AP Psychology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article relates to the AP test. For information about the IB test, see IB Psychology SL.
The Advanced Placement Psychology (AP Psychology, AP Psycho, or AP Psych) course and corresponding exam is part of the College Board's Advanced Placement Program. This course is tailored for students interested in the field of psychology and as an opportunity to earn placement credit or exemption from a college-level psychology course. It was the shortest AP exam until AP Physics C exam was split into two separate exams in 2006.
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[edit] Topics covered
The College Board provides a course of study to help educators prepare their students for the AP Psychology exam. The exam covers the following areas. The percentage indicates the portion of the multiple-choice section of the exam focused on each content area[1]:
- History and Approaches (2-4%)
- Research and Methods (6-8%)
- Biological Bases of Behavior (8-10%)
- Sensation and Perception (7-9%)
- States of Consciousness (2-4%)
- Learning (7-9%)
- Cognition (8-10%)
- Motivation and Emotion (7-9%)
- Developmental Psychology (7-9%)
- Personality (6-8%)
- Testing and Individual Differences (5-7%)
- Abnormal Psychology (7-9%)
- Treatment of Psychological Disorders (5-7%)
- Social Psychology (7-9%)
[edit] The Exam
The exam includes two sections: a 70 minute multiple choice section (about 100 questions) and a 50 minute free response section (2 prompts). The multiple choice forms two-thirds of the grade and the free-response provides the remaining third.[2]
[edit] Grade Distribution
In the 2007 administration, 116,128 students took the exam from 4,257 schools. The mean score was 3.09. [3]
The grade distribution for 2007 was:
| Score | Percent |
|---|---|
| 5 | 18.8% |
| 4 | 26.2% |
| 3 | 20.5% |
| 2 | 13.7% |
| 1 | 20.8% |
