Are AP Exam Scores Accurate?

Test Preparation AP Test Preparation
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Find out how you can evaluate the accuracy of your AP Test scores. http://www.collegeconfidential.com/articles/are-ap-exam-scores-accurate/

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@CCEdit_Torrey Broken link

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Looks like the page is about how to ask for a regrade of your AP exam.

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OK, the link seems to be fixed, and yes, the article is simply an instruction on how to ask for a regrade.

So I will take the opportunity to point out that IME a change in score after a request for regrade is more rare than a unicorn. But if it gives the student peace of mind and they have the money, I guess it’s better than wondering “What if.” And to reiterate from the article, there is no rescore available for FRQ’s. And for exams without an MC component, like Research/Seminar/Studio Art, the scores are what they are; no rescore or appeal is available.

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While the article answers one part of the “I’m not sure what you mean” options, I suspect the question is actually the other.

And that’s always a risk with a single 1-3 hour test. If a student had a 99 average for the entire year, was a top student in the class, and somehow got a 2 or 3 on the AP exam, does that mean s/he doesn’t really know the material?

It’s the odd dichotomy that we always hear that colleges look much more at grades in AP courses, rather than AP test scores, for admission, but college credit is almost always based just on the score.

I would hope that an AP score correlates well to a student’s actual mastery of the material, but I’m sure the correlation isn’t 1.

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Short answer - it depends. Anybody can have a bad test day.

Alternatively, there are some classes, AP Physics 1 springs to mind, where 60% will fail the exam. Presumably 60% did not fail the class. Whether the class was taught differently than the CB prescribed syllabus or, in the physics case, the student is more a plug-and-chug person than the conceptual person is a bit unknown. But in college, for a great many classes, a bid chink of the final grade is dependent upon a 3 hour final. Although part of the difference is that the instructor who is teaching is also making the exam.