AP Score Distribution Tweets Have Begun

[3andme]

 AP Trevor has begun tweeting the overall score distributions and test comments on the AP twitter account. Macroeconomics and Microeconomics were released today. Calculus AB and BC are supposed to be released on Monday. You can compare with results from previous years at TotalRegistration.  Individual scores will be released beginning July 5.

 

 

AP Macroeconomics

• Scores: 5: 16.1%; 4: 23.4%; 3: 16.2%; 2: 17.5%; 1: 26.8%. These may shift slightly as late exams are scored.

• 28 students worldwide (out of 135,000) earned all 90 points possible on this year’s AP Macroeconomics exam.

• More than 40% of AP Macro students found FRQ2 on loans/demand deposits extremely difficult, earning 0 pts:

• More than a third of AP Macro students aced this FRQ3 on specialization & trade, earning all 5 pts possible:

• AP Macro students did extremely well on multiple-choice, esp on economic growth; most challenging were the financial sector questions.

• AP Macroeconomics continues to see score increases: the % of 3,4,5s is higher than 5 years ago & 50% more students are participating.

 

AP Microeconomics

• Scores: 5: 15.3%; 4: 27.3%; 3: 23%; 2: 14.4%; 1: 20%. These may shift slightly as late exams are scored.

• 47 students worldwide (out of 83,000) earned all 90 points possible on this year’s AP Microeconomics Exam.

• AP Micro scores were generally highest on FRQ2 (consumer choice) & lowest on FRQ3 (monopolistic competition)

• AP Micro students did quite well across multiple-choice questions; the most challenging were on firm behavior and market structure.

• scores are generally lower this year than last, but still higher than 5 yrs ago when 50% fewer participated.

[Luckymama]

Thanks for posting. I was trying to decide how to share via mobile :lol:

[Chris in VA]

Do you know when AP World will be released?

[3andme]

i suspect it will be sometime this week but I don't know. Here's a list of the Reading dates where they do the scoring of the exams. Looks like the scoring on World History was completed on the 9th so maybe mid-week?  

[daijobu]

Interesting.  I hadn't given much thought to the AP exam readers.  Is each exam graded twice?  Who are the readers?   

[Luckymama]

The readers are long-time teachers for each course. (I'm on some facebook groups for AP teachers.) They are arranged in tables with a Head Reader (question-answerer) at each.

 

AP_Trevor tweeted some pictures of different reading groups this past week---a history or gov and Studio Art.

[3andme]

Calculus scores have been released. Check totalregistration for consolidated results of all tests - they are aggregating all the tweets.

[daijobu]

Thanks for posting this.  It's interesting how the Calc BC students selected themselves for success, over 60% receiving 4s and 5s.  I imagine if they aren't feeling very strong, they are opting for AB.  

[Luckymama]

Thanks for posting this. It's interesting how the Calc BC students selected themselves for success, over 60% receiving 4s and 5s. I imagine if they aren't feeling very strong, they are opting for AB.

Or if they are strong math students going into a non-STEM discipline who don't want the added stress of BC

[3andme]

According to AP_Trevor:

 

Tomorrow, results for AP Environmental Sci, AP Human Geography, & maybe AP Chemistry. Weds: AP Phys 1, 2, C. After that, unsure

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

i suspect it will be sometime this week but I don't know. Here's a list of the Reading dates where they do the scoring of the exams. Looks like the scoring on World History was completed on the 9th so maybe mid-week?  

This is confusing because I saw one page where it said the scores are released on different dates depending upon where you live and looks like maybe we won't receive our scores in world history till july 7 or so. Is this true?

 

Also, if they did score already why would they make kids wait a month or so if what I saw is correct?

Edited June 14, 2016 by NoPlaceLikeHome

[Luckymama]

This is confusing because I saw one page where it said the scores are released on different dates depending upon where you live and looks like maybe we won't receive our scores in world history till july 7 or so. Is this true?

 

Also, if they did score already why would they make kids wait a month or so if what I saw is correct?

Yes, scores are gradually released to the students depending on location.

 

Because multiple AP exams may be given during the same time period (test A and test D both on the first morning, for example), there are "late" exams for students who wanted to take both. These late exams are scored separately than the regular reading periods...because they are different! So that adds to the wait time for the majority.

 

I don't know if international exams are the same.

[Tree Frog]

My son was told that the College Board determines who gets a 5, 4, 3, etc... based on the percentage that the College Board chooses. For instance once they see the range of composite scores (typically between 100 and 150, according to the College Board), they then decide how many people receive a 5 - perhaps anyone who got over a 125- who gets a 4 - perhaps between a 100-125 - who gets a 3 - perhaps a 75-99 - who gets a 4 - perhaps 50-74- etc... It is not a set composite score.

 

I don't know if this is correct or not, he says he was told by his AP Human Geography teacher. Does anyone have knowledge of this?

[AFwife Claire]

My son was told that the College Board determines who gets a 5, 4, 3, etc... based on the percentage that the College Board chooses. For instance once they see the range of composite scores (typically between 100 and 150, according to the College Board), they then decide how many people receive a 5 - perhaps anyone who got over a 125- who gets a 4 - perhaps between a 100-125 - who gets a 3 - perhaps a 75-99 - who gets a 4 - perhaps 50-74- etc... It is not a set composite score.

 

I don't know if this is correct or not, he says he was told by his AP Human Geography teacher. Does anyone have knowledge of this?

I think it's different for different exams.  When they redesigned the biology exam, they decided it would be scored by a "gold standard", where a student had to get so many multiple choice correct and so many points on the FRQ to receive a 5.  It wasn't correlated to how others did on the test, or how real college students did, or anything else.  But I don't think that is how all AP exams are scored--and maybe they've backed down on that for bio, who knows.  I haven't kept up with that aspect of it!

[3andme]

Human Geography, Chemistry, and Physics 1 results have been posted.

 

Wow, the Physics 1 results are very discouraging. I was planning on working with my son to prepare for Physics 1 this upcoming year. He's not really into science but I thought it would be a good challenge for him. However, with a pass rate of only 40% and only 4.3% scoring a 5, I might need to reconsider to reduce his stress and anxiety. I thought there might be an uptick in scores the second year of this new test but it's very slight. 

 

I really wonder about the push for the APs in high school. AP is always touting increased enrollment in the exams but It seems counter-intuitive to keep pushing more students into taking "college level" courses when so many graduates need remedial courses and the failure rates on many of these tests are so high. I've heard teachers say that even if kids fail it's still beneficial, but I think someone should reexamine the efficacy of the courses or the AP exams when the failure rate is close to or over 40%  

 

It's been a very long time since I've been in college, but do these scoring distributions actually mirror grade distributions in introductory level college courses?

 

 

Edited June 15, 2016 by 3andme

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Human Geography, Chemistry, and Physics 1 results have been posted.

 

Wow, the Physics 1 results are very discouraging. I was planning on working with my son to prepare for Physics 1 this upcoming year. He's not really into science but I thought it would be a good challenge for him. However, with a pass rate of only 40% and only 4.3% scoring a 5, I might need to reconsider to reduce his stress and anxiety. I thought there might be an uptick in scores the second year of this new test but it's very slight. 

 

I really wonder about the push for the APs in high school. AP is always touting increased enrollment in the exams but It seems counter-intuitive to keep pushing more students into taking "college level" courses when so many graduates need remedial courses and the failure rates on many of these tests are so high. I've heard teachers say that even if kids fail it's still beneficial, but I think someone should reexamine the efficacy of the courses or the AP exams when the failure rate is close to or over 40%  

 

It's been a very long time since I've been in college, but do these scoring distributions actually mirror grade distributions in introductory level college courses?

 

For Physics 1 I'd be curious to know more about the students who are taking that exam.  Are strong math students taking Physics C and the students in Physics 1 are those who are still mastering algebra?

[Sebastian (a lady)]

This is confusing because I saw one page where it said the scores are released on different dates depending upon where you live and looks like maybe we won't receive our scores in world history till july 7 or so. Is this true?

 

Also, if they did score already why would they make kids wait a month or so if what I saw is correct?

 

One reason why there is a disconnect in having aggregate scores for the exams and students getting score reports is that a student gets all of their scores at the same time.  So while they have released data for some of the exams, there are others that are still being graded or scored.  They won't release any student reports until they are done with grading and scoring all of the exams.

 

I think that schools may also get their reports before students do.

[Kathy in Richmond]

Human Geography, Chemistry, and Physics 1 results have been posted.

 

Wow, the Physics 1 results are very discouraging. I was planning on working with my son to prepare for Physics 1 this upcoming year. He's not really into science but I thought it would be a good challenge for him. However, with a pass rate of only 40% and only 4.3% scoring a 5, I might need to reconsider to reduce his stress and anxiety. I thought there might be an uptick in scores the second year of this new test but it's very slight.

 

I've been listening in on the AP Physics teacher discussion forum, and Physics 1/2 are extremely divisive courses at present among that community. The initial publicity about these courses from College Board implied that they could replace introductory honors physics courses in high schools. Many schools did just that, and funneled lots of ninth graders into the course. But this is not the same sort of algebra-based physics class at all.

 

It's nothing like the old Physics B for instance. The new courses are more lab based for one thing. The kids are supposed to design experiments and learn the physics from the results. That takes tons of time and teachers who've been trained in that approach.  These courses are also *extremely* conceptually based. There is very, very little of the traditional pencil & paper calculation typical to physics, while there are lots of VERY tricky theoretical questions. I've tried the CB sample exams, and I find them head-scratching (while I can fly through the Physics C exams with no problems).

 

So many teachers are frustrated with this class. Their administrations are signing up all kinds of students, and the teachers feel that no matter how they approach it, they can't get the kids to the necessary level of understanding by May. Heck, it took me years to start to really understand the tricky parts of physics, and I'm still a work in progress.

 

In short, I would not recommend the new Physics 1/2 courses. I'd do a year of Physics out of Giancoli or another good text & study for the Physics SAT 2 test if you want a testing goal to document the work. Then move on the excellent Physics C classes later on, once the student reaches calculus.

[snowbeltmom]

 

 

In short, I would not recommend the new Physics 1/2 courses. I'd do a year of Physics out of Giancoli or another good text & study for the Physics SAT 2 test if you want a testing goal to document the work. Then move on the excellent Physics C classes later on, once the student reaches calculus.

Would you recommend an algebra based physics course prior to taking the Physics C classes?  I did this with my oldest, but am looking ahead at my D's last two years of high school and debating between taking one year of algebra based followed by both Physics C classes senior year or skipping the algebra based and splitting the Physics C up and take one each year.

 

Thoughts?  TIA!

 

[Kathy in Richmond]

Would you recommend an algebra based physics course prior to taking the Physics C classes?  I did this with my oldest, but am looking ahead at my D's last two years of high school and debating between taking one year of algebra based followed by both Physics C classes senior year or skipping the algebra based and splitting the Physics C up and take one each year.

 

Thoughts?  TIA!

 

My son did a year of algebra based physics (Giancoli) before taking the Physics C courses. My daughter, on the other hand, just did Physics C. I didn't notice any real difference in their understanding in the end!

 

Ds enjoyed physics more (& went on to an EECS degree with even more physics involved) so he was happy to do an extra year. Dd had more varied interests and just wanted to wrap up science, so one year worked better for her. She was able to knock out both of the C courses in a single year just to get it done.

 

So...either way works. I'd choose based on your daughter's interests. :)

 

[3andme]

This afternoon, AP World History results will be posted. Tomorrow (Fri): Studio Art, Chinese, & Japanese. Mon: Eng Lit & Psych. Consolidated results here.

 

Kathy - Thanks for the input on the Physics 1 exam. I think I'll take your approach and skip the exam. Maybe we'll try AP Chem with Chemadvantage next year instead.

Edited June 16, 2016 by 3andme

[Tree Frog]

Human Geography, Chemistry, and Physics 1 results have been posted.

 

Wow, the Physics 1 results are very discouraging. I was planning on working with my son to prepare for Physics 1 this upcoming year. He's not really into science but I thought it would be a good challenge for him. However, with a pass rate of only 40% and only 4.3% scoring a 5, I might need to reconsider to reduce his stress and anxiety. I thought there might be an uptick in scores the second year of this new test but it's very slight. 

 

I really wonder about the push for the APs in high school. AP is always touting increased enrollment in the exams but It seems counter-intuitive to keep pushing more students into taking "college level" courses when so many graduates need remedial courses and the failure rates on many of these tests are so high. I've heard teachers say that even if kids fail it's still beneficial, but I think someone should reexamine the efficacy of the courses or the AP exams when the failure rate is close to or over 40%  

 

It's been a very long time since I've been in college, but do these scoring distributions actually mirror grade distributions in introductory level college courses?

 

My kids are in high school, where they're taking honors level courses. Their school district, one of the largest in Texas, eliminated the honors physics courses this past year and required the students to choose between AP Physics or regular physics. Many students want to take the honors courses because the classes will be more focused on the material and there will be less goofing off in the class. However, that decision by NISD requires students either accept regular physics or struggle with AP. It was a very frustrating decision.

I've been listening in on the AP Physics teacher discussion forum, and Physics 1/2 are extremely divisive courses at present among that community. The initial publicity about these courses from College Board implied that they could replace introductory honors physics courses in high schools. Many schools did just that, and funneled lots of ninth graders into the course. But this is not the same sort of algebra-based physics class at all.

 

It's nothing like the old Physics B for instance. The new courses are more lab based for one thing. The kids are supposed to design experiments and learn the physics from the results. That takes tons of time and teachers who've been trained in that approach.  These courses are also *extremely* conceptually based. There is very, very little of the traditional pencil & paper calculation typical to physics, while there are lots of VERY tricky theoretical questions. I've tried the CB sample exams, and I find them head-scratching (while I can fly through the Physics C exams with no problems).

 

So many teachers are frustrated with this class. Their administrations are signing up all kinds of students, and the teachers feel that no matter how they approach it, they can't get the kids to the necessary level of understanding by May. Heck, it took me years to start to really understand the tricky parts of physics, and I'm still a work in progress.

 

In short, I would not recommend the new Physics 1/2 courses. I'd do a year of Physics out of Giancoli or another good text & study for the Physics SAT 2 test if you want a testing goal to document the work. Then move on the excellent Physics C classes later on, once the student reaches calculus.

 

Based on what we saw with our daughter, physics wasn't taught in the AP class. The students had to figure things out themselves. The teacher, when asked if the problem was done correctly, wouldn't give them an answer or help them discover what she required them to discover. DD says the teacher didn't teach any concepts; the class was nearly entirely lab based and discovery oriented. All dd learned in that class was to hate physics (and never take that teacher again!), but she didn't want to bump down to regular physics; she wanted a challenge.

 

I believe there is value in discovery based learning, but there needs to be a foundation from which to discover. This course was dd's first physics course and she had very little knowledge on which to base her "discoveries." Math wasn't her problem; if she knew what the formula was, she could complete the math problems. Except she didn't know how to set up the problems because she didn't understand the concepts behind it.

 

This was my rant; I'm glad to see that, in theory, there was a reason for the teacher teaching the way she did. I'm frustrated the school district required students to choose between a regular physics class or an AP level course for a beginner physics student. It set the teacher up for failure, limited the students who had already taken physics the year or 2 before because the class couldn't move at a faster pace, and caused the students to feel like failures. DD's class size dropped significantly between semesters.

 

eta: clarification

Edited June 16, 2016 by wilrunner

[snowbeltmom]

 

This was my rant; I'm glad to see that, in theory, there was a reason for the teacher teaching the way she did. I'm frustrated the school district required students to choose between a regular physics class or an AP level course for a beginner physics student. It set the teacher up for failure, limited the students who had already taken physics the year or 2 before because the class couldn't move at a faster pace, and caused the students to feel like failures. DD's class size dropped significantly between semesters.

 

eta: clarification

I'll join you in the rant.  I am frustrated that the CB has such an impact on the teaching that takes place in the classroom and the courses that our schools offer.  

 

What is even more terrifying to me is reading that the CB is now in the curriculum business and pedaling its material to our nation's schools.  Can you say Conflict of Interest?

[Kathy in Richmond]

My kids are in high school, where they're taking honors level courses. Their school district, one of the largest in Texas, eliminated the honors physics courses this past year and required the students to choose between AP Physics or regular physics. Many students want to take the honors courses because the classes will be more focused on the material and there will be less goofing off in the class. However, that decision by NISD requires students either accept regular physics or struggle with AP. It was a very frustrating decision.

 

Based on what we saw with our daughter, physics wasn't taught in the AP class. The students had to figure things out themselves. The teacher, when asked if the problem was done correctly, wouldn't give them an answer or help them discover what she required them to discover. DD says the teacher didn't teach any concepts; the class was nearly entirely lab based and discovery oriented. All dd learned in that class was to hate physics (and never take that teacher again!), but she didn't want to bump down to regular physics; she wanted a challenge.

 

I believe there is value in discovery based learning, but there needs to be a foundation from which to discover. This course was dd's first physics course and she had very little knowledge on which to base her "discoveries." Math wasn't her problem; if she knew what the formula was, she could complete the math problems. Except she didn't know how to set up the problems because she didn't understand the concepts behind it.

 

This was my rant; I'm glad to see that, in theory, there was a reason for the teacher teaching the way she did. I'm frustrated the school district required students to choose between a regular physics class or an AP level course for a beginner physics student. It set the teacher up for failure, limited the students who had already taken physics the year or 2 before because the class couldn't move at a faster pace, and caused the students to feel like failures. DD's class size dropped significantly between semesters.

 

eta: clarification

 

Well, at least your dd's teacher was trying to adapt to the new curriculum. Not that it made it easy for the kids; not for this particular course. It's an exercise in frustration!

 

I've heard that many physics teachers just kept teaching their old Physics B course under the new Physics 1/2 title. Those kids had a huge surprise in store when they sat for the test.

 

Our local math science magnet high school has also eliminated most honors courses like your dd's school, & the students also have to choose between regular track and AP level now. No one wants to get stuck in regular track, so the kids load up on AP after AP class. The school wins awards for "most AP tests taken." No one talks about the scores on those tests....

 

[vonfirmath]

Our local math science magnet high school has also eliminated most honors courses like your dd's school, & the students also have to choose between regular track and AP level now. No one wants to get stuck in regular track, so the kids load up on AP after AP class. The school wins awards for "most AP tests taken." No one talks about the scores on those tests....

 

It is perfectly acceptable to take a AP course and not follow up with test. I did that with AaP Chemistry in high school.

[Tree Frog]

Well, at least your dd's teacher was trying to adapt to the new curriculum. Not that it made it easy for the kids; not for this particular course. It's an exercise in frustration!

 

I've heard that many physics teachers just kept teaching their old Physics B course under the new Physics 1/2 title. Those kids had a huge surprise in store when they sat for the test.

 

Our local math science magnet high school has also eliminated most honors courses like your dd's school, & the students also have to choose between regular track and AP level now. No one wants to get stuck in regular track, so the kids load up on AP after AP class. The school wins awards for "most AP tests taken." No one talks about the scores on those tests....

 

 

The teachers at dd's high school brag about how many students score 3's, as if that's a great score. Most of the students taking the tests score below 3's. My oldest dd scored 5's on all but one AP test and the teachers took bragging rights for her scores. What they didn't see was all the extra studying outside of class to ensure she had a good grasp of the material. Her scores weren't due to their teaching, but rather to her studying.

 

We were at a different high school in FL for my oldest dd's freshman and sophomore years. The difference in attitudes between our current school and the FL school was significant. The goal of those teachers was to ensure the students knew the material and were prepared for the test. There was a lot of homework outside of class, but it was required by the teacher so the students would know the material well. I believe the 5's earned at that school were due to the teachers' efforts. 

[snowbeltmom]

It is perfectly acceptable to take a AP course and not follow up with test. I did that with AaP Chemistry in high school.

At our local high school, students who don't sit for the AP exam do not get credit for the course.

 

I asked for the College Board Summary Report a few years back.  Our high school touts the high number of kids who are enrolled in AP classes and they are on Newsweek's list of Top High Schools based on the number of students who take AP classes.  However, the highest score on AP Calc was a lone 3, followed by a 2 - the rest were all 1's. 

[Mosaicmind]

Thanks for posting this. It's interesting how the Calc BC students selected themselves for success, over 60% receiving 4s and 5s. I imagine if they aren't feeling very strong, they are opting for AB.

My son, who just graduated, took AP Calculus BC and got a B+ for the year. He took the exam and said he felt better about it than when he took the AP English exam last year. I'm eager to know who the 2 students are who got every question right. The stooge thinks he got a 4 or 5; I'm praying that yes right.

[MarkT]

At our local high school, students who don't sit for the AP exam do not get credit for the course.

 

I asked for the College Board Summary Report a few years back.  Our high school touts the high number of kids who are enrolled in AP classes and they are on Newsweek's list of Top High Schools based on the number of students who take AP classes.  However, the highest score on AP Calc was a lone 3, followed by a 2 - the rest were all 1's. 

What a travesty.  Do they force the students to pay the $92 exam fee?  What a waste of everyone's time and money.

[raptor_dad]

What a travesty.  Do they force the students to pay the $92 exam fee?  What a waste of everyone's time and money.

 

Where my BiL teaches the state pays for AP tests so they are free to public schools. The kids are required to take the exam if they are in an AP course but the score doesn't count towards the course grade. Further all kids are pushed to take one AP during HS. In the "weaker" AP courses he regularly sees 1/4 of the kids just show up and sleep through the exams. Waste of time and money... pure cargo-cult pedagogy 

[snowbeltmom]

What a travesty.  Do they force the students to pay the $92 exam fee?  What a waste of everyone's time and money.

Yes.  The students have to pay for the exam fees.  

[3andme]

Some musings on the scoring now that all the subjects have been released:

 

Top 10 exams (by # tests in 2015)

1. Eng Lang
2. US Hist
3. Eng Lit
4. Calc AB
5. Govt - US
6. Psych
7. World Hist
8. Bio
9. Stat
10. Physics 1

 

Fails

• Physics 1 (39% passing) and Env. Science (45% passing) - less than half the students passed (i.e. score of 3, 4 or 5) 

• Most of the popular courses (Eng Lang & Lit, Hist, Geo, Govt) also had pass rates less than 60%

 

Successes

• Over 90% of students passed Chinese and Spanish  - largely due to native speakers taking the exams. 

• Other languages also fared well with relatively high passing rates

• The Arts (2D,3D, drawing), Calc BC, and Physics C also had high passing rates.

 

Getting a 5

•  While passing is considered 3 and up on APs, many selective colleges limit credit to a 5 score only or 4 and 5s. 

•  Lowest % of 5s were in Physics 1 (4%), Bio (6%), World Hist, Seminar., and Env. Science (7% all)

•  Other popular exams like Eng Lit, Euro Hist, Physics 2 also had under 10%

•  Highest % of 5s were in Chinese and Japanese followed by Calc BC, and the two Physics C exams 

 

The Sciences and Math

• Physics C exams had the best scores while Physics 1 had the worst. Physics 2 was in the middle.

• Bio had a 61% pass rate but only 6% scored a 5

• Chem had a 52% pass rate but 10% scored a 5

• Envir. Science had a 45% pass rate with only 7% scoring a 5 defying it's reputation as the easiest science!

• Calc BC (83%) had very strong results while Calc AB and Stats were about 60% pass rate.

 

Other Subjects

• History - World, Euro and US exams all have similar pass rates (51-54%) with US History (12%) having the highest % of 5s and World the lowest (7%). World tends to be taken by 10th graders as a first AP.

• Economics - Macro is almost twice as popular as Micro but has lower results. Macro (56% pass, 16% 5s) vs. Micro (66% pass, 15% 5s). Some schools offer both as a one year course and others do one or the other as a full year course.

• Psych and Human Geo have a reputation as two of the easiest APs. The scores could support this for Psych (64%,pass, 19% 5s) but not for Human Geo (52% pass, 12% 5s). Human Geo is a popular first AP for 9th graders so that could have an influence on scores.

• Government - US Gov't is a popular exam (#5) but has a lower pass rate (51%, 12% 5s)  than the much less popular Comparative Gov't  exam (62% pass,21% 5s). 

• Studio Art (2D, 3D, and Drawing) all had good pass rates (68-83%) probably reflecting the fact only those with a proficiency or strong interest submit portfolios.

• Art History and Music Theory have similar pass rates (60%) but Music Theory has 18% 5's vs. 11% for Art History.

 

 

Edited June 26, 2016 by 3andme