Got a 3… even though I got a high A in the class. Guess I should have studied more 
Got a 4, but I’m happy with it. I’m kinda hating the collegeboard right now- Form O mc was killer and one of the free responses made zero sense. Congrats to everyone that passed, physics is hard! 
I PASSED YOU ALL. somehow managed to get a 3! super excited because honestly i was expecting a 1.
No way. I got a 5!!!
This test was BS. I got 5’s on all of the practice tests without studying and then I did a bit of studying from 5 steps to a 5 before the AP and I got a 3 on the test! I also got a high A in my AP physics class but I guess my high A meant nothing… Collegeboard did not prepare us for what was on the test in the least bit! I’m very disappointed in them!
Does anyone know what the curve for the AP was?
@welcometomylife I 100% am in the same shoes. I thought for sure I made a 5 and got a 3. Had close to 100% all semester. I’m completely upset. The college board released very few materials so we were all in the dark for this test and the kind of responses that should be written… It’s horrible.
Congrats to Everyone though, it was a hard test! Be proud of yourselves!
HAHAHAHAHA
I got a 5 on US History and English. 4 on Psychology.
I have never gotten lower than a 4 on any AP test ever ( and I’ve taken 6 )
…and I got a ONE on this test.
HAHA oh well that sucks lol
@tylerfrenchfrye I’m sorry to hear that you’re in the same shoes as myself! Being the first year of AP physics 1, we had it bad! Unless Collegeboard decides to redo their test curve, or give a second try for the test, I do not believe that this test was the least bit fair. There is no way I’m retaking AP physics in college because of this…
And yes, to everyone who managed to pull off a 4 or a 5 with these testing conditions, give yourself a pat on the back!
My teacher graded part of my exam at the reading and with her knowledge that I got a 5 (one of only 2/100 kids who took it at my school), she knows the cut offs were very strict - 75% estimate
I did a bit of research and found out that AP physics 1 had the lowest score distributions of any AP.
http://www.totalregistration.net/AP-Exam-Registration-Service/2015-AP-Exam-Score-Distributions.php
The fact that 32.9% of students who took the test got a 1 and 30.2% of students who took the test got a 2 is absurd! The Curve should have been made more like physics C where over 50 percent of the students taking the test get atleast a 4!
@welcometomylife AP Exam curves do not adjust to the incompetency of students. There’s a reason why 40%+ get a 5 on Calc BC, whereas 20%+ get a 5 on Calc AB. The distribution of scores reflects the preparedness of the students taking the exam (in this case, APP1 students were, overall, VERY un-prepared).
It’s not the CB’s job to make sure a certain % of students get 5s across all exams, sadly. Otherwise, people would be getting 5s on APP1 with ~40% of all possible points, which would literally make a 5 on this exam worthless to all colleges.
tl;dr AP Exams are not like your class exams, where there is some “magical curve” created to maintain a high number of As even given a tough exam. And on that note, realize that an A+ in the class means nothing towards the ability to get a 5 on the Exam.
should i report my 3? (reaches are brown, vanderbilt, georgetown, emory)
I think the reason why a lot of people got 5s on practice exams but a 3 on the actual is because of the prepbooks themselves. A majority of the prepbooks were still based of B with the only change being they took out half of the content. They never changed their content to better fit the exam, which is why I’m glad I didn’t waste my time with one (not like I had the time too anyways…). 5 Steps to a 5 was prolly the closest that was to the new exam, but still was pretty off.
As for me, I somehow pulled a 4 despite not understanding the half of the content the month right before the exam. Good job for everyone who got a 5 (which is like nobody)! And a 3 on this exam is def not bad at all
@welcometomylife I don’t think your practice tests were accurate as this was the first year of AP Physics 1.
Physics 1 was all conceptual which was drastically different from the previous AP Physics B exams.
I think the curve should be similar to the AP Physics B curve at around 60-65% for a 5, but since a lot of people did poorly (20-30% averages on each of the FRQ’s, I think that’s why).
Everyone including me was just not prepared for literally ALL conceptual questions on the FRQ, like what the heck.
Somehow managed to get a 5, so I’m supper happy, especially because this and Language I didn’t use any review books and am pretty bad at physics.
Honestly I was expecting to get a 3 considering all the rotational mechanics frightened me to death, but I think the trick was doing well on the short answer. I know I did decently on the mc, but the average short answer scores were very low. So I’m guessing the short answer was super important
Also I had form O, which was said to be easier, so that mighta played a part.
Anyways congrats to everyone going in blind to AP Physics 1! Last year I took the revised, more conceptual version for Chem and didn’t do well, so I know how it feels to be cheated because of the lack of practice.
Got a 4!! It’s the only AP I haven’t gotten a 5 on, so that’s somewhat upsetting, but I’m still happy because of how hard this test was. To whoever got a 5, you’re amazing!
A guttural noise came out of my throat involuntarily when I saw that I got a 5 on this exam. No kidding. I thought that the test was absolutely brutal, and even left multiple FRQ parts completely blank or with one, hastily scrawled word or figure. Compared to most people on this site, my math skills are garbage; but, I’m told I’m a bit of a linguistic genius, so I guess the increased conceptualization and decreased calculation on the test ultimately worked in my favor. To be frank, though, I’m still not sure how it happened or if I deserve it: I didn’t review at all and had already come to terms with the fact that I might’ve not even passed by the time scores were released.
Wow. I can’t believe I passed! I got a 4/5 on the practice, but still. I was thinking that I got a 4 after taking the test, but after seeing the breakdown I was 50% sure I got a 2. I got a C/B in Physics, and literally felt like I had learned nothing. I’m so happy about my 3 right now! Thankfully, the UCs give credit for a 3!