By Moses Kim, Tenafly High School, Grade 10
May 16, 2011
The AP tests cover a wide variety of subjects from Calculus to World History. So it begs the questions, why are these students studying for these tests?
The Advanced Placement (AP) program is a program offered in the United States, which sponsored by the College Board (the same creator of the SATs). The program offers standardized courses to high school students that are recognized to be equivalent to college-level courses. Colleges that participate in the program grant credit to students who obtained a minimum required score or higher.
Grading the AP exam is a long and complicated process. The multiple choice section of the exam is handled electronically, while the free response and essay portions are reviewed by trained graders at the AP Reading each June. Each component that comprises the test is weighted in different ways to create an overall raw score. The Chief Reader decides on a grade cutoff every year for their respective subjects, which determines how the composite scores are converted into the final grades. During the process a number of reviews and statistical analyses are made to make sure that the scores are reliable. The goal of all this is for the grades to reflect a scale of performance which can be compared from year to year.
Some colleges use AP test scores to let students be exempt from taking introductory courses. Every college has a different policy, but most colleges require a minimum score of 3 or 4 to receive college credit. This will typically be reflected on a college transcript as a “CR” grade, but some colleges and universities will award an A grade for a 5 score.
A new aspect of the AP test starting this year with the May 2011 AP Exam, will be a change to the way AP Exams are scored. Total scores on the multiple-choice section will be based on the number of questions answered correctly, as usual, but points will not be deducted for a wrong answer which is a contrast to the grading from last year. In addition, no points will be awarded for unanswered questions. Thus, the only aspect that has changed is the lack of penalty for guessing, unlike previous years.
