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The AP German Language Exam
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Exam Content
The AP German program has undergone many changes since it was first introduced. The first AP German Exam, called Intermediate German, was administered in 1957. In 1959, Advanced German was added, and four years later, Intermediate German was eliminated altogether. The course and exam included both language and literature components until 1980, when AP German Language and AP German Literature were introduced. The AP German Literature Exam was dropped in 1983.
The AP German Language Exam measures students' language skills, both in understanding written and spoken German and in responding with ease in correct and idiomatic German. With the exception of directions, German is used exclusively in the exam materials and in student responses.
As of the 2004 exam administration, the AP German Language Exam no longer contains modified cloze exercises in the multiple-choice section of the exam. In addition, a reading passage has been added to the reading comprehension section of the exam. Changes in the format have led to an overall decrease in the exam administration time while allowing students more time to complete the reading section. These changes have led to an overall improvement in the ratio of reading to writing exercises on the exam as a whole, while allowing for an increased range in the reading selections.
The exam is approximately two and one-half hours long, and consists of two sections. Listening and reading are tested in the multiple-choice section (Section I); writing and speaking are tested in the free-response section (Section II).
- Listening skills are tested in two ways. First, students are asked to listen to a series of brief exchanges between two speakers, after which they select the most appropriate rejoinder from the four choices printed in their exam booklets. Second, students listen to a series of recorded dialogues or brief monologues, then respond to several questions about what they have just heard.
- Reading skills are tested via reading comprehension passages. Each reading comprehension passage is followed by a number of incomplete statements or questions; students are asked to select the completion or answer that is most appropriate for the passage.
- In the writing section of the exam, students demonstrate their lexical and grammatical proficiency by filling in omitted words or phrases within a short passage, similar to a cloze passage. They are also asked to show their ability to express ideas in written German by writing a 40-minute composition on a given topic.
- The speaking part of the exam consists of two kinds of exercises: directed responses and a picture sequence. The former consists of a number of questions or directions to which students are asked to respond; the latter includes a series of drawings printed in the exam booklet, which students look at and then tell the story depicted in the drawings.
Important Notice
The College Board and the AP German Language Development Committee have released an updated statement regarding the German spelling reform: The AP German Development Committee will adhere to the German spelling reform (Rechtschreibreform) that went into effect in August 2006. Materials produced for the AP German Language course and exam will use the new spelling, and the committee expects instructors to teach according to the new rules. Beginning with the 2012 exam, students will be required to follow the new spelling rules. Depending on copyright permission, some reading texts appearing on the exam may adhere to the old spelling rules and will be identified as such.
Multiple-Choice Questions
For sample multiple-choice questions, refer to the Course Description.
 AP German Language Course Description (.pdf/2.2KB)
Free-Response Questions
Below are free-response questions from past AP German Language Exams. Included with the questions are scoring guidelines, sample student responses, and commentary on those responses, as well as exam statistics and the Student Performance Q&A (Chief Reader's Report) for past administrations.
2009: Free-Response Questions
2008: Free-Response Questions
2007: Free-Response Questions
2006: Free-Response Questions
2005: Free-Response Questions
2004: Free-Response Questions
2003: Free-Response Questions
Important Note: PDF Files
The links to exam questions for this course are in Adobe® PDF format, and you will need to use the Adobe® Acrobat® Reader® to view them. If you don't have Acrobat Reader 4.0 or higher installed on your computer, choose the link for the Adobe Web site below for installation instructions. For help downloading and printing PDF files, choose the link "PDF Troubleshooting" below in "See also."
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