As we have done for the last several years after the AP® results are in, we have catalogued tweets from Trevor Packer, the College Board® Head of AP, as pertain to results for AP math and science classes. This information is publicly available – we have simply organized it as pertaining to “STEM” classes.  These are really important tidbits of information for students taking an AP class in 2019/2020, who should consider where students from previous years tended to have trouble. This is what Mr. Packer had to say, with tweets organized by course. Please also compare with our previous blogs from last 3 years, “Some info about 2016 AP® Test results” (link here) and “Some info about 2017 AP® Test results” (link here), and “Some info about 2018 AP® Test results” (link here)

First, these general remarks from 2016, 2017, and 2018:
Trevor Packer ‏@AP_Trevor June 12, 2017 When I report perfect scores, note that other perfect scores may emerge as late exams are scored, so the numbers are not final.

Trevor Packer ‏@AP_Trevor June 13 2016 As a reminder, AP Exams aren’t graded on a curve. So when more students demonstrate mastery, the percentage of 3s,4s,5s increases.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 15, 2017 Students can check colleges’ and universities’ AP credit policies here, but should always confirm with the schools (Link Here).

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 19, 2017 (1/2) For all AP exams, profs + psychometricians shift points needed up /down depending on difficulty of questions. (wikipedia: equating)

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 19, 2017 (2/2) Thus any variations in exam difficulty=removed, so AP scores changes each yr reflect changes in student ability, not changes in rigor.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 22, 2017 This online community is where AP teachers discuss teaching strategies, share resources, and connect: Link Here

Trevor Packer‏ @AP_Trevor May 24, 2018 85% of selective colleges and universities report that a student’s AP experience favorably impacts admission decisions (link here).

Trevor Packer‏ @AP_Trevor May 30, 2018 Counselors: Find tips on counseling first-generation college students (link here).

Trevor Packer‏ @AP_Trevor Jun 7, 2018 The AP Potential tool helps educators open the world of AP to academically qualified students who may otherwise be overlooked (link here).

Trevor Packer‏ @AP_Trevor Jun 12, 2018 A few other hypotheses from teachers about why AP Env Sci scores are generally lower than other subjects’: students not taking standard pre-req high school Bio & Chem classes first; not focusing on the mathematics in a college-level environmental science class; too much content.

Trevor Packer‏ @AP_Trevor Jun 19, 2018 There is still time to register for the AP Annual Conference in Houston, TX on 7/19-22. The Conference is your chance to connect with teachers of all 38 AP courses, AP Chief Readers, AP coordinators, and more (link here).

Trevor Packer‏ @AP_Trevor Jun 27, 2018 If you want to collaborate with AP teachers around the globe, the AP Teacher Community platform provides a great opportunity to share resources and discuss all things AP. Learn how to get started: link here

And some general remarks for 2019:
Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 10, 2019 AP exams aren’t scored on a curve or norm-referenced. This means that the percentage of exams earning scores of 3s, 4s, and 5s can increase each year if a greater proportion of students demonstrates mastery of the material. And the scores decrease if not.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 13, 2019 AP Physics 1 performance: the biggest barrier to higher performance remains Q4, which requires students to write a paragraph explaining a physics concept. 20,000 students earned high scores on this question; 40,000 didn’t even attempt it, scoring 0/7 pts.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 13, 2019 Students need more support developing and practicing the conceptual understanding of physics required for scores of 3+; to help we’re providing a free AP Physics 1 workbook, student and teacher editions available on our website for AP teachers to download from mid-July.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 13, 2019 The new AP Physics 1 workbook contains 150 new & unique scenarios, for all units in the course, for use as classwork, homework, group assignments or quizzes. Also, from Aug 1, we’re providing free online practice students can access on their phones for every topic in the class.

AP Physics 2

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 13, 2019 This is the 5th year of the AP Physics 2 exam, & each year, student learning & achievement has increased, from ~8% scores of 5 in 2014 to ~12.6% scores of 5 this year. In other words: this year’s AP Physics 2 students have achieved the highest % of scores of 3+ yet for this exam.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 13, 2019 The 2019 AP Physics 2 scores: 5: 12.6%; 4: 19.8%; 3: 31.1%; 2: 27.8%; 1: 8.7%.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 13, 2019 1 student, out of ~25,000 worldwide, earned all 80/80 points possible on this year’s AP Physics 2 exam.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 13, 2019 AP Physics 2 multiple-choice: students demonstrated solid work on “wave models and applications” and “conservation laws” and strong skills in “data analysis and understanding.” Lowest scores were on “interactions between objects” and “plans/implements data collection.”

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 13, 2019 AP Physics 2 free-response: students triumphed over Q2 on circuits. Nearly 20% earned all 12/12 points possible on it. Nice work. The most difficult question was Q4 on optics/fluids/thermal; the mean score was 3.7 out of 10 pts possible. Link here

AP Physics C, Mechanics

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 13, 2019 Yet another subject breaks a record this year: AP Physics C: Mechanics students have earned the highest scores this decade, ~36% (!) scoring a 5, compared to ~27% a decade ago. More than 80% scored 3+. Congrats and thanks. Our infrastructure, current and future, needs you.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 13, 2019 The 2019 AP Physics C: Mechanics scores: 5: 35.9%; 4: 27.2%; 3: 18%; 2: 10.4%; 1: 8.4%.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 13, 2019 1 student so far, out of ~58,000 worldwide, achieved all 90/90 points possible on this year’s AP Physics C: Mechanics exam.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 13, 2019 I’ll report on the two sets of AP Physics C: Mechanics questions taken by the largest number of students. Here are links to the free-response questions in those sets — “Set 1”: link here and “Set 2”: link here

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 14, 2019 AP Physics C: Mechanics free-response results: in both sets, question 3 was somewhat more challenging for students than 1 & 2. Set 2 was slightly easier than Set 1, so Set 2 students must earn 3 more points than Set 1 students to earn a score of 3+.

AP Physics C, Electricity and Magnetism

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 13, 2019 AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism performance is slightly less strong this year than in 2018, but is still very impressive, a higher percentage of 3+ scores than from any of the earlier years of the decade (2010-2017).

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 13, 2019 The 2019 AP Physics: Electricity & Magnetism scores: 5: 34.6%; 4: 22.6%; 3: 13.9%; 2: 17.8%; 1: 11.1%.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 13, 2019 Here are links to the two sets of AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism free-response questions taken by most students. “Set 1”: link here and “Set 2”: link here

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 13, 2019 AP Physics C: E&M free-response results: Q1 & Q3 were slightly more difficult in Set 1; Q2 was more difficult in Set 2. The net: the two sets are remarkably similar in difficulty, the only difference is that Set 1, just a bit easier, requires 1 more point to achieve a 4.

AP Computer Science A

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 14, 2019 Another record broken this year, this time by the AP Computer Science A teachers and students, achieving the highest scores yet in that subject. This is especially impressive since those teachers also provided access to ~5,000 more students this year.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 14, 2019 The 2019 AP Computer Science A scores: 5: 27%; 4: 22.1%; 3: 20.8%; 2: 11.8%; 1: 18.3%.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 14, 2019 A whopping 601 students, out of approximately 70,000 worldwide, earned all 80/80 points possible on this year’s AP Computer Science A exam.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 14, 2019 AP Computer Science A multiple-choice: students scored very well across every topic, but especially on programming fundamentals (of course) and on logic / software engineering / recursion questions.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor Jun 14, 2019 Many students scored exceptionally well on each of the 4 free-response questions. Nearly a third got 9/9 points on Q3 (arraylist processing – delimiters) and more than half earned 8-9 points on Q1 (methods & control – apcalendar): link here

AP Chemistry

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 20, 2019 After 2018’s strongest-yet scores on the AP Chemistry exam, this year’s students had a tough act to follow, but largely maintained last year’s % of exams scoring 3+ due to an especially large increase in scores of 3, while the % of 2s, 4s & 5s declined.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 20, 2019 The 2019 AP Chemistry scores: 5: 10.7%; 4: 16.2%; 3: 27.7%; 2: 23.6%; 1: 21.8%.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 20, 2019 1 student so far, out of ~165,000 worldwide, has achieved all 100/100 points possible on this year’s AP Chemistry exam.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 20, 2019 AP Chemistry multiple-choice: students generally scored especially well on “structure & property relations” questions and science practices 1 (“representations & models”) and 3 (“scientific questioning”), and least well on “kinetics” questions.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 20, 2019 AP Chemistry free-response: students generally scored well on Q1 (urea) and Q4 (KMT & gas laws – carbon dioxide), and found Q3 (analysis sodium carbonate solution) and Q6 (kinetics) much more difficult.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 20, 2019 AP Chemistry FRQ7 is a good predictor of your scores: if you can’t answer any of the 4 points, you’re likely receiving a 1, if you can get 1 point, you’ll likley score a 2, if you can get 2 points, you’ll likely earn a 3, if you can answer 3 points, a 4. Link here

AP Computer Science

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 24, 2019 The 2019 AP Computer Science Principles scores: 5: 13.6%; 4: 21.1%; 3: 38%; 2: 19%; 1: 8.3%.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 24, 2019 234 students so far this year, out of ~86,000 worldwide this year, earned all 100/100 points possible on this year’s AP Computer Science Principles exam.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 24, 2019 AP Computer Science Principles multiple-choice questions: incredibly high performance on questions related to “data & information,” “internet,” & “global impact.” The most challenging questions were on programming, but scores were solid even on those.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 24, 2019 AP Computer Science Principles “Explore” task: 27% earned all 8/8 pts possible; 24% earned 7 pts; 17% earned 6 pts; 12% earned 5 points; 8% earned 4 points; 4% earned 3 points; 4% earned 2 points; 3% earned 1 point; 1% earned 0 points.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 24, 2019 AP Computer Science Principles “Create” task: 14% earned all 8/8 pts possible; 20% earned 7 pts; 19% earned 6 pts; 15% earned 5 points; 12% earned 4 points; 9% earned 3 points; 6% earned 2 points; 3% earned 1 point; 2% earned 0 points

AP Biology

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 24, 2019 AP Biology students achieve an all-time high: in 65 years of AP Biology, this year’s students have earned the highest % of 3+ scores ever, even while teachers have expanded access to 6,000 more students this year.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 24, 2019 The 2019 AP Biology scores: 5: 7.1%; 4: 22.1%; 3: 35.4%; 2: 26.7%; 1: 8.7%.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 24, 2019 1 student so far this year, out of ~265,000 worldwide, has earned all 120/120 points possible on this year’s AP Biology exam.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 24, 2019 AP Biology multiple-choice: students scored exceptionally well on questions about Big Idea 4 (system interactions) and Science Practices 4 (data collection) and 5 (data analysis & evaluation).

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 24, 2019 To increase the percentage of AP Biology students earning 5s, much more proficiency with Science Practice 2 (use of mathematics) is necessary; the free, new resources, available for teachers to unlock for students from Aug 1 this year, provide great help with this skill.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 24, 2019 AP Biology free-response question #2 (investigating protist competition) has five parts; generally, students earning a 3 this year can answer two parts, students earning a 4 can answer three parts, and students earning a 5 can answer four or more parts. link here

AP Calculus AB

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 25, 2019 This year’s AP Calculus AB students demonstrated a slightly stronger mastery than students in 2017 and 2018, so there’s a slight increase in % of exams earning scores of 3+ this year.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 25, 2019 The 2019 AP Calculus AB scores: 5: 18.9%; 4: 18.8%; 3: 20.6%; 2: 23.4%; 1: 18.3%.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 25, 2019 AP Calculus AB multiple-choice: students generally scored highest on questions on “applying the mean value theorem” and lowest on questions about “derivatives as functions” and “interpreting and applying integrals.”

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 25, 2019 AP Calculus AB free-response: students generally scored highest on FRQ1 (modeling rates) and found FRQ4 (modeling with separable diff) the most challenging: Link here

AP Calculus BC

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 25, 2019 Great job, AP Calculus BC teachers and students: this year’s students achieved a significant increase in mastery: ~7,000 more students will earn 5s this year than last; at the same time, access increased by ~5,000 students.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 25, 2019 The 2019 AP Calculus BC scores: 5: 43.2%; 4: 18.5%; 3: 19.8%; 2: 13.6%; 1: 4.9%.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 25, 2019 7 students so far this year, out of ~145,000 worldwide, earned all 108/108 points possible on this year’s AP Calculus BC exam.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 25, 2019 AP Calculus BC multiple-choice: students triumphed over questions on “interpretations and applications of derivates” (EU 2.3); the lowest performance was on questions focused on “derivates as functions” (EU 2.2.).

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 25, 2019 AP Calculus BC students scored very well on FRQ1 (modeling of rates); to score a 5, AP students are typically earning 6/9 points on this question to equal the performance of college calculus students who receive As in the corresponding course. link here

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 25, 2019 The most difficult question on this year’s AP Calculus BC exam? FRQ2: polar-area. ~20% of students scored 0/9 on it. Because it was also difficult for college calculus students, AP students only need to earn 1-2 pnts on it in order to equal the college students and thus score 3+.

AP Statistics

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 26, 2019 In AP Statistics this year, there was an increase in high performance and a significant decline in low performance, even as teachers expanded access to 4,000 more students. The result: more 5s, fewer 1s; in the middle, increases in 2s & 3s, decreases in 4s.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 26, 2019 The 2019 AP Statistics scores: 5: 14.5%; 4: 18%; 3: 26.7%; 2: 19.7%; 1: 21.1%.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 26, 2019 10 students so far this year, out of ~225,000 worldwide, achieved all 100/100 points possible on this year’s AP Statistics exam. (Last year: 1 student got a perfect score.)

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 26, 2019 AP Statistics multiple-choice: as is always the case, students scored much higher on questions about sampling & experimentation than about probability & simulation and statistical inference; to increase 3s,4s,5s, the free, new resources will provide help with these topics.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 26, 2019 AP Statistics free-response questions: students generally scored best on Q2 (sampling & experimentation): Link here

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 26, 2019 AP Statistics Q3 (probability & simulation) can be used to predict your score: it’s a tough 3-part question, so generally: students who can answer 1 part are earning a 3, students answering 2 parts are earning a 4, and students answering all parts correctly are earning a 5.

Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor June 26, 2019 AP Statistics Q6 (statistical inference) is the most difficult on the test, designed to identify A and B students in college; students who can answer part a are often receiving a 4; students who can answer more than part a are often receiving a 5.

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