<p>Someone told me that they have a bunch of college students take the test, and then they look at the college students grades and base the curve off of that. For example, they will look at the average score (or look at something similar) on the test for all of the people who made A's and make the cut-off for a 5 based off of that, and so on.</p>
<p>Is that true?</p>
<p>Or is the curve determined by the actual ap test takers for that given test? Like, for the make-up exam, is the curve based solely off of the make-up test takers of that year?</p>
<p>If it's the latter, I'm scared because most people who have to take make-ups are smarter than average (because they're the kids who take like 10 AP's a year).</p>
<p>If it's neither, can someone explain how this is done?</p>
<p>I believe it's neither, but I really only know how the curve works for the standard exams.</p>
<p>The way they curve it for the standard exams is to have repeating questions. The 2008 AP Calculus MC had approximately six questions that were on the 2007 AP Calculus MC. They take a look at how students who scored 6/6 on those questions appear to be doing in '08, compared it to how students who scored 6/6 on those questions did in '07, and made sure that their achievement was comparable. Similarly, they repeat this process for kids who answer 5/6, 4/6, 3/6, 2/6, 1/6, and 0/6 on those six control questions.</p>
<p>So, in reality, your achievement on an AP test is not based on how well you did compared to a bunch of college students, or how well you did compared to your peers that year, but it's based on a standard of "how well did I know the subject matter?"</p>
<p>The only reason there's any curve at all, is so that (a) you don't need 90% or whatever your school requires to get a 5, and (b) so that you can adjust for differing difficulties of tests, so that a group who gets a harder test doesn't get penalized.</p>
<p>The reason why they don't compare you to your peers is so that students who normally would reach the standard but is up against a tough class isn't denied, and similarly, students who wouldn't reach the standard but is up against a weaker class aren't rewarded.</p>