AP Statistics

The Advanced Placement program has offered students the opportunity to pursue college-level courses while in high school.

Along with the Educational Testing Service, the College Board administered the first AP Statistics exam in May 1997.

Since the number of students required to take statistics in college is almost as large as the number of students required to take calculus, the College Board decided to add an introductory statistics course to the AP program.

Since the prerequisites for such a program doesn't require mathematical concepts beyond those typically taught in a second-year algebra course, the AP program's math offerings became accessible to a much wider audience of high school students.

[8] The course curriculum is organized around four basic skills; the first involves selecting statistical methods and covers 15–23% of the exam.

[13] The exam is three hours long with ninety minutes allotted to complete each of its two sections: multiple-choice and free-response.

[15] The first five of these questions may require twelve minutes each to answer and normally relate to one topic or category.

The sixth question consists of a broad-ranging investigative task and may require approximately twenty-five minutes to answer.

[16] Students' answers to the free-response section are reviewed in early June by readers that include high school and college statistics teachers gathered in a designated location.

[12][17] The readers use a pre-made rubric to assess the answers and normally grade only one question in a given exam.