<p>A bit early but any tip for upcoming AP Stats students? Book recommendation? Exam overall? </p>
<p>I’m doing this next year!</p>
<p>I took it last year, but did not particularly enjoy the material or work hard for the class. The best review book is probably Barron’s. The exam overall was difficult for my class because it was the first year having the class at my school and the teacher had to spend a month on the first chapter because we didn’t have textbooks during that time period. I think if we didn’t have these things going against us and we didn’t have 5-7 other APs to worry about then the exam would have been much more manageable. Just don’t get rattled during the exam if there is something you absolutely don’t know. On this year’s exam half of the students got 0/4 on one of the FRQs. With stat it is very possible you will get a question and have no idea how to approach it because the problems are very similar except for one point and that one point changes the answer dramatically.</p>
<p>I took it last year, and I’m not sure if it was my teacher or the class itself, but it was HORRIBLE! I don’t mean to scare you or dissuade you from taking the class, just giving my honest opinion. I managed a B both semesters (SO CLOSE to an A) but it was definitely tough. My teacher put SO MUCH emphasis on hypothesis testing and the 4-step plan that everything else was kind of forgotten. When I got to the exam, I was expecting TONS of hypothesis tests and it was really a small part of the test. </p>
<p>My tip for you is KNOW YOUR PROBABILITY AND LINEAR REGRESSION. Be sure you’re solid at hypothesis testing too, don’t get me wrong you WILL need it, but make sure it’s not ALL you know. There’s so much more to stats than hyp. testing, so don’t get caught up in it. As far as review books, I used 5 Steps to a 5 and I LOVED it. My teacher wasn’t very dedicated to the class, so he used pre-made powerpoint notes that came with the textbook, which were very confusing, and the 5 Steps review book outlined the problems pretty clearly and I was able to kind of “self-teach” myself the concepts I didn’t get in class. </p>
<p>EZ-PZ. Just know how to use your calculator and enjoy 
</p>
<p>I’d like to make an inquiry on this exam. Is AP Stats particularly hard for those of us not gifted in the fields of math?</p>
<p>As someone who’s only really stuck to the most basic of math classes but is somewhat confident in mathematical abilities, AP Calculus was definitely suicidal. However, I’m hoping I can work my way through this class somehow.</p>
<p>I’d just like reassurance I don’t have to be Pythagoras to get through this. </p>
<p>I’ve taught this course for a couple of years now and here is what I have concluded. </p>
<p>Students struggle with the following:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Probability! (Not talking about Normal Distribution) Here in VA, students don’t get any real exposure of probability from their freshman year, right up to their junior year. I have to spend at least 6 block periods on it.</p></li>
<li><p>READING, Students struggle with this as well. Some of the multiple choice problems can be very wordy and students get lost in finding the answer because of how long the questions are. Also, students argue that there is more than 1 answer to the multiple choice questions at times, when clearly there is 1 right answer.</p></li>
<li><p>Hypothesis Testing - Not sure why, I think it is very self-explanatory. PROPORTIONS OR MEANS! I also had to spend at least 6 block periods on this as well. They just needed the practice seeing the different ways college board can ask the question, especially showing them how to use the calculator as well.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>-Conceptual Questions - Students are used to plugging in numbers and using formulas from Algebra - Trig. Not the case in this course, especially since what my students told me on this AP EXAM especially on the multiple choice (very less calculator questions). Students need to know the concepts through each chapter. Kinda like the why and how questions. They also struggle with this.</p>
<p>Those are the big issues. I hope I helped.</p>
<p>Good luck! 
Barron’s was pretty good with the multiple choice, in my opinion. I skimmed through their chapters, but their practice problems were AMAZING. The MC were harder than the ones on the actual AP, but really get you to think.</p>
<p>@PhazonFire - You should have no problem. AP Stat is pretty much just plugging numbers into the calculator and interpreting data, graphs, etc. You won’t need to know /why/ a certain formula works, although it helps if you understand the general concepts behind certain procedures. So in my opinion, it’s not a lot of math, but a lot of logic. If you can go above and beyond and understand the whys and the hows, that’s great, but don’t feel frustrated if you can’t. I took the AP exam in May and have to disagree with bjgiants6; all the MC this year were pretty straight-forward if you had a firm grasp on when to use which calculator function.</p>
<p>Oh thank God. I figure if I could get at least one math course out of the way before college, it would help something or another. </p>
<p>sunsh0wers,</p>
<p>That is what my students were telling me about the multiple choice questions, hardly any calculator questions. I was shocked because I compared it to the college board mock ap exams (multiple choice section) and there was a good portion of using the calculator. I thought the free response questions were straight forward, but the graders, I hear have been getting stricter each year. I’m sure my students responses to each of the free response questions won’t get all 4’s.</p>
<p>@PhazonFire I agree with the above that is alot more about logic and really remembering/understanding the concepts than any sort of heavy math. The hardest math you will have to do is probably some basic probability (no pun intended) with permutations and combinations, but even then it is a relatively small portion of the whole course. Case in point, I am a person that struggles with math, and despite not even taking AP Calculus senior year and having relatively low math grades, I was able to get a 5 on the exam and do moderately well in the course (at least compared to my other math courses) It’s alot of work and practice, but really worth it if going into anything that might require you to do research or studies in the future!</p>
<p>Took it last year (2013-2014) - was a fairly challenging course (might just be my school) yet the AP exam was surprisingly easy. Got a 5 on the exam Used Barron’s and Princeton Review to prepare. Advice: do lots of practice tests (Barron’s is better to do first to challenge yourself), AND RELEASED EXAMS FROM OTHER YEARS. I think this latter part is what helped me to succeed on the exam. Don’t worry - just lots of interpretation and calculator input. You’ll be fine!! </p>
<p>Got a 5 this year</p>
<p>I’m taking this class next year. To be honest, I’m not really all that excited; I prefer raw math, and I feel like this class will just be a lot of button pushing and then writing a lot about graphs :-/ but it’s all I have left, since I took Calc BC this year past year (junior year). Hopefully it’ll at least for easy for my senior year?</p>
<p>I’m pretty excited for this class. Everyone that took it this past year at my school said the teacher was amazing and the material was actually interesting. I’m hoping for a 5 on this exam next year, especially since I love math.</p>
<p>Awkward, I really enjoyed the class. I got a 5, but I did study a few days earlier, only with Barron’s and some practice tests my teacher gave me. I also placed 3rd in a statewide stats competition in Bakersfield, where my school’s team won 1st, It was a fun, super easy class. I used Barron’s to study for tests during second trimester, and self studied the stuff on slope of linear regression and geometric distributions. I got an A first trimester, A+ second trimester, and did not take third trimester.</p>
<p>I’m just thankful that, unlike Calc, I apparently won’t need a super solidified background ability in mathematics to pass the exam (though I’m not exactly banking on a 5). </p>
<p>My school offers Probability & Statistics, but not AP Statistics. I’m planning on just doing AP Statistics as a self-study in conjunction with the course offered at my school. Hopefully there will be a lot of chapters that overlap. Either way, I will have to put in the time to review the AP Statistics curriculum and study the material that isn’t taught in my Prob & Stats course. I currently have the Barron’s. Any recommendations or tips?</p>
<p>Okay, so far this course is actually relatively simple. I’m loving the real applications to life as opposed to previous math courses where there were little to no applications. </p>
<p>@PhazonFire It gets worse trust me. The further you get into it the more you are just using formulas to hopefully find a correct answer. I’m obviously very biased though; I like calculus and despise statistics because the rules for statistics are not intuitive at all when it comes to probability and hypothesis testing. It’s really formulaic in the end, I read one kid’s post on this site where his teacher gave him worksheets that told them exactly how to phrase their answers with blank slots for putting in numbers. That’s the worst part when it becomes that formulaic that you have basically a template for your answer.</p>