-engl…
  • The most challenging essay for most AP English Lang students was the rhetorical analysis of Clare Booth Luce’s speech (Q2).
English Literature 6.8% 16.1% 29.9% 33.9% 13.3% 52.8% Jun 20
  • It pains me to report this, but the AP English Literature scores this year are the lowest they’ve been this decade.
  • Multiple-choice: students scored better on 20th-century texts and prose, than poetry and pre-20th-century texts.
  • Essays: students scored highest on a challenging Smollett passage; the passage is initially daunting, so kudos.
  • Essays: students scored lowest on Harper’s poem but some readers mentioned great essays recognizing parallels to jazz improv.
Environmental Science 9.4% 24.5% 15.5% 24.6% 26.0% 49.4% Jun 12
  • These may shift slightly as late exams are scored. Scores are higher than in 2011, when 67,000 fewer students had access. 
  • Students generally performed well on multiple-choice questions about population.
  • AP Env Sci students had similar performance on all 4 free-response questions, finding Q4 slightly more difficult: secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-envi…
European History 9.5% 18.8% 28.5% 31.4% 11.8% 56.8% Jun 29
  • AP European History scores are in, and are way up, significantly higher percentages of 4s and 5s in comparison to last year’s students.
  • 1 student, out of 107,000 worldwide, our future Secretary of State, earned all 130/130 pts possible on this year’s AP Euro History exam.
  • Multiple-choice: students scored best on questions on topics from 1648-1815.
  • Short answer questions: students scored very well on #2 (printing centers) & #4 (Scientific Rev).
  • Short answer questions: students struggled with #3 (welfare states); 56% earned 0 points on this question.
  • DBQ skill most students failed to demonstrate on this year’s Glorious Rev topic=synthesis; 74% didn’t show this ability.
  • Most college admissions officers don’t prefer some APs over others; of ~30% who do, AP Euro History is the AP history that most impresses.
French Language 16.8% 25.0% 33.5% 19.7% 5.0% 75.3% Jun 22
  • Multiple-choice: students scored significantly higher in responses to print stimulus material than audio stimuli or combined.
  • Very good work by AP French students crafting an email response (Q1), and writing a persuasive essay re: la famille et la communauté (Q2).
  • Students also generally performed well in their the oral presentations on l’accès aux soins médicaux.
  • The most challenging task for AP French students was the conversation avec Jérôme, but scores on this were nonetheless solid.
German Language 22.6% 24.5% 28.8% 17.4% 6.7% 75.9% Jun 23
  • This year’s AP German students demonstrated stronger proficiency than last year’s, so there’s a significant increase in 3s,4s,5s this year.
  • Multiple-choice: students slightly less well in responding to audio stimuli than print and combined stimuli.
  • Students generally did a superb job crafting email responses regarding die Kantine an Ihrer Schule (Q1): secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-germ…
  • Students generally found the oral presentation on regionale Kulture (Q4) the most difficult task on this year’s exam.
Government and Politics, Comp. 23.7% 24.7% 20.5% 17.8% 13.3% 68.9% Jun 15
  • AP Comparative Govt & Politics teachers/students knocked it out of the park; this year’s scores appear to be highest ever in this subject.
  • Students scored high on the short answer questions about Great Britain, Mexico, and Iran: secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-comp…
  • The only questions where some AP Comparative Govt students really struggled were 1 (regime change v. change in govt) and 5 (rule of law).
Government and Politics, US 11.2% 12.5% 25.8% 24.7% 25.8% 49.5% Jun 15
  • Students continue to score well on the multiple-choice questions, esp. on questions about citizen beliefs & behavior.
  • Overall, scores are slightly down this year; stronger understanding of institutions (i.e. Supreme Court) will improve scores.
  • In both the multiple-choice and free-response sections (Q1, Q4), AP US Govt students scored lowest re: institutions (Supreme Court, etc.)
  • Students scored well on Q2 (interest groups) and Q3 (entitlement spending): secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-unit…
  • I find inspiring the work of AP US Govt teachers to build an informed citizenry; congrats on expanding access to >24K more students this yr.
Human Geography 10.6% 17.4% 21.0% 17.2% 33.8% 49% Jun 14
  • AP Human Geography presents some interesting issues & I want to be very careful in my comments; there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. My objective in these comments: transparent reporting of what I hear from schools & see in the data, to inform educators/students. When AP Human Geo began ('01), most students were seniors; 62% scored 3+. Now, most are 9th graders; 49% scored 3+ this year. Some educators believe AP Human Geo is a great opportunity for 9th graders to get a first taste of college-level rigor. They find evidence that taking AP Human Geo, regardless of exam score, benefits their students and creates a college-going culture. Others are concerned that 9th grade's too soon for AP Geo; indeed, it’s the only AP course taken by a significant # of 9th graders. We can see justification for both perspectives in the data; educators know what is best for their students, & we trust their judgment. In my own family, I’ve seen these poles: one relative received a 1, the other a 5, both taking AP Human Geo as 9th graders. We’re developing an official Pre-AP world history/geography course, which may be a better fit for 9th grade in some schools.
  • AP Human Geography scores declined again this year (2017) as the program expanded from 185,000 to 200,000 students.
  • Students scored very well on multiple-choice questions about population, industrialization, & economic development.
  • students showed solid understanding of rate of natural increase, many scoring high on FRQ2: secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-huma… 
  • Students seem not to have learned about New Urbanism (p. 42 of the Course Desc.); 41% earned 0/7 on Q1: secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-huma…
Italian Language and Culture 17.8% 19.1% 34.3% 22.8% 6.0% 71.2% Jun 22
  • There was an increase in mid-level performance this year in AP Italian – significantly fewer 5s and 1s, more 2s and 3s.
  • Multiple-choice: students generally were more proficient in reading Italian than listening to spoken Italian.
  • Students generally did a superb job composing an email on the theme of famiglia e società (Q1): secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-ital…
  • The most challenging task on this year’s AP Italian exam proved to be the oral presentation all’importanza di usare automobili di piccole.
Japanese Lang. and Culture 45.6% 10.8% 20.8% 8.5% 14.3% 77.2% Jun 27
  • Multiple-choice: students generally performed well; significantly better on reading-based questions than listening ones.
  • Once again, AP Japanese students generally scored highest on the oral presentation (this year on Japanese geography).
  • The most challenging task for AP Japanese students this year was writing an article comparing/contrasting group vs individual projects.
  • To get a sense of the interpersonal communication skills AP Japanese students perform, here are the audio prompts: apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-jap…
Latin 12.9% 19.5% 31.2% 22.7% 13.7% 63.6% Jun 26
  • 2 students, out of 6,700 worldwide, received all 100/100 points possible on this year’s AP Latin Exam.
  • Multiple-choice: students generally performed best on the Vergil syllabus readings, and least well on prose sight reading.
  • Free-response: students generally performed well on the Marcellus passage from the Aeneid, Book 6 (Q4): secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-lati…
  • The most challenging AP Latin question for most students was the translation from Book 5 of Caesar’s Bellum Gallicum (Q2).
  • In solidarity w/AP Latin students, I read the Aeneid this year; my favorite part was Book 2 (fall of Troy) -- thrilling stuff.
Macroeconomics 16.4% 23.1% 17.2% 16.2% 27.1% 56.7% Jun 10
  • The AP Economics scores will be a tough act for other subjects to follow – the highest in years. The Micro score increases=jaw-dropping.
  • These=the highest AP Macro scores in many years. Congrats!
  • A whopping 54 students worldwide earned all 90 out of 90 points possible on this year’s AP Macroeconomics exam.
  • The most challenging AP Macroeconomics free-response question was #2, the money market question: secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-macr…
Microeconomics 21.5% 28.3% 18.5% 12.8% 18.9% 68.3% Jun 10
  • The AP Economics scores will be a tough act for other subjects to follow – the highest in years. The Micro score increases=jaw-dropping.
  • These may shift slightly as late exams are scored.
  • Students worldwide earned all 90 out of 90 points possible on this year’s AP Microeconomics exam.
  • If you can answer most or all parts of Q1 (perfect competition), it predicts well your overall AP score this year: secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-micr…
  • When exam scores get better, credit's due to teachers/students achieving more, rather than the exam (equated from yr to yr) getting easier.
  • In 2011, the most frequent AP Microecon score was a 1; in 2017, the most frequent is a 4. Tremendous improvement in student mastery.
  • Many AP Microecon students found Q2 (production & costs) incredibly difficulty; 23% of students earned 0 pts on it: secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-micr…
Music Theory 19.2% 17.2% 24.7% 24.6% 14.3% 61.1% Jun 26
  • Multiple-choice: students performed somewhat better on questions with aural stimulus than on questions without.
  • Don’t try this in public: even most AP Music Theory students found the second sight-singing task very challenging: secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-musi…
  • Students did an excellent job on the first harmonic dictation (Q3) and part-writing from a figured bass (Q5).
  • P Music Theory's gauntlet: this melodic dictation of an oboe solo; 13% of students were 0/9 on it: secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/video_audio…
Physics 1 - Algebra Based 5.0% 15.8% 20.3% 29.5% 29.4% 41.1% Jun 13
  • Good to see that the AP Physics 1 and 2 scores have again improved this year, steady progress since these new exams were launched in 2015.
  • Students scored lowest on multiple-choice questions regarding Science Practice 5: Data Analysis and Evaluation of Evidence.
  • Students scored best on FRQ2 (experimental design, forces); ~20% of students earned 10-12 pts out of 12 secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-phys…
  • Students scored low on FRQ4 (energy, kinematics); ~20% of students earned 0 of 7 pts possible: secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-phys…
Physics 2 - Algebra Based 11.1% 15.6% 34.1% 29.7% 9.5% 60.8% Jun 13
  • Good to see that the AP Physics 1 and 2 scores have again improved this year, steady progress since these new exams were launched in 2015.
  • Students scored well across the multiple-choice questions, esp on questions about Big Idea 2: fields in space & interactions.
  • The only topic where AP Physics 2 students generally did poorly on multiple-choice questions was Big Idea 3: interactions between objects.
  • Students generally did best on FRQ 2 (experimental design: resistivity) and FRQ3 (lenses, refractions): secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-phys…
  • Students generally scored lowest on FRQ4, which requires a paragraph-length electrostatics explanation: secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-phys…
Physics C E&M 28.1% 25.1% 15.6% 18.2% 13.0% 68.8% Jun 13
  • In AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism this year: smaller percentages of 5s and 2s; higher percentages of 3s and 4s.
  • Students scored highest on Q3 (magnetostatics) and lowest (by far) on Q1 (electrostatics): secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-phys… 
  • AP Phys E&M Q2 (circuits) was a great, challenging question; students who can earn >half its points meet colleges' standards for a 5.
Physics C Mech. 34.7% 27.8% 16.1% 13.0% 8.4% 78.6% Jun 13
  • Some big news: this year’s AP Physics C: Mechanics students appear to have achieved by far the highest scores ever on this exam.
  • Students, out of 55,000 worldwide, earned all 90/90 points possible on this year’s exam.
  • Many found AP Phys C: Mech FRQ2 (energy; Newton’s laws; kinematics) tough; >10% of students got 0 pts on it: secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-phys…
Psychology 18.8% 25.2% 20.1% 14.7% 21.2% 64.1% Jun 26
  • 3 students, out of 303,000 worldwide, earned all 150/150 points possible on this year’s AP Psychology Exam.
  • Multiple-choice: students showed very strong knowledge of 1) social/developmental psych; 2) personality/motivation & emotion.
  • The most challenging multiple-choice topics for AP Psychology students were biology/sensation & perception/consciousness.
  • 25% of AP Psych students knew no concepts in Q2; a good predictor of your AP score is how many of these you know: secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-psyc…
Research 16.7% 18.0% 35.2% 27.1% 3.0% 69.9% Jun 27
  • Students participating in the AP Research course more than doubled this yr, so many more students will achieve the AP Capstone Diploma.
  • AP Research students generally created stronger research projects this year, so there’s a significant increase in the percentage of 4s, 5s.
  • The most difficult AP Research students to demonstrate in their papers was "select & use evidence." ~43% only earned 2 of these 6 pts.
  • Students' strongest skill: "understand & analyze context." ~50% of students earned all 6/6 pts for this skill on their papers.
Seminar 6.6% 15.2% 64.9% 11.7% 1.6% 86.7% Jun 17
  • AP Capstone Seminar scores come from an end-of-course exam + projects during the school year (presentations; written argument; oral defense)
  • 3 students, out of 20,000 worldwide, earned all 150/150 points possible in this year’s AP Capstone Seminar program.
  • Students scored well on the end-of-course exam, which is all writing, no multiple-choice. Here’s a copy: secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-semi…
  • Students examine topics through an interdisciplinary approach – arts, science, history, lit, soc studies: secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-semi…
Spanish Language 19.5% 35.0% 34.1% 9.9% 1.5% 88.6% Jun 27
  • Students performed very well across the entire multiple-choice section, especially on questions w/audio stimulus.
  • Students generally did very well on their persuasive essays on del teléfono celular en las escuelas secundarias (Q2).
  • The most challenging AP Spanish Lang task was the oral presentation (Q4) on la importancia de los medios; 7% of students earned 0/5 on it.
  • Students also scored well on the spoken dialogue para crear un sitio web (Q3): apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-spa…
Spanish Literature 9.4% 26.0% 37.9% 20.3% 6.4% 73.3% Jun 17
  • AP Spanish Literature scores are higher this year than last; most frequent score is a 3, then 4.
  • Multiple-choice: solid work across all topics; questions on critical commentary on readings were most challenging.
  • Students scored very, very high when comparing the Rivera passage to a work of art (Q2): secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-span…
  • The most challenging question for AP Spanish Literature students was Q3, analysis of Conde Lucanor as an example of didáctico medieval.
Statistics 13.3% 15.5% 25.0% 20.4% 25.8% 53.8% Jun 27
  • 1 AP Statistics student, out of 217,000 worldwide, earned all 100/100 points possible on this year’s exam. Watch your back, @NateSilver538
  • AP Statistics multiple-choice: students knew exploring data & sampling/experimentation well, but struggled w/probability/simulation & statistical inference.
  • The percentage of AP Statistics students who earned 0 on each free-response question: 1: 25%; 2: 21%; 3: 30%; 4: 17%; 5: 42%; 6: 53%. 
  • AP Statistic students generally did a solid job constructing a confidence interval in Q2, the highest-scoring FRQ: secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-stat…
United States History 10.9% 17.9% 22.6% 23.5% 25.1% 51.4% Jun 19
  • Very stable performance in AP US History this year; new courses are keeping up; experienced courses achieving as well or better.
  • 2 students, out of 509,000 worldwide, earned all 130/130 points possible on this year’s AP US History exam.
  • Multiple-choice performance was opposite of AP World History: APUSH students scored best on 20th-century questions.
  • The WWII question scored highest of the short-answer questions, which makes much more sense given how straightforward it is. Short Answers: Q2 (WWII) earned highest scores, then Q4 (Vietnam); Q3 (Reconstruction) was lowest; 50% earned 0 on it secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-us-h…
  • DBQ (American independence, 1763-83),~84% of students were unable to demonstrate the synthesis skill.
  • AP US History long essays: ~5x more students chose to write on 19th Amendment rather than market revolution.
World History 8.5% 20.1% 27.0% 29.5% 14.9% 55.6% Jun 19
  • Students scored higher this year than any other year this decade: ~56% earned 3+ vs ~49% in 2011.
  • Multiple-choice: students scored highest on topics prior to 600 CE, lowest on topics post-1910. Reason: too much content?
  • Free-response section is not a stable enough target for teachers/students, as you’ll see from low scores on SAQ/DBQ/LEQs. This is why for next year we’re streamlining the rubrics, focusing the free-response Qs on stated periods & giving more essay topic options.
  • But what about this year’s AP World History students who had a very difficult free-response section? Psychometricians + college profs lowered the pts needed for 2,3,4,5 on this year's AP WH exam to match the difficulty of the FRQs.
  • For all AP exams, profs + psychometricians shift points needed up /down depending on difficulty of questions. (wikipedia: equating). Thus any variations in exam difficulty=removed, so AP scores changes each yr reflect changes in student ability, not changes in rigor.
  • The best example this year of a too-difficult question is the AP World History DBQ, which was very hard for college students & AP students. 
  • DBQ: 34% earned 0/7 points. 61% earned 0/2 doc analysis pts. 89% did not earn synthesis pt. 72% earned 0/2 evidence pts.
  • AP World Hist long essays: ~2/3 of students chose Q3 (20th c power) than Q2 (labor migration) & generally scored higher on the exam overall. ~95% of students did not earn the synthesis point. RIP: dedicated synthesis point.
  • My summary of AP World History data: students demonstrate high levels of ability on the multiple-choice section. But low levels of ability on the essays. Part of this is due to too-difficult questions and too many skills on the rubric. So we'll improve the stability, focus and consistency of the free-response section and rubrics, as announced already to teachers. But there's also need for more focus on evidence-based writing in class. Daily writing to sources= best for AP exam & college success.
  • Most AP World History students struggled on the short answer questions: 62% earned 0 on Q1, 53% earned 0 on Q2, 48% earned 0 on Q3.