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2008 AP Chemistry College Comparability Study

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Introduction

AP college comparability studies are conducted periodically.

An AP Chemistry college comparability study was conducted in 2007-2008.

During a college comparability study, a portion of an AP exam is administered to college students.

The results of a college comparability study are considered when setting AP grades.

The study ensures that AP standards are comparable to or higher than the grading standards that are applied by college instructors when evaluating the performance of their own students in corresponding college courses.

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AP Chemistry College Comparability StudyExam Format

Two exams: first-semester topics and second-semester topics

Each exam consists of:25 multiple-choice questions1 free-response question

Each exam is a subset of an exam administered to AP students

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AP Chemistry College Comparability Study

Sample Size

20 colleges/universities

940 exam booklets

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AP Chemistry College Comparability Study Participating Institutions

Amherst College Arkansas State University Baylor University Bucknell University Christopher Newport

University Clemson University Colgate University Davidson College Fordham University North Carolina State

University Oberlin College

Oregon State University University of Arizona University of Chicago University of Houston University of Maryland University of North Carolina

at Chapel Hill University of North Carolina

at Charlotte University of North Texas Vassar College

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AP College Comparability StudyAdministration Procedures

Instructors at each participating institution perform the following tasks:Administer the examGrade the exam using their own standardsAssign exam gradesReport exam and course gradesComplete instructor’s questionnaire (e.g., course title, student background,

motivation of students, weight given to exam, appropriateness of exam content)

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AP College Comparability StudyScoring Procedures

Free-response questions in college student exams are scored by AP Readers.

AP Readers use the same scoring guidelines (rubrics) for college student exams that had been used for grading the AP students’ exams.

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AP College Comparability StudyGrade-Setting Process

Equate college scores to same scale as full AP exam

Calculate average college scores by exam grade for each college (ignore all F’s)

Generate recommended cut score for each AP grade using average exam score obtained by college students earning corresponding letter grade

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AP Chemistry College Comparability Study Results (160-point scale)Colleges AP Students

Exam Grade

Average Composite

Score

AP

Grade

Minimum

Composite Score

Average Composite

Score

A 105 5 107 121

B 85 4 85 95

C 64 3 61 72

D 49 2 42 51

F N/A* 1 0 23* Cases of college students to whom professors assigned an F for either the exam or the course were removed from the analysis.

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AP College Comparability Study Factors that Affect the Location

of Grade Boundaries

Equating Comparability study data Judgment of Chief Reader

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AP ChemistryPercentage of Students Earning

Each AP Grade

AP Grade 2007 2008

5 14.8% 17.8%

4 17.8% 17.5%

3 23.0% 20.0%

2 18.7% 14.4%

1 25.7% 30.3%