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|  | Excerpts from the AP Biology Teachers' Discussion Group
Question: "It's my first attempt at AP: What do I do?"
Answer 1: "Yes, teach the class more like a college class but no, that does not (despite what some college professors believe) mean that you should lecture all the time; if you do you will be worn to a nubbin by the end of the year. Do add in more lectures if that suits your style, but the most important thing is to get the students involved in taking responsibility for and to some extent initiating their mastery of this difficult material. You have to find your own way of doing that -- this forum will give you an abundance of suggestions. Good luck. I was in the same position 12 years ago and spent that first year in a constant state of confusion -- but it was an invigorating confusion!"
-- Leslie Haines, Williams High School, Burlington, North Carolina. 7/28/99
Answer 2: "I've been teaching AP Biology now for three years. Although I use Campbell, perhaps I can share my experiences with you. I teach it as if it were a bio majors course in college. I lecture mostly, but also have students do projects, class presentations, and research papers. I fit in almost all of the labs, but we have a unique schedule. First semester, each class meets for 84 minutes per day. Second semester the classes are cut to 42 minutes per day. This way the class is a 7.5 credit course, rather than five credits. My school is on the 4x4-block schedule. I do have to fit all my labs into the first semester, which is difficult, and I manage to do eight of the required ones, and a few others. A month before the AP Exams, I go over all the labs, regardless of whether or not we did them. That way, the students should be familiar enough with them to answer an essay question on any one of them. Have you taken one of the prep courses to teach AP Biology? I highly recommend one --it will prepare you a lot for the course."
-- Bonnie Polan, Beverly High School, Beverly, Massachusetts. 7/29/99
Answer 3: "Because of the volume of material, I lecture probably more than I should just to get it covered. I do all 12 labs (though some not in their entirety), and I usually add some more where I have time and the need. I use Campbell's Biology but I think many people are pleased with Starr and Taggart. I usually read another author as I go along just for a different approach or some new examples. That keeps it interesting for me after 23 years. You will be told ad nauseum that you do not need to cover it all and it is true that in a typical single school year you cannot cover it all. But the more you cover the more likely your kids will be familiar with what is on the test. I push and push all year until about two weeks before the exam; then I relax, try to relax the girls, and tell them they have learned enough to be familiar with most of what will be asked.
You will find teaching AP Biology very exciting if you love to teach biology. It is hard work. I assume you know that the College Board publishes syllabi, sample questions, old tests, and lots of support materials. I suggest you attend one of the one-day AP workshops offered during the school year, and sign up for a weeklong one next summer. I have attended the one at Stanford twice and find it just full of wonderful experiences, and they go through all 12 labs with you. After you have done them once you will find it very helpful to go to a long session and troubleshoot the snafus you experience. Find your AP coordinator and be sure he/she passes on the information and order forms to you. Also, get on the Internet. The College Board and Access Excellence both have AP Biology sites and you will find them really helpful. Good luck."
-- Charlotte Freeman, Girls Preparatory School, Chattanooga, Tennessee. 7/29/99
Answer 4: "Teach the AP class like a college freshman biology course. You will be teaching junior- and senior-level students who, you can assume, will be attending college in one or two years. Expect more of them, and treat them as you would if you were teaching college. My students are not required to take the AP Exams. I tell them that my first job is to prepare them to take the test and achieve scores that will earn them college credit. In the event that they choose not to take the test, my other two goals for them are as follows: - They come back after their freshman year in college to tell me that their biology course was easy because it was just a repeat of my class.
- The TA in their college biology class stops the class and tells them to watch my students because they are using the proper lab techniques.
I expect my students to read the materials that are assigned to them. It may take some training for you to get that across. I start out by giving pop quizzes over the assigned material until they get used to reading on their own. AP classes are the hardest courses that your students will ever take in high school. More is expected of them and they must come through or fail. The amount of material will dictate the course for you. I run my class more like a seminar. ¿ I see no reason to go over the material they should have learned in first year biology. The students have to read the text and the copies of the notes that I pass out. When we meet again, they ask me to explain the material that they didn't understand. I find out with quizzes and tests if there were concepts that they thought they understood, but didn't. I can then go over that material and retest them. I also try to cover material in terms of units, rather than as chapters. They can then see the whole picture, not just pieces of it. Good luck. AP Biology is as hard a class to teach, as it is to take. The students will challenge you as much as you will challenge you."
-- Jo Ann Burman, Andress High School, El Paso, Texas. 7/29/99
Question: "Help! I've just been assigned to my first AP Biology class and we have no textbooks and no supplies."
Answer 1: "Try borrowing from a nearby school. I have had to do that in past. I would also investigate borrowing lab supplies from other local schools. And again, if I have something you could use, I would be more than happy to help out. Rely on the content that the Acorn book suggests, use practice tests that are composed of old AP tests, practice essays from old tests, and have students perform labs similar to those in AP Lab Manual. Use the Cliff Notes and other review tools to brush up on things that the students may not have been able to do as a result of your problems with supplies. Also, check into coordinating something with a nearby college. It may be able to help out with all these problems."
-- Michelle Harman, Northern High School, Accident, Maryland. 9/8/99
Answer 2: "The first year I taught AP I had 15 students. I had been to a weeklong workshop, but I was uncertain of myself. So I just leveled with them. I told them that I would be studying everything they were studying and that I didn't know all the answers. We worked together. We did everything we could to cover the subject. I remember still that in April we did 10 chapters in 10 days. They worked like Trojans. Above all, I tried to make them realize they were attempting something above and beyond that which the normal high school student does. I still do that because it is true. I also write encouraging notes on their papers; try to remember to congratulate them for other things they achieve. They all became my friends. This atmosphere of mutual cooperation with me as sort of the group leader has worked well for me. There is a lot of psychology involved in teaching and especially so in AP. Encouragement and enthusiasm, as well as a deep knowledge of the subject, are the keys. And don't forget to have fun!"
-- Thomas Strayhorn, Synder High School, Snyder, Texas. 11/9/99
Question: "How well do you need to score on the multiple choice in order to do well on the exam? My students have been taking practice exams and are getting discouraged."
Answer 1: "Sometimes it is useful to walk them through the grading system as several have demonstrated and to show them how they would fare. I once heard that the average student who prepares for the test would make about 50 percent on the multiple choice part. I allow my students to take the test and then to calculate an estimate of their scores. They have the multiple-choice score to get their composite 1 (multiple choice times .75). I have them estimate their abilities on the essay part, keeping in mind that the average essay score out of 40 ranges from about 14 to 18. They know whether they are average, below average or above average essay writers and choose a score accordingly (Many choose to be safe and select a score of 16). They then calculate the composite 2 score (essay points times 1.5). They add them together to get their score out of 150. They may then have an idea of what they need to do to improve. Many are reassured that they are doing as well as they are, especially when we do this at the beginning of the review period. Most see that with a little work and some more review, they can better their estimate. You have to find the balance between their reconciling themselves to whatever they predict and finding encouragement in how much they know and how far they can go. Sometimes, if we have time, we do another review test at the end of the review period and re-score it to see if the review has made an improvement."
-- Tricia Glidewell, Marist School, Atlanta, Georgia. 5/3/99
Answer 2: "In the back of both the 1990 and 1994 released multiple-choice sections there is a breakdown by percentage of students scoring at a particular level on the multiple choice, and the correlation between that score and their score on the AP.
As an example, in 1990 students who scored between 86 and 120 on multiple choice: 17 percent got 4's, 83 percent got 5's. Of students who scored between 67-85: 17 percent got 3's, 73 percent got 4's, 10 percent got 5's. Of students who scored between 50-66: 14 percent got 2, 73 percent got 3, 14 percent got 4. Of students who scored between 31-49: 10 percent got 1, 77 percent got 2, 14 percent got 3. Of students who scored between 0-30: 88 percent got 1. The distribution is similar in 1994.
I have always told my students that the multiple choice section is the make or break part of the test for them as they are usually very good essay writers. I have had some students who did not do well on practice tests achieve a level or two higher on the actual test. However, most of the time they stay pretty much in the same range. Encourage them to keep reviewing. "
-- Bob Heun, Brooks School, North Andover, Massachusetts. 5/30/99
Question: "Do you have any tips for preparing students for the AP?"
Answer 1: "Several years ago I decided to go to an all-essay mid-term exam. A week or two before the exam, I give the students a list of about 20 essay questions, based on 'big' questions from the semester's tests. They can prepare to whatever extent they choose. The day of the exam I ask them to answer six essays (my choice). Those students who really get into the review will also have incidentally made themselves a great set of review questions for the AP exam in May."
-- Leslie Haines, Walter Williams High School, Burlington, North Carolina. 1/12/99
Answer 2: "In response to how best to prepare students for the exam. I use Campbell 's text and make a list of figures I feel it's helpful to study as they review. I also ask students to go over their old tests and to study their notes from lecture. Lastly, I put together a handout containing essays from previous exams. A good source for these essays is the Advanced Placement Biology site prepared by William Barstow at UGA. My students are very motivated and usually do quite well on the exam, the majority receiving 4's and 5's."
-- Andrea Allio Prybylski, Westminster Schools, Atlanta, Georgia. 4/21/99
Answer 3: "I give students the essays along with the rubric provided by the AP Web site. They practice writing them with the rubric, hand them in, and we critique their writing style together. Then I give them samples of other student answers (found in the AP Biology Released Exam) and have them use rubrics to evaluate these samples. I have seen great improvement in their ability to write the essay questions. I also give them Campbell 's chapter tests, which are so tough they make the AP multiple choice questions look easy.
P.S. When they flunk the Campbell tests, they are given the opportunity to raise their grades by writing out the questions they missed with an analysis including the location in the text where they found the answer, and a reason why they got it wrong."
-- Eloise Farmer, Torrington High School, Torrington, Connecticut. 4/21/99
Answer 4: "Another lab review idea. I printed all of the lab quizzes from the lab bench at The Biology Place. I gave a copy to my students and gave them a month to go back over all 12 labs at the Web site and take the lab quizzes. They get a chance to go through key concepts, lab design, and so on. Then a few days before the AP I will give a lab final. I will take questions from the 12 lab quizzes and modify them, and use them as the test. All of my kids are doing this, even those kids that are not taking the test. They all did the labs, so why not? You do not have to print all of the quizzes, it would be lots of paper. They can do it online. For those of you that do not subscribe to the Biology Place, you can get a free one-week subscription for your students. Go to the site and follow the directions. If you do not have a subscription, a free week would be a big bonus for review for the AP Exams."
-- Ruth Tummey, Southern Regional High School, Manahawkin, New Jersey. 4/11/00
Answer 5: "Something I am trying this year is giving an old exam, sorting out the areas that are the most trouble for each kid, then assigning each a half hour review on the topic. Kids are being pretty creative; most are doing the required handout as well as overheads; some are actually doing PowerPoint stuff (which of course they must leave in my computer). On the lab question, have the kids ready to deal with any question that is lab-based. Remind them to actually state what their control is (and even use the word control correctly), what the dependent and independent variables are, what they expect to happen, a good set of biological reasons as to why they expect that set of results, and what they'd do depending on the results to continue their study. I gave up long ago (been trying to get AP Biology right for 15 years) trying to guess the essays. If you taught 'em a bunch of biology and they don't panic, they'll be fine.
P.S. Try using PSAT scores (if your kids take them). There is a real neat technical research paper available on the collegeboard.org site that examines the link between PSAT scores and success on the biology exam."
-- David Hall, Martin County High School, Stuart, Florida. 5/2/00
* 1999 AP BIOLOGY EXAM KEYED TO THE COURSE OUTLINE *
After taking the multiple-choice section of the 1999 AP Biology exam, circle the numbers of the questions that you missed or did not answer. Use this information to find your areas of weakness, if any.
Data interpretation 104 105 106 110 - MOLECULES AND CELLS
- Chemistry of Life
Water 116
Organic molecules in organisms 19
Free Energy changes 14
Enzymes 65 66 67 68 - Cells
Prokaryotic / Eukaryotic Cells 23 29
Membranes 17 31 57 114 115
Subcellular organization 5 7 18 63
Cell Cycle and its regulation 32 - Cell Energetics
Coupled reactions 41 61 85
Fermentation and cellular respiration 16 49 83 86
Photosynthesis 45 82 84 - GENETICS AND EVOLUTION:
- Heredity Meiosis and gametogenesis 15
Eukaryotic chromosomes 2 3
Inheritance Patterns 9 11 28 43 51 56 102 103 - Molecular Genetics
RNA and DNA structure/function 92 93 94 95
Gene regulation, Mutations
Viral structure and replication 22
Nucleic acid technology and applications 38 96 97 98 99 111 112 113 - Evolutionary Biology
Early evolution of life 39
Evidence for evolution 13 44 53
Mechanisms of evolution 8 20 54 - ORGANISMS AND POPULATIONS:
- Diversity of Organisms
Evolutionary patterns 46 64
Survey of the diversity of life 26 34 42 55 60
Plant diversity 33 47
Animal diversity 59 107 108 109
Phylogenetic classification 87 88 89 90 91 - Structure and Function of Plants and Animals
Plant Reproduction and Development 30 69 71 72
Animal Reproduction and Development 25 74 75 76 77 100 101
Plant structural, physiological, 35 48 52 70 73 and behavioral adaptations
Animal structural, physiological, 12 27 37 40 58 and behavioral adaptations
Response to the environment 6 21 24 36 50 - Ecology
Population dynamics 117 118 119 120
Ecosystems and Communities 1 10 78 79 80 81
Global Issues 4 Prepared by: David Hall, AP Biology (with apologies to Lois Peterson)
Answer 6: "...Give the kids a bunch of recent essays to work on as homework, and then go over how they are graded in class. I have found that students have a hard time understanding what the essay questions are asking and can use practice in 'interpreting' and then formulating a good answer. Also be sure to give your kids a released part one, and if possible the correct amount of time to take it in (90 minutes). Hope this helps, and good luck!"
-- Anne Soos, Stuart Country Day School, Princeton, NJ.3/25/01
Answer 7: "I do a review which includes taking and reviewing (in class) four previous multiple choice AP Biology tests (available from the AP site). I also furnish with each test a master key that allows each student to identify the area that needs the most work. (This key puts question numbers in the appropriate AP syllabus curricular area.) These keys were published here and are archived. We have review sessions after school (in the evening, I supply pizza) Later we go over how to write an essay question, with particular emphasis on experimental design. Students seem to get a lot out of this, and the group discussion surrounding how they answered the multiple-choice questions is beneficial for everyone, even the teacher! I also recommend that the students get an AP Biology review guide (Cliff Notes, Barrons, Princeton Review, and so on). If they haven't yet, they need to get it now, as bookstores (even Amazon.com) tend to run out as the date for the exam approaches. But, keep in mind that nothing takes the place of the student putting out effort throughout the year."
-- Linda Wichers, Birmingham Seaholm High School, Birmingham, Michigan. 3/25/01
Answer 8: "I usually begin reviewing materials with the students in March. We complete practice exams and go over portions at review sessions that I hold after school. Those students who take part in them usually show a noticeable increase in their understanding and an increase in score. I highly recommend using the Cliff Notes as a review as well. But really, I have found that the most useful reviews are those in which I use the actual old exams and time the students. This gives them a clear idea of the pace at which they need to work. Those students who have not taken AP tests before are surprised at the speed they must go to complete questions. Another good thing to do is to share 'tips' with the students. I have some AP test taking tips that I received from someone else. I will try to dig them out and send them along as soon as possible. The students need to realize that answering the questions without using process of elimination on questions that they are not real comfortable with is harmful in terms of score. They also need to know how to work quickly on the essays. I also have a list of tips for them. I was an AP reader last year and I learned a great deal about guiding students in their writing. Make sure that they have read the questions, and that they answer them in segments as indicated."
-- Michelle Harman, Northern High School, Accident, Maryland. 3/26/01
Answer 9: "My review has evolved over the years. I also give the exams that have been released so that they get the flavor of what the real exam is like. We grade them and estimate what their AP grade would be, 1-5. I usually give one at the beginning and one at the end of the review so that we can see how the review has improved their scores. I think it is important for the students to realize that it is possible for them to be successful on the AP Exams. I try to show them with the first practice test that their score can be improved with a little review and study. I also give in-class, open-note and book tests over terms one, two, and three. Other AP classes in my school are giving daily in-class tests that are not open-book. If I don't have some way of making them go back over the material, they won't, especially when the tests they are getting in review in other classes count as full test grades. The open-note/open-book test is my concession to how busy they are and an attempt to get them to review in the least stressful way possible.
In addition, I do an active verbal review of major concepts (especially those from the first of the year). Most of the time I let the kids direct what those topics are. They almost always pick respiration, photosynthesis, DNA structure, protein synthesis, Hardy-Weinberg principle and problems, organic compounds structure and function, and similar topics. Most years I have a Saturday morning review for about three hours around the middle of March to jump-start their review process. My evaluation that I require at the end of the term always has comments like, 'I should have started studying earlier.' It doesn't matter how many times I share that little nugget of information with them, they always say it because they are so busy, tired, and burned out by the time they get to the end of the year."
-- Tricia Glidewell, Marist School, Atlanta, Georgia. 3/26/01
Answer 10: "I joke that I usually finish teaching oh, about 15 or 20 min. before the test. I have handed out review stuff for them to take home, we all have Cliff Notes and I will do some night sessions. That is about all I can do. I do give one full length multiple-choice test on their lab day a few weeks before the test."
-- Ruth Tummey, Southern Regional High School, Manahawkin, New Jersey. 3/26/01
Answer 11: "As for review books, Cliff Notes appears to be the best. Watch out for the Peterson's. There are errors galore within. I called the editor and she did not even have the courtesy to return my call. I cannot, in good conscience, recommend the Peterson's book. Maybe they should stick to their Guide to the Colleges. I could kick myself for spending (actually wasting) $16.95 on a book that I bought because of name recognition. Borders doesn't really have a place to sit and review books before purchasing. UCLA had a free review session from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, 31 March 2001 and I think it was for all Los Angeles Unified School District kids. I have 16 but we are off-track. We met this past Saturday and I gave them bagels, cream cheese, pan dulce (Mexican sweet bread), Sunny Delight, coffee, hot chocolate, Champurrado (Mexican hot chocolate thickened with ground white corn meal -- I went to a tortilleria at 6:00 a.m. in East Los Angeles to buy it fresh and hot), and cookies, and we had a productive review. After the exam, lunch is on me, not on the same day because I have my other classes, but I will offer them a Kosher or authentic Chinese meal. The school is 95 percent Latino but I believe in multiculturalism and so do they."
-- Stuart D. Schnell, John C. Fremont High School, Los Angeles, California. 3/26/01
Answer 11: "I aim to finish by the beginning of the first week in May since the first week of the exams most of my students are taking other exams. The students take a full test over two to three days and then use the results to focus their studying. I do hold a one-day review, usually the Saturday before the exam, to go over major basics."
-- Robin Groch, San Ramon Valley High School, Danville, California. 3/26/01
Answer 12: "I am also a first year teacher and hoping that I will have time to review the two weeks prior to the test. I appreciate all the advice I can find. This List Serv has been great! My tests all year have been timed and I include an old essay or essay very similar to them on each test (we actually have to split the test into two days since we have 55-minute classes). I also provide an extra credit essay for them to do prior to the next test for extra credit; it really helps to boost the test scores if they do it, and the exposure to the essays has been very good for them. I emphasize that the essays offer lots more 'points' then the 10 maximum they could receive, and that they should spew out any and all information they have about the subject without getting wordy. (Doesn't sound possible, does it? But they have gotten very good at not mincing words and getting to the point.)
Most have chosen to purchase the Cliff Notes and we will use that more often during review. I am also coming up with a form for each lab. What is the purpose? The hypothesis? The experiment? And each part of an experiment? Expected outcomes? I also want to give them one extra idea for testing the hypothesis that the College Board experiments do not use. This sounds like a lot, but I always think I can cover more than I can. Give them bagels and hot chocolate and a mint for luck the morning of the exam, and relax! It is almost over for a year and you can start planning your changes for next year!"
-- Barbara Griffin, Clay High School, Orange Park, Florida. 3/26/01
Answer 13: "This is my first year as well for AP Biology. I am planning one 'AP' test using the 1999 released exam multiple-choice section during the lab period one week prior to the exam under timed conditions. During that week, I also plan to review their previous labs with respect to lab design, results, and possible variations to the lab design. Every lecture test this year has been formulated to replicate the AP Exam experience. I use about 27 to 30 questions from the Campbell test bank and one of the previous AP essays. I score the multiple-choice section in the manner of the AP exam and deduct one-quarter point for each incorrect response from the number of correct responses. This is then added to the rubric score for the essay and then normalized (curved). This trains them to think of possible essay questions and how to eliminate distracters from the multiple-choice section. During the review of the results, I show them the rubric from the actual essay to teach them how the readers will score their responses."
-- Harry Padden, Washington Twp High School, Sewell, New Jersey. 3/26/01
Tip: "... Just a reminder, you can subscribe to the Biology Place for a free one- week trial period. It has all 12 labs in detail (along with tons of other great stuff for AP). It makes a wonderful review. There are practice tests and more. You can link to it under 'See also,' below -- from there just follow the directions."
-- Ruth Tummey, SRSD, Manahawkin, New Jersey. 3/28/01
Question: "What are the best study guides or aids for AP Biology?"
Answer 1: "I've used the Cliff Notes book the last four years, and the students love it. It costs the students $10 each, and every student gets one. They bring them to class instead of the monstrous textbook, and they highlight the heck out of them. If the book lasts to the AP Exam date in May, they are lucky. Often the bindings give way due to overuse. It's one of the best purchases the students can make. I just purchased a batch of Cliff Notes (2nd Ed.) today. The company I've use the last few years is Hungry Minds (formerly IDG Publishing) at 1-800-228-4078. The ISBN is 0764586823 and it costs $16.99. If you ask for the education discount, the following applies: one-24 books, 25 percent off list; 25-49 books, 35 percent off list; 50-99 books, 40 percent off list; and 100-plus books, 45 percent off list. I haven't seen the new edition, but I've been very happy with the first edition."
-- Dale Morejon, Gilroy High School, Gilroy, California. 2/02/01
Answer 2: "I ordered some of these second edition manuals and got them the day before my students had their final for my class. They walked in the next day saying that this would be their new 'bible.' They all had wonderful praise. My students last year had nothing but the highest praise for the first edition and this seems to be true for this new edition. The new edition is larger in height and width, (but not thickness), and has thinner paper (like any normal Barron's or Princeton Review book). After my final the students said it helped enormously."
-- Adrian Castro, John Muir High School, Pasadena, California. 2/03/01
Answer 3: "I, too, vote for Cliff Notes AP Biology review.¿ I just bought the Princeton Review's 'Cracking the AP Biology Exam' and was disappointed -- most practice test questions I would have rewritten and it had many incorrect items including diagrams that were incomplete."
-- Carolyn Schofield, Robert E. Lee High School Tyler, Texas. 5/14/99
Answer 4: "To those looking into purchasing the Cliff's Review Book (the 2nd Ed. that just came out in January): A month ago, somebody through this List Serv recommended going through Hungry Minds to order the review book. I ordered this afternoon (800)-228-4078 and was pleasantly surprised to hear that the educational discount for the nine books I purchased was actually 52 percent! The list price is $16.99, but the book only cost $8.15 per copy (plus 5 percent shipping). Essentially, I got nine copies for a total of $77.07. Eleven dollars for the book is an excellent deal! I certainly recommend going through Hungry Minds. It is a useful review and very cost-efficient."
-- PJ Foley, Avon Old Farms School, Avon, Connecticut. 3/28/01
Answer 5: "I bought three different review books for my students to check out for review. I have Cliff Notes, Princeton's Review and Barons. My students all go for the Cliffs first and a couple of them have bought their own copy. They seem to like it. "
-- A. Prybylski, Westminster Schools, Atlanta, Georgia. 5/17/99
Answer 6: "Barbara Berthelsen did a fantastic job with the third edition of the D & S Marketing study guide. I recommend it at all the workshops I do. I too, like the Cliff Notes, but the D&S is especially good because she has it organized thematically."
-- Bobbie Hinson, Providence Day School, Charlotte, North Carolina. 1/14/99
Answer 7: "I have had very good responses with the D&S review tests. I give the first test at the end of the first semester and the others over the next term. After each test, we go over the answers, especially the reasons for choosing A or B. The students come in after school and I ask, 'Anyone want the explanation for number one?' We go through the ones that people ask for. My students say that the tests give them excellent preparation."
-- Margery Weitkamp, James Monroe High School, North Hills, California. 1/14/99
Answer 8: "Last year was my first year teaching AP Biology and I had my students purchase the (D & S Marketing) books. Using those books I gave them three practice AP Exams, supplementing the multiple choice with four free responses from past AP Exams. I had a 90 percent passing rate on the AP Exam. I have found that some of the questions in their sample exams are more content-driven than the published AP Exams from the College Board but they do help the students review all that material."
-- Pebble Barbero, Highland Park High School, Dallas, Texas. 12/29/00
Question: "How is the AP Exam scored concerning the multiple choice vs. the essays?"
Answer: "Do you have a 1994 test booklet? On one page near the back of that book (containing the 1994 multiple-choice questions and the essays asked that year, too) there is a set of formulas for scoring that test. The multiple-choice part comprises 60 percent of the score and the essay part makes up 40 percent of the score. The test is graded on the basis of 150 composite points. That means that 90 of the points come from the multiple choice (90 is 60 percent of 150) and 60 come from essay. To get 120 multiple-choice questions to equal 90 points, multiply the number of correct multiple-choice questions by .75 (you can go ahead and subtract the one-quarter point for each incorrect answer before multiplying). Each essay question is worth 10 points for a total of 40 points (10 points times four essays). Multiply each essay point by 1.5 to get the essay to count 40 percent of the total points. The cutoffs for 1994 are on that same page. They were something like: 101-150 = 5, 80-100 = 4 and so on. The cutoffs change slightly from one year to the next but are very close."
-- Tricia Glidewell, Marist School, Atlanta, Georgia. 2/23/99
Question: "If you are an ESL student, do you get extra time on the AP Exam?"
Answer: "A student cannot receive extra time for this. Only students with learning disabilities can receive special accommodations. If you have any further questions, call AP Services at (888)-CALL-4-AP."
-- ETS staff, Princeton, New Jersey. 3/22/99
Tip: "I have taught AP for three years, so I am a relative novice. However, my students consistently do well. What I do is 'teach to the test.' We use Campbell 5th Ed., by the way, but I will tell you that only my most motivated students actually read all of the text. What I do, however, is model each test after the AP. We have block scheduling, but any schedule will work. First, you calculate how many minutes you have in a class period. Then, subtract 23 minutes for one essay question. For the balance of your test, figure three-quarters of a minute for each essay question, then make the essay questions hard, five choices (use Campbell test bank if you have it), and use the number of multiple-choice questions required to exactly finish the class period, less the essay question. Then, use an essay question from any old AP, plus the appropriate number of multiple choice. When the time is up, it's up, no exceptions. Grade the essay according to the AP rubrics for that question (questions and rubrics available on the College Board site).
At the beginning of the school year, students did terrible, because they were not used to this kind of test. By the end, however, this kind of test was 'old hat,' and they all felt ready. The AP Exam was hard, but not frightening because they knew what to expect (90 percent of my kids got 3 or above). The most interesting thing was that, with two exceptions, the grades in the class exactly paralleled the AP scores! So, I think this technique works, and is a good predictor of performance on the AP exam. I don't like to say 'teach to the test,' but my personal feeling is that if you call a course 'AP,' it is your charge to prepare students to take the AP Exams. That means, to me, not just knowing the content necessary to succeed, but knowing how to take an AP Exam. Whatever your approach, try to incorporate how to take the test into your curriculum: it can only help your students."
-- Linda Wichers, Seaholm High School, Birmingham, Michigan. 7/25/00
Question: "Telling kids to skip multiple-choice questions if they have no idea is supposed to help them score better on the exam. There must be a minimum of the 120 questions that kids must answer. Does anyone know how many they can skip without having their score jeopardized? Along those lines, does anyone use this strategy of skipping multiple-choice questions throughout the year on regular in-class exams to simulate the real test?"
Answer 1: "I'm not sure what (is) meant by 'a minimum of 120 questions.' There are 120 multiple-choice questions, totaling 60 percent of the exam. The remaining 40 percent are based on scores on four 10-point free-response questions. The way in which the multiple-choice portion score is calculated is the number right minus one-quarter of the number wrong. There is no way to answer your question about how many can be omitted without jeopardizing one's score. That depends on how many of the ones that a student answers are correct, as well as how well he/she does on the four free response questions. I urge her (and anyone else) to study the explanations near the rear of the published exams (1994, 1999). That should help.
No, on regular tests, I do not score the multiple choice by the 'right minus one-quarter wrong' formula. However, I give a semester exam that simulates the three-hour AP Biology exam in May, in which I do use the 'right minus one-quarter wrong' formula and count that as 60 percent of their uncurved scores. I total the number of points earned out of a possible 40 for the free-response questions, and weigh that 40 percent. Then I play with numbers and do some mumbo jumbo to predict what sort of a score (1 through 5) this uncurved grade would earn. I use a linear scale that ends up roughly giving grades in the 90s to students who earn a 5, 80s for students with a 4, and so on. The correlation between this 1-5 score (which I assign to the student's January exams) and the score that they earn in May has always been quite good. It is almost never off by more than plus/minus 1 point (on the 5-point scale). I've been doing this for years. It gives my students confidence that they will be able to do well in May if they continue to apply themselves. It takes some doing to get the administrators to let me give a three-hour exam, but they've gotten used to it. Moreover, other AP teachers at my school have begun to follow suit."
-- Barbara Beitch, Hamden Hall Country Day School, Hamden, Connecticut. 12/30/00
Answer 2: "Students lose 1.25 points for every incorrect answer. This is done to compensate for the occasional correct 'guess.' Students only lose one point for an unanswered question, leading to all kinds of strategies to maximize results on those questions where the student isn't sure or hasn't a clue. I tell my students to consider a guess if they can rule out two or more of the distracters. They get plenty of practice in this decision-making strategy because all of my unit tests are structured and graded like the real thing. I find that it leads to higher stress levels in August and September but much lower levels in May when it counts."
-- David Campbell, Ridgeview High School, Orange Park, Florida. 12/30/00
Answer 3: "As to number right less one-quarter number wrong, I do not do this for the first semester. I feel that my students have enough trouble just learning how to take an AP-level test. However, as I feel that 'guessing' is a 'learned' art, second semester, all their multiple-choice exams are graded correct/one-quarter incorrect. They have the opportunity to review their tests and discover how good they are at guessing. After seven weeks of this, they have refined their skills and are more able to judge whether or not to 'guess' on a question. I have found that this really helps; students have no practice in deciding whether or not to actually answer a question in high school classes; they are used to answering all the questions and hoping for the best. When they actually take the 'real' exam, many panic and do not answer even enough questions to get a 3 on the exam! After practicing not answering all the questions, students have told me that they are much more confident about which answers to leave blank. I give a real AP as a practice exam just before the real thing, and scores on that nearly always match the 'real' score. In addition, I furnish students with a review packet of old AP Exams and key, plus topic correlation keys (these list question numbers on the old exams by topic; students can, after taking these exams, see what areas of study need the most work)."
-- Linda Wichers, Birmingham Seaholm High School, Birmingham, Michigan. 12/30/00
Question: "Do you counsel students to try and answer all the multiple choice questions on the AP Exam or to skip those they do not know?"
Answer 1: "Try to find a copy of the 1999 Released Exam Booklet (actually earlier years will also do) published by the College Board and turn to page 96, Table 4.2 -- Scoring Worksheet. Play with different numbers on the worksheet and compare them to the Conversion Chart. You will get a good idea from that exercise that students can miss quite a sizable number of questions and still be successful on the exam. (Note: when you are using the multiple choice multiplier, use 0.75 not 0.7563. The latter multiplier was necessary in 1999 only because one of the 120 questions was dropped, resulting in only 119 multiple-choice questions being scored.)
-- Fred Brown, West Hartford, Connecticut. 1/2/01
Answer 2: "I tell my students to not skip more than 10 percent of the questions asked. I structure all of my unit/chapter tests like a mini AP Exam using retired questions for free response, and mix of retired and 'test bank' questions for multiple choice. I have a 90-minute testing period so I ask multiple-choice and two essay questions on each unit test. I apply the standards to the free response and grade the exam just as the 'real' exam. I expect 75 percent mastery on the multiple choice and 50 percent mastery on the free response, and equate those points to a 5 or a 100 in my grade book. Example: 60 questions times .75 = 45 points and 20 free points times .5 = 10 points. That means I expect 55 points for an A.
I should weigh them evenly, but historically, my kids struggle with multiple choice and sail through free response, so I like the multiple choice counting more. It's not uncommon for my best students to score above a 100 on a test using this method -- it makes up for my killer vocabulary quizzes! It also keeps those that pray to the GPA gods enrolled in my class. This has worked very well for me for over a decade -- my kids perform well in May. I also use this in AP Chemistry with equal success and (gasp) AP Physics. My kids feel confident and comforted when they march into the exam in May! Good luck!"
-- Rene' McCormick, Carroll High School, Southlake, Texas. 1/2/01
Question: "I know the essays need to be answered in essay format, but can a student use a bulleted list within an essay format?"
Answer 1: "I wouldn't recommend a list. However, if one is used all the items in the list should be explained. Diagrams can also be used but must be accompanied with an explanation. I assume that lists, like diagrams, can be used only to enhance what the student is trying to say."
-- Valerie Sumner, Otterville R-VI, Otterville, Missouri. 4/27/01
Answer 2: "As a rookie reader last year, this is my advice: Reply in the format that is requested. If the question is not asking for a bulleted list, do not answer in that format. These are essay questions unless otherwise specified. Listing steps of a procedure might be the exception -- or steps in a process. But, in either case, the list should be surrounded with relevant narrative rather than being a stand-alone list. It's the same with illustrations. I tell my students that they should read and reread the question -- briefly organize/outline and write only what is asked for -- assuming that the reader does not have any inside information regarding the student's knowledge of the subject. Stick to facts. To practice, I suggest that you have students use the old essays and then score each other's using rubrics that AP provides. Highlight the 'scorable' portions in one color, the correct-but-not-relevant-to-question answers in another color, and the items that have nothing to do with the question in a third color. This quickly shows the students what is and is not necessary to score on the free response."
-- Michelle Harman, Northern High School, Accident, Maryland. 4/28/01
Question: "My students want to know if they can use different colored pens on graphs and illustrations (on the AP Exam)? Does anyone know if this is allowed?"
Answer 1: "The question is not if this is allowed, but what would be the point? A color graph or picture is not worth any more than a monochrome graph or picture. Having different colors would slow down the process of essay writing for the students, and the student is already limited to 22.5 minutes per essay. In nine years of essay reading, I have not seen an essay where a color diagram or graph would have made any difference.
More important would be to spend the first few minutes reading the question, underlining the points to be answered, and writing a short outline. Twenty minutes of organized thoughts is much more effective than 22.5 minutes of disorganized thoughts. Any diagram (or drawing) needs to be sufficiently discussed in the essay body to receive any credit, and can only be supplemental or 'extension.'
There are still a few teachers who are having students underline or highlight what they consider to be 'point words.' As a rule, you no longer get a point for simply mentioning something, as was common in the 1970s and early 1980s. The students usually highlight the wrong words, making it harder to read the essay. Even though every essay, irrespective of neatness, grammar, spelling, penmanship, grasp of the English language or use of inappropriate writing instruments, is given a fair read, the student always benefits more from neat, concise, and clear over bells and whistles. For those of you who know me, I can only explain my presence on the reading team as a clerical error that keeps getting worse each year."
-- Israel Solon, Greenhill School, Dallas, Texas. 5/9/01
Answer 2: "From the back of the test booklet: 'You are to write your answers in this book only, preferably in black or dark blue ink. Be sure to write clearly and legibly. If you make an error, you may save time by crossing out rather than trying to erase it.' Students will not be penalized for writing with different colored pens."
-- Rob Cannon, UNC-Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina. 5/9/01
Question: "I try my best to prepare the students for the exam. This year's essays looked to be well chosen, except that I have been told at all the AP workshops I go to that students will have an essay that requires them to completely design a lab. This year there was an essay that asked students to interpret and analyze lab results, but did not ask for any lab design. Should I be insisting that students design a lab, from start to finish, throughout the year, or am I wasting their time?"
Answer 1: "You are not wasting anyone's time if you do that. You are wasting kids time if you don't! All good science courses should be asking kids to design their own investigations. You can't sacrifice the quality of a course for the sake of 'covering things' or playing the 'guess the AP Exam game.' "
-- Scott Stein, Springside School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 6/3/01
Answer 2: "In the past there were questions that asked students to construct a lab. They do not do this every single year, but often enough to keep us on our toes with regard to teaching this skill."
-- Bruce Faitsch, Guilford High School, Guilford, Connecticut. 6/4/01
Question: "What are good tips on getting the kids to write decent essays?"
Answer 1: "Most summer institutes or one-day workshops devote about an hour-and-a-half to tips for doing the essays. See if you can find yourself one up there. If you've never had a session on how the essays are read and graded, it can be very enlightening. Anyway, here area few tidbits: - The student needs to read and understand the whole question before beginning to frame an answer.
- A short outline (three or four brief lines) will ensure the student that he/she will apportion the right amount of time to answer each part of the question.
- The student needs to respond to the question. While it's true that in many cases 'wrong' information won't detract from the answer, just doing a brain dump in the hope of getting lucky wastes valuable time. A detailed, concise description of the Calvin Cycle, for example, is not relevant to this year's question three and won't get any credit. I haven't seen the Calvin Cycle specifically, but I have seen other examples of brain dumping.
- Diagrams and pictures are helpful when they support the written material. A picture will not stand by itself. Lists are only useful if the question asks for a list. If the question asks for a description or explanation, a list will not cut it.
- Readers are not looking for specific words or phrases. Some students are still underlining or highlighting what they feel are the 'key' words that are worth points. They usually guess wrong. It just makes the answer harder to read.
- When the readers are not deciding the fate of 91,000 students, we are teachers in the trenches. Our motto is 'every paper is a student.' We try to be fair and considerate with every paper, knowing that it represents a teenager trying to spill his/her guts in 1.5 hours of everything they should have learned during the senior year (in most cases). On the other hand, we need to assure that when colleges look at the essays (and many of them do) they will agree with us that a certain essay indeed was written on a college level deserving of an 8 or 9."
-- Israel Solon, Greenhill School, Dallas, Texas. 6/4/01
Answer 2: "Richard Patterson at Athens Academy did a workshop in this neck of the woods a few years back and provided his 'Tips for Writing Essays', which is excellent. The best one of the bunch was, 'The first thing that you should do is carefully read the question. The second thing that you should do is carefully read the question, and the third thing that you should do is carefully read the question.' "
-- Bruce Faitsch, Guilford High School, Guilford, Connecticut. 6/5/01
Question: "Having some of the lab answers on the College Board Web site is a terrific temptation for the students. I questioned the College Board in September about this and the reply was along the lines of 'it's helpful for the students to check their answers.' Later on in the year when I protested again, the Board indicated that it was reviewing the situation. Since we were using the kits from Ward's (very, very helpful!), I was able to substitute some of the questions for those in the kits. The published answers did provide a unique opportunity to discuss plagiarism and 'the shortcut' with the class. Having the rubrics on line (at other sites) poses the same problem for someone like me who likes to use the exam essays as homework or a take-home quiz. Any suggestions?"
Answer 1: "As a first year AP teacher, I know that these resources were most beneficial to me, as I tried to obtain rubrics for sample essays as well as assistance in some of the labs. My feeling is that temptation exists in all forms, and if the students are taking the class for the content and not just the grade then they will be able to resist that temptation. I know that we will all have some students who choose to take the easier pathway, but as a whole I would not want to make it any more challenging for other new teachers as they search for resources. As I remember, there have been many requests for this material during the past year and the persons making the requests have been sent to the College Board site."
-- Steve Rierson, Hopkins High School, Hopkins, Michigan. 6/5/01
Answer 2: "In September 2001, revised versions of the AP Biology Lab Manual for Students and the AP Biology Lab Manual for Teachers will be published. The new teacher manual will include answers to all of the lab questions included in the student version."
-- AP Program, ETS, 7/16/01
Comments on 2001 Test: "The fact that the questions offered choices and had broad objectives did make them easier. Since most students felt comfortable writing all four essays, they really did have to budget their time. There are years when students will focus on three questions and only give the fourth a token few minutes. The objective was to give questions consistent with the 'less is more' policy, allowing students, for example, to select their choice of structures to show understanding of structure-function rather than giving them no choice and hoping they covered those structures. I have also found the questions take longer to grade because we are looking for understanding rather than buzz words or factoids."
-- Israel Solon, Greenhill School, Dallas, Texas. 6/4/01
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