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2022 AP Exam Score Distributions

Total Registration will once again compile the AP exam score distributions as the College Board releases them beginning in June. In the meantime, we encourage you to check out the distributions from the previous years.

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AP Score Distributions 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 10.9% 35.5% 40.3% 12.8% 0.5% 86.7% Jun 27
  • 198 students, out of ~37,000 worldwide, earned all 100 points possible from each professor/reader across all components of their AP Art and Design: 2D portfolios. We’ll notify them and their schools in mid-September when all late scoring is complete.
  • Portfolios: the five Selected Works count for 40% of the AP score, and this year, 5% of students earned perfect scores of 40/40 on their Selected Works, up from 3% of students last year.
3-D Art and Design 6.5% 28.6% 38.5% 23.8% 2.6% 73.6% Jun 27
  • 42 students, out of 5,000 worldwide, earned all 100 points possible from each professor/reader across all components of their AP Art and Design: 3D portfolios. We’ll notify them and their schools in mid-September when all late scoring is complete.

  • Across the four criteria for their Sustained Investigation, 12% of AP Art and Design: 3D portfolio students earned perfect scores (6/6 of points possible) on the “Inquiry” and “Material, Processes, and Ideas” criteria.
AP Research 12.6% 25.8% 44.2% 13.4% 4.0% 82.6% Jun 24
  • 306 students, out of ~29,000 AP Research students worldwide, earned all 80 of 80 points possible across their AP Research academic paper, presentation, and oral defense.
AP Seminar 12.3% 20.6% 55.4% 10.8% 0.9% 88.3% Jun 24
  • This year’s AP Seminar scores are the highest ever for this subject, a massive 88% of students earning scores of 3+ across their projects, papers, presentations, and essays:
  • 33 students, out of ~48,000 AP Seminar students worldwide, earned all 150 of 150 points possible across the AP Seminar projects and essays. We’ll notify them and their schools in mid-September when all late exam scoring is complete.
  • Schools have done something with AP Seminar far wiser than we originally intended: many now use it as 10th grade English to make it widely available by also fulfilling a requirement for high school graduation; the results prove these schools were right to do so...(part 1 of 2)
  • (part 2 of 2): An incredible 86% of 10th graders who take AP Seminar earn scores of 3+, and then have significant academic gains in the rest of high school. I’ve become convinced that this course is the single best AP entry point for a wide range of students.
Art History 14.1% 20.5% 26.7% 27.1% 11.6% 61.3% Jun 23
  • 1 student, out of ~21,000 worldwide, earned all 140 of 140 points possible on this year’s AP Art History Exam. We’ll notify the student and the school in mid-Sept when all late exam scoring is complete.
  • As has been the case in recent years, students demonstrated strongest understanding of African Art (26% of students answered all such questions correctly) and Global Contemporary works (32% earned virtually all points possible for this unit).
  • The lowest scores on this year’s exam: 10% of students were unable to answer any questions about art from the Pacific Islands, and 29% of students earned no points on the short attribution essay (Q5) about a Kwakwaka’wakw mask. spr.ly/6017zg7bN
  • The highest-scoring essay on this year’s  exam was Q3 on Caravaggio’s The Conversion of St Paul. More than 20% of students achieved perfect scores on these short essays. spr.ly/6017zg7bN
Biology 14.8% 23.1% 29.9% 21.7% 10.5% 67.8% Jun 30
  • This year was AP Biology’s scheduled college comparability study, in which college students from across the nation also take the AP Bio Exam at the end of their college class. A larger segment of the AP population outperformed the college population, hence the score increase.
  • One likely reason the AP Bio students show stronger mastery of college bio than college students themselves: the study found that on average, AP Bio students had 176% more instruction time (full year, daily) & 38% more lab time than college bio students (1 semester, 2-3 days/wk).
  • AP Biology students’ strongest unit, by far, was Unit 8, Ecology, followed by Unit 7, Natural Selection. 20% of students earned perfect scores on the Ecology MC questions.
  • The most challenging unit for AP Biology students was Unit 6, Gene Expression and Regulation. 4% of students earned perfect scores on that unit’s MC questions.
  • AP Biology students’ highest free-response section scores, on average, were on the final question of this very challenging free-response section, Q6 on mRNA use in vaccines. http://spr.ly/6013zlPo5
Calculus AB 20.2% 16.1% 19.1% 22.7% 22.0% 55.4% Jun 30
  • The 2022 AP Calculus AB Exam scores -- solid gains in strong calculus performance this year, resulting in the largest percentage of 5s since 2016
  • 1 student, out of ~270,000 worldwide, earned all 108/108 points possible on this year’s AP Calculus AB Exam. We’ll notify them and their schools in mid-September when scoring is complete for all late exams.
  • Again, this year AP Calculus AB students’ strongest performance was on Unit 4, Contextual Applications of Differentiation; 32% of students answered 5-6 questions right out of the 6 possible for this unit.
  • The most challenging unit for AP Calculus AB students in the MC section was Unit 3, Composite, Implicit, and Inverse Functions; 11% of students earned 0 points on those questions.
  • AP Calculus AB free-response question 3, the graphical analysis, was the toughest question on the exam; students earning 4s and 5s were typically able to make significant progress through it. http://spr.ly/6015zlTkd
Calculus BC 40.9% 15.5% 20.5% 16.6% 6.5% 76.9% Jun 30
  • Calculus BC students’ AB subscores, 2022 (Note that 42 Calculus BC students earned perfect scores on the 54 points that make up the AB subscore)AB Subscore
  • Students’ strongest free-response performance was on the parametric particle motion question, Q2. 14% of students earned perfect scores on this extensive, multi-part question. spr.ly/6013zlTgh
  • The toughest free-response question for students was Q6, the power series / infinite series question. <1% of students earned perfect scores on this one, but students earning an AP 3+ were typically able to make a dent in it. spr.ly/6013zlTgh
Chemistry 11.4% 16.5% 24.8% 24.2% 23.1% 52.7% Jun 24
  • AP Chemistry students performed especially well on MC questions about Unit 3, Intermolecular Forces & Properties, & on Unit 5, Kinetics: a full 20% of students earned perfect scores on that unit’s MC questions. Performance on Unit 9, Application of Thermodynamics, was also solid.
  • By far the most challenging unit for AP Chemistry students was Unit 8, Acids and Bases; 7% of students earned zero points on this unit, and 25% of students earned just 1 of these 7 points.
  • Many AP Chemistry students scored very well on the long free-response question 2 about methanol decomposition; a full 18% earned virtually all 10 points on it. http://spr.ly/6013z9AIV
  • AP Chemistry free-response question 5 on kinetics is an example of a difficult question designed to identify students who should receive 5s; such students were typically able to earn 3 or 4 of the 4 points possible on this tough question. http://spr.ly/6013z9AIV
Chinese Lang. and Culture 45.3% 19.7% 19.4% 6.2% 9.4% 84.4% Jun 28
  • The 2022 AP Chinese scores – note that the changes from 2021 to 2022 are primarily due to a smaller percentage of Chinese nationals and heritage speakers in this year’s group, not a significant decline in classroom learners’ proficiency
  • 54 students, out of ~16,000 worldwide, earned all 120/120 points possible on this year’s AP Chinese Exam. We’ll notify these students and their schools in mid-September when all late exams are scored.
  • The following posts about AP Chinese only include the data from classroom learners who do not live in a home where Chinese is spoken regularly:
    • Students earned very high scores across all units within the MC section, but especially on Unit 6, Environmental, Political, and Societal Challenges, in which an amazing 33% of students earned perfect scores.
    • The most challenging unit for students was 1, Families in Different Societies, but even on such MC questions, 18% of students answered every question right.
    • Free-response section, students scored exceptionally well on the story narration (Q1) about forgetting a phone at a fast food restaurant; 15% of students earned all 6 of 6 points possible: spr.ly/6014zcf9k
    • The most challenging two questions on the exam were the email response and the conversation (Q2 and Q3); on both of these questions, students earned an average of 53% of the points possible. spr.ly/6014zcf9k
Computer Science A 26.5% 20.3% 20.0% 10.4% 22.8% 66.8% Jun 23
  • 282 students, out of ~78,000 worldwide, earned all 80 points possible on this year’s AP Computer Science A Exam. We’ll notify them and their schools by mid-Sept when all late exam scoring is complete.
  • Students generally scored well across all topics in the MC section of the exam, but especially Primitive Types (Unit 1) and Boolean Expressions and if Statements (Unit 3).
  • In the free-response section,  students triumphed over the first question (Methods and Control Structures); a whopping 35% earned all 9 points possible on it.
  • To gauge whether you’re likely to earn a 4 or 5 on this year’s AP CSA exam, look at free-response question 4 (2D Array): students earning 5s are generally able to earn 7 (or more) of these 9 points; students earning 4s able to earn 5+ points on it. spr.ly/6010zg7Ek
Computer Science Principles 12.1% 23.0% 33.5% 19.7% 11.7% 68.6% Jun 23
  • 136 students, out of ~137,000 worldwide, earned all 100 points possible on this year’s project and exam. We’ll notify them and their schools in mid-Sept when all late exam scoring is complete.
  • Students continued to earn very high scores, especially on topics related to computing innovations, and systems/networks.
  • Exam scores are higher than many other AP subjects’, and would be even higher with more development of proficiency with algorithms, the topic that generally earned the lowest scores of any within the exam.
  • Percentage of students earning the following points on the Create project (which counts as 30% of the AP Computer Science Principles score):
    • Program Purpose and Function - 51%
    • Data Abstraction - 70%
    • Managing Complexity - 36%
    • Procedural Abstraction 51%
    • Algorithm Implementation - 47%
    • Testing - 40%
Drawing 14.7% 38.3% 35.5% 10.2% 1.3% 88.5% Jun 27
  • 342 students, out of ~19,000 worldwide, earned all 100 points possible from each professor/reader across all components of their AP Art and Design: Drawing portfolios. We’ll notify them and their schools in mid-September when all late scoring is complete.
  • AP Art & Design: Drawing portfolio – the five Selected Works count for 40% of the AP score, and this year, 9% of students earned perfect scores of 40/40 on their Selected Works, up from 5% of students last year.
English Language 10.2% 21.0% 24.3% 30.0% 14.5% 55.5% Jun 29
  • 21 students, out of ~523,000 worldwide, earned perfect scores across all AP English Language essays and exam questions from all professors/readers; we’ll notify them and their schools in mid-September when all scoring of late exams is complete.
  • Students generally scored somewhat higher on the Synthesis essay and the Rhetorical Analysis essay than on the Argument essay. I’ll post each essay’s stats below.
  • 19% of the students earned 5-6 of 6 points possible on this year’s Synthesis essay about STEM education:

Synthesis essay about STEM education

  • 20% of the students earned 5-6 of 6 points possible on this year’s essay analyzing the rhetoric of the Hon. Sonia Sotomayor’s 2001 speech, “A Latina Judge’s Voice”:
  • 12% of the students earned 5-6 of 6 points possible on this year’s essay anchored in General Colin Powell’s position on decisiveness:Argument Essay
English Literature 16.6% 27.2% 34.0% 14.3% 7.9% 77.8% Jun 27
  • A truly inspiring increase in AP English Literature scores this year, the result of years of effort from AP teachers and an accumulation of powerful data from colleges on how well AP students are performing in further college English courses after placing out of the intro course:
  • 3 students, out of ~342,000 worldwide, earned all 120 points possible from each professor/reader across all essays and exam questions on this year’s AP English Literature Exam. We’ll notify them and their schools in mid-September when all late exam scoring is complete.
  • AP English Lit students demonstrated very strong proficiency across all skills, but especially skill categories 1 and 2, analyzing character and setting. 24% of students answered virtually all such MC questions right.
  • With scores like these, it’s tough to identify areas for AP English Lit improvement, but if there’s one, it’s skill category 4, explaining the function of a narrator / speaker; students are generally a bit weaker on this skill than others.
  • AP English Literature essay section: students generally wrote the strongest of their three essays on Richard Blanco’s poem “Shaving.” About 19% of students earned 5-6 of the 6 points possible for this essay. http://spr.ly/6014zcA7A
Environmental Science 9.0% 27.4% 17.5% 25.9% 20.2% 53.9% Jun 23
  • Bravo to AP Environmental Science students and teachers – this group showed stronger learning, and thus earned the highest scores on this exam in more than a decade.
  • Students scored extremely well across all units in the MC section, but especially on Unit 6, Energy Resources & Consumption – 21% of students earned perfect scores on that unit.
  • An area for more focus for some classrooms may be Unit 7, Atmospheric Pollution. Student performance was solid on these topics, but just not as impressive as on every other unit.
  • There are always several exam versions; AP Env. Science students most frequently had FRQs from Set 1 or 2. This year, Set 1 was harder than Set 2, so Set 1 requires fewer points to receive AP scores of 2, 3, 4, and 5. Set 1: spr.ly/6016z9w5I Set 2: spr.ly/6017z9w5L
    With such great performance on MC questions, what keeps AP Environmental Science scores from being as high as some other subjects’? Persistent low performance on open-ended questions: from 20-50% of students earned fewer than 3 of 10 points on those questions.
European History 13.3% 20.9% 24.4% 29.9% 11.5% 58.6% Jun 23
  • Kudos to AP European History teachers and students, whose level of achievement this year increased the proportion of 4s and 5s significantly. 
  • Students demonstrated strongest mastery of Units 3 & 4 (1648-1815: Absolutism, Constitutionalism + Scientific, Philosophical, and Political Developments) with 11% of students answering virtually all such MC questions effectively.
  • One skill that a significant number of students need more practice to develop is “Sourcing and Situation”; 16% of students did not answer more than 3 of these 12 questions correctly.
  • Students did an amazing job on short answer question 1, analyzing a 2019 secondary source on the Enlightenment; 27% earned all 3 points possible on it. spr.ly/6012zgA7I
  • The DBQ on the English Civil War was the toughest part of the exam: 68% of students earned the thesis point; 52% the contextualization point; 18% earned all 3 evidence points/44% earned 2 points; 3% earned both analysis/reasoning points; 11% earned 1 of them.
French Language 12.2% 23.6% 35.2% 22.9% 6.1% 71% Jun 29
  • The following posts about AP French only include descriptions of the performance of classroom learners who do not live in a home where French is spoken regularly.
    • Students scored best on MC questions about Unit 3, Beauty and Art, with 8% of students earning perfect scores on that unit’s questions.
    • The most challenging unit for students was Unit 4, Science and Technology; the average score on this unit’s MC questions was 36%.
    • Free-response section: students earned highest average scores on Q4, the oral presentation about l’importance du sport; 14% of students earned all points possible for their presentations. spr.ly/6014zYo7q
German Language 17.6% 18.2% 27.5% 24.4% 12.3% 63.3% Jun 28
  • 1 student, out of ~5,000 worldwide, earned all 130/130 points possible on this year’s AP German Exam. We’ll notify the student and school in mid-September when scoring of all late exams is complete.
  • The following posts about AP German only include the data from classroom learners who do not live in a home where German is spoken regularly.
  • AP German students demonstrated strongest proficiency on MC questions about Unit 6, Environmental, Political, and Societal Challenges, and least proficiency on Unit 4, Science and Technology.
  • AP German students generally performed well across the free-response questions, and especially the interpersonal writing (Q1: email response) and written argument about student protests (Q2); ~15% of students achieved perfect scores on these. http://spr.ly/6013zcf67
  • The most challenging free-response question for AP German students was Q4, the cultural comparison presentation on Urlaubsreisen; ~10% of students earned all points possible on this question.
Government and Politics, Comp. 15.0% 23.8% 30.6% 17.1% 12.8% 69.4% Jun 29
  • Students performed at very high levels across all units in the MC section, but especially Unit 1 (Political Systems, Regimes, & Governments); and for Unit 3 (Political Culture & Participation), which 21% of students answered every question right.
  • Most students had FRQs from Set 1 or Set 2; the other versions have not been released. Set 2 was more difficult than Set 1, so Set 1 requires more points to earn AP scores of 2, 3, 4, and 5. Set 1: spr.ly/6016zYoo0 Set 2: spr.ly/6017zYooF
  • In both Set 1 and Set 2, students earned significantly higher scores on Q2 (Data Analysis) and Q4 (Argument) than on Q1 (Concept Analysis) and Q3 (Comparative Analysis).
  • AP Comparative Government & Politics Argument Essay: AP Comparative Government & Politics Argument Essay
Government and Politics, US 12.1% 10.9% 25.9% 25.7% 25.4% 48.9% Jun 29
  • 17 students, out of ~300,000 worldwide, earned all 120/120 points possible on this year’s AP US Government & Politics Exam. We’ll notify them and their schools in mid-September when all late scoring is complete.
  • Students demonstrated strong knowledge across all 5 Units in the MC section, but especially Unit 3, Civil Rights and Liberties; 14% of students earned perfect scores on that unit’s questions.
  • Students did an amazing job on MC questions that required SCOTUS application; an impressive 38% (!) of students answered every such question right.
  • In both FR sets, as is usual, students scored highest on Q2, the data analysis question, and lowest on Q3, the SCOTUS question.
  • While student performance on the MC section indicates a strong awareness of the required SCOTUS cases, student performance in the FRQ section suggest a need for deeper and more detailed knowledge about these cases and their connection to course concepts.
  • Most students had the Set 1 or Set 2 free-response questions; other sets are not released. Set 2 was just slightly easier than Set 1, so Set 2 requires slightly more points for AP scores of 2, 3, 4, and 5. Set 1: spr.ly/6011zYor5 Set 2: spr.ly/6012zYorg
  • AP US Government & Politics Argument Essay:AP US Govt and Pol Argument Essay
Human Geography 14.7% 18.7% 19.7% 15.1% 31.9% 53.1% Jun 24
  • AP Human Geography students demonstrated especially strong mastery of the core skills of the course from Unit 1 (19% earned perfect scores on that unit), and on Industrial / Economic Development (Unit 7) questions (11% earned perfect scores on that unit).
  • The units where AP Human Geography students demonstrated the least proficiency were 5 (Agriculture & Rural Land Use) and 6 (Cities & Urban Land Use): ~10% of students could only answer one question right about each of these unit’s topics.
  • For the two versions of the AP Human Geography Exam taken by most students, Set 1 was more difficult than Set 2, so Set 1 requires fewer points to earn AP scores of 2, 3, 4, and 5. Set 1: http://spr.ly/6018z97D4 Set 2: http://spr.ly/6019z97Df
  • AP Human Geography students who took the Set 1 questions typically performed better on Q2 (urbanization), than on Q1 (commercial agriculture) and Q3 (African boundaries). http://spr.ly/6018z97D4
  • AP Human Geography students who took the Set 2 questions typically performed better on Q1 (women’s working conditions), than on Q2 (forestation) and Q3 (Irish boundaries). http://spr.ly/6019z97Df
Italian Language and Culture 19.9% 19.7% 28.8% 19.8% 11.8% 68.4% Jun 29
  • The following comments about AP Italian only include the data from classroom learners who do not live in a home where Italian is spoken regularly.
    • Students demonstrated strongest proficiency on MC questions about Unit 1, Families in Different Societies, with 14% of students answering every such question right.
    • The most challenging units within the exam were Unit 2, The Influence of Language and Culture on Identity, and Unit 3, Influences of Beauty and Art; <10% of students earned high scores on those units.
    • On the free-response questions, students demonstrated much stronger proficiency writing than speaking: 18% of students earned all points possible on the email response (Q1), while only 3% earned all points on their cultural presentation (Q4). spr.ly/6013zYiWP
Japanese Lang. and Culture 45.8% 10.1% 16.8% 8.1% 19.2% 72.7% Jun 29
  • 3 students, out of 3,000 worldwide, earned all 144/144 points possible on this year’s AP Japanese Exam. We’ll notify them and their schools in mid-September when the scoring of all late exams is complete.
  • The following posts about AP Japanese only include the data from classroom learners who do not live in a home where Japanese is spoken regularly.
    • Students scored especially well on MC questions about Unit 4, Science & Technology, with 28% answering virtually all such questions right.
    • The most challenging unit for students was Unit 2, The Influence of Language and Culture on Identity; the average score on this unit’s MC questions was 59%.
    • In the free-response section, students’ highest average score was on Q4, the oral presentation about Japanese stores; 6% earned all points possible: spr.ly/6015zYoeL
Latin 11.1% 16.0% 29.8% 24.5% 18.6% 56.9% Jun 30
  • 2 students, out of ~5,000 worldwide, earned all 100/100 points possible on this year’s AP Latin Exam. We’ll notify them and their schools in mid-September when scoring is complete for all late exams.
  • On sight reading MC questions as well as syllabus reading questions, AP Latin students scored higher on prose than poetry.
  • Across the 7 themes of AP Latin, students demonstrated strongest understanding of themes 5-7 (Views of Non-Romans; History & Memory; Human Beings & the Gods); 14% of students answered every MC question on these themes right.
  • Again, this year AP Latin students’ most challenging skill was 1C, use of specific terminology to identify grammatical forms and syntactical structures; 7% answered every such MC question right.
  • The high point of the free-response section for AP Latin students was Q3, the analytical essay: 7% of students earned perfect scores on their essays. http://spr.ly/6019zlPZb
  • The most challenging question of this year’s AP Latin exam was Q4, the short answer question about Aeneas in the Underworld from Book 6 of the Aeneid; the average score on this question was 36%. http://spr.ly/6019zlPZb
Macroeconomics 15.3% 19.7% 15.6% 15.5% 34.0% 50.6% Jun 24
  • 36 students, out of ~135,000 AP Macroeconomics students worldwide, earned all 90 of 90 points possible on this year’s exam. We’ll notify them and their schools in mid-September once all late exams are scored.
  • AP Macroeconomics students demonstrated very strong mastery of Unit 2, Economic Indicators and the Business Cycle, with 13% of students earning perfect scores on this unit’s questions.
  • The two most commonly taken AP Macroeconomics free-response sections this year are Set 1 and Set 2, which are overall psychometrically comparable in difficulty. Set 1: http://spr.ly/6016z973s Set 2: http://spr.ly/6017z973t
  • In both sets of AP Macroeconomics free-response questions, FRQ3 was the most challenging, with ~9% of students earning all points possible on it.
Microeconomics 16.0% 22.1% 18.9% 17.6% 25.3% 57% Jun 24
  • 5 students, out of ~85,000 AP Microeconomics students worldwide, earned all 90 of 90 points possible on this year’s exam. We’ll notify them and their schools in mid-September once all late exams are scored.
  • AP Microeconomics students demonstrated strong, foundational understanding of Basic Economic Concepts (Unit 1); ~25% of students earned perfect scores on this unit. Unit 2, Supply and Demand, also had generally strong results.
  • The most challenging unit this year for AP Microeconomics students was Factor Markets, Unit 5. ~22% of students received 0-1 points on MC questions about this unit, whereas ~5% of students answered all such questions right.
  • In the two versions of the AP Microeconomics Exam taken by most students, Set 1 was more difficult than Set 2, so Set 1 requires fewer points to earn AP scores of 2, 3, 4, and 5. Set 1: http://spr.ly/6011z97VD Set 2: http://spr.ly/6012z97VE
  • In both sets of AP Microeconomics FRQs, students generally scored highest on Q1 and lowest on Q2.
Music Theory 18.6% 17.6% 25.6% 24.0% 14.2% 61.8% Jun 28
  • In addition to earning generally high scores on MC questions about Music Fundamentals units 1 and 2, AP Music Theory students scored very well on Unit 6, Embellishments, Motives, and Melodic Devices; ~14% of students earned perfect scores on that unit.
  • By far the most challenging unit for AP Music Theory students was Unit 5, Chord Progressions and Predominant Function; ~35% of students earned 0 points on that unit’s MC questions.
  • AP Music Theory free-response questions: students score very well on Q5, realizing a figured bass; ~20% of students earned very high scores on this question. http://spr.ly/6013zcfGH
  • The most difficult AP Music Theory question was Q2, the melodic dictation of a clarinet melody; it’s so challenging that only students earning 4s and 5s made good progress on it: http://spr.ly/6014zcfGy
Physics 1 - Algebra Based 7.4% 16.8% 18.1% 27.5% 30.2% 42.3% Jun 22
  • 1 student, out of ~120,000 worldwide, earned all 80 of 80 points possible on the 2022 AP Physics 1 Exam, an incredible achievement; we’ll notify the student and the school in mid-September when all late exams have been scored.
  • Students again generally scored highest on MC questions about Unit 1, Kinematics: 13% of students achieved 9-10 of 10 pts possible; and generally scored lowest on Unit 5, Momentum: 6% scored 0 of 7 points for that unit.
  • 1 free-response section: students generally scored best again this year on the experimental design question, Q3, but many students also triumphed on Q2: 21% earned 10-12 of 12 points possible on that extensive question. spr.ly/6015zgpMW
  • The most challenging aspect of this year’s exam was Q1, the short answer question on energy; 21% of students were unable to explain why the block initially sped up then slowed down to a momentary stop. spr.ly/6015zgpMW
Physics 2 - Algebra Based 15.1% 17.8% 35.8% 24.7% 6.6% 68.7% Jun 22
  • Bravo to AP Physics 2 teachers and students: this year’s scores are the highest they’ve ever been on this exam, ~69% of students achieving 3 or higher.
  • Students really soared across most topics of the exam, but especially the questions about Unit 6, “Geometric and Physical Optics”; 10% of students answered all of these questions correctly, and an additional 20% only missed a single point.
  • The only unit where a number of students struggled was Unit 7, “Quantum, Atomic, and Nuclear Physics.” About 6% of AP Physics 2 students couldn’t answer any of these questions correctly.
  • Free-response questions: Students generally scored best on Q1, in which they explained how an index of refraction affected an interference pattern; 16% of students achieved 9-10 points out of 10 possible. spr.ly/6018zgprC
  • Perhaps the most advanced question on the exam was Q4 on magnetism; it helps identify students who should receive 4s & 5s. Students generally needed to earn 7 out of 10 points to receive a 5, and 5 points to earn a 4, but just 1 of the points to earn a 3.
Physics C E&M 30.0% 24.5% 14.3% 18.3% 12.9% 68.8% Jun 22
  • AP Physics C: E&M students once again conquered MC questions about Unit 3, “Electric Circuits,” with ~18% of students earning virtually all possible points on these topics.
  • An area for more focus is Unit 4, “Magnetic Fields,” which is once again the lowest-scoring unit, with ~7% of students unable to answer any such MC questions correctly.
  • There were two different sets of free-response questions; Set 2 is somewhat more difficult than Set 1, so Set 2 requires fewer points to receive AP scores of 2, 3, 4, and 5. Set 1: spr.ly/6012zgpee Set 2: spr.ly/6013zgpe5
  • Whether students had Set 1 or Set 2 free-response questions, they typically scored best on Q2, the experimental design question, and found Q3 most challenging.
Physics C Mech. 25.3% 26.8% 21.5% 15.8% 10.6% 73.6% Jun 22
  • A nice increase in very strong AP Physics C: Mechanics learning has resulted in a growth in scores of 5 compared to last year
  • As usual, AP Physics C: Mechanics students were most proficient on questions about Unit 1, “Kinematics,” where 16% of students answered virtually all questions right, and least proficient on Unit 5, “Rotation,” where 1% of students answered each question correctly.
  • There were two different sets of free-response questions for AP Physics C: Mechanics; Set 2 is somewhat more difficult than Set 1, so Set 2 requires fewer points to receive AP scores of 2, 3, 4, and 5. Set 1: spr.ly/6015zgpn7 Set 2: spr.ly/6016zgpnC
  • On each of the AP Physics: Mechanics free-response question sets, students demonstrated strongest mastery of Q1 (25% of students were able to earn high points), and found Q3 most challenging (16% of students were able to earn high points).
Psychology 16.9% 22.3% 19.3% 13.1% 28.5% 58.5% Jun 28
  • 2 students, out of ~295,000 worldwide, earned all 150/150 points possible on this year’s AP Psychology Exam. We’ll notify them and their schools in mid-September when all late scoring is complete.
  • AP Psychology students’ strongest performance was on Clinical Psychology (Unit 8) MC questions: 35% of students answered virtually all such questions right.
  • Again, this year the most challenging unit for AP Psychology students was 7, Motivation, Emotion, and Personality; the average score on this unit was 49% of the points possible.
  • AP Psychology free-response questions: Set 2 was slightly easier than Set 1, so Set 2 requires one more point than Set 1 to earn AP scores of 2, 3, 4, 5. Set 1: http://spr.ly/6011zcfkT Set 2: http://spr.ly/6012zcfkp
Spanish Language 23.5% 28.6% 29.9% 14.9% 3.1% 82% Jun 30
  • 51 students, out of ~165,000 worldwide, earned all 130/130 points possible on this year’s AP Spanish Language Exam. We’ll notify them and their schools in mid-September when scoring is complete for all late exams.
  • The following posts about AP Spanish Language only include descriptions of the performance of classroom learners who do not live in a home where Spanish is spoken regularly.
  • AP Spanish Language students performed exceptionally well on MC questions about Unit 3, Beauty and Art, with 24% of students answering virtually all such questions right.
  • The two most challenging units for AP Spanish Language students were Unit 4, Science and Technology and Unit 6, Environmental, Political, and Societal Challenges. Students’ average scores on those units’ MC questions were 56% and 55%, respectively.
  • AP Spanish students scored well across each of the four free-response questions, and especially on their Argumentative Essays about uniformes en la escuela. http://spr.ly/6015zlTpR
Spanish Literature 7.4% 22.0% 33.8% 24.5% 12.3% 63.2% Jun 22
  • AP Spanish Literature students demonstrated especially solid understanding of literature from Units 4 & 5 (la literatura romántica, realista y naturalista + la generación del 98 y el Modernismo): ~30% of students earned 7-8 of 8 points possible on MC questions about these pieces.
  • By far the most challenging MC questions for students required Skill Category 3, comparison of literary texts; ~25% of students received 0-1 points of 8 possible on these questions.
  • The lowest average scores in the free-response section were on Essay 3, the analysis of Rulfo’s “No oyes ladrar los perros”; 10% of students didn’t respond or earned 0 points on it.
  • Students scored best, overall, on Essay 4, the text comparison; ~18% of students earned 4-5 points out of 5 as they wrote about tradition & rupture in pieces by Isabel Allende and Benito Pérez Galdós.
  • Students scored well on questions requiring comprehension of texts outside the reading list, a strong testament to the skills teachers and students have cultivated in analysis of literary passages.
Statistics 14.3% 22.1% 23.5% 16.7% 23.4% 59.9% Jun 28
  • 5 students, out of ~219,000 worldwide, earned all 100 points possible on this year’s AP Statistics Exam. We’ll notify them and their schools in mid-September when all late scoring is complete.
  • AP Statistics demonstrated a very strong foundation in Units 1-3: ~20% of students earned perfect or nearly perfect scores across all MC questions about those units.
  • What keeps the AP Statistics scores from being higher is continued weak performance on Skill Category 3: Probability and Simulation. They averaged 38% correct on such questions, far lower than for skills 1, 2, and 4.
  • AP Statistics students were highly successful with free-reponse question 4, establishing a confidence interval for teenagers’ use of streaming services: ~30% earned perfect scores on this question. http://spr.ly/6014zc4Fa
United States History 10.7% 15.6% 21.9% 23.0% 28.7% 48.2% Jun 27
  • 8 students, out of ~460,000 worldwide, earned all 140 of 140 points possible on this year’s AP US History exam. We’ll notify them and their schools in mid-September when all late exam scoring is complete.
  • AP US History students performed very well across all units in the MC section, and once again, they were strongest on Period 6: 1865-1898; 19% of students earned perfect scores on the MC questions about that period.
  • The weakest period of US History for AP students this year was Period 4: 1800-1848; 4% of students earned perfect scores on the MC questions about this period.
  • In the AP US History free-response section, the highest scores were on the John Mercer Langston 1854 petition for African American suffrage; 14% of students earned all points possible on this short answer question. http://spr.ly/6015zcbOF
  • For the 2nd year in a row, the lowest scores in the APUSH FR section were on the question about Native American history, so there’s a need for more focus on these essential topics, a large part of the course. 52% of the students who opted for this question earned 0 points on it.

  • The AP US History DBQ on national identity from 1800-1855:

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World History 12.9% 21.7% 27.2% 23.8% 14.4% 61.8% Jun 28
  • 1 student, out of ~317,000 worldwide, earned all 140 of 140 points possible on this year’s AP World History exam. We’ll notify the student and their school in mid-September when all late exam scoring is complete.
  • AP World History students scored quite evenly across the various units of the course, but once again had slightly weaker MC performance on Units 5 and 6 (1750-1900) than the others, suggesting a need for more focus on those two units.
  • AP World History students did such impressive work across the short answer questions. On Q1 (the Mongols), 24% earned perfect scores; on Q3 (Columbian Exchange), 25% earned perfect scores; and on Q4 (Green Revolution), an incredible 39% of students earned perfect scores.
  • The lowest performance on this year’s AP World History exam was on short answer question 2 on Canton factories (from Units 5 and 6); 40% of students earned 0 points on it. http://spr.ly/6015zcd5V

  • The AP World History DBQ on imperialism and economies: educators helped their students achieve real gains in the thesis and contextualization points this year, part of the reason overall scores increased significantly:Image