AP Statistics
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About the Exam
Exam Overview The AP Statistics Exam will test your understanding of the mathematical concepts covered in the course units, including your ability to use statistical methods and calculate the probability of an outcome. You’ll need to bring a graphing calculator with statistics capabilities to the exam.
Thu, May 4, 2023, 12 PM Local
AP Statistics Exam
This is the regularly scheduled date for the AP Statistics Exam.
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Exam Components
Section 1: multiple choice.
40 questions 1hr 30mins 50% of Score
The multiple-choice section assesses:
- Your understanding of content from all 9 units of study
- Your ability to apply all 4 course skills
The section includes individual questions or sets of questions based on a shared prompt.
Section 2: Free Response
6 questions 1hr 30mins 50% of Score
In the free-response section, you’ll respond to six questions, including one investigative task, with written answers. This section will test your skill in communicating explanations or justifications using evidence from data, definitions, or statistical inference.
- 1 multipart question with a primary focus on collecting data
- 1 multipart question with a primary focus on exploring data
- 1 multipart question with a primary focus on probability and sampling distributions
- 1 question with a primary focus on inference
- 1 question that combines 2 or more skill categories
1 investigative task that assesses multiple skill categories and content areas and asks you to apply your statistical skills to new contexts or in nonroutine ways
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- Updated 12/1/2020
AP Statistics Free-Response Questions and Scoring Information
Go to the Exam Questions and Scoring Information section on AP Central to review the released free-response questions and scoring information.
AP Statistics Past Exam Free-Response Questions and Scoring Information
Go to AP Central to review free-response questions and scoring information from past exams.
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AP Exam FRQs
Looking for questions to put on your AP Statistics tests? Here are all of the FRQs from previous AP Statistics Exams according to topic. A huge thank you to Josh Tabor for always updating this list.
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AP® Statistics Free Response Questions (FRQs)
AP® Statistics is one of the most versatile College Board® AP exams out there. To score high on this exam, you must make sure to do well in both sections of the exam - the free-response and multiple-choice sections. However, the free-response questions of the AP Stats exam can be a little tricky to ace. But worry not! This guide will discuss key strategies and how to use them to accurately answer the FRQ section. We will also discuss in detail the question types, units, and topics with some FRQ examples.
Format of AP Statistics FRQ section
The FRQ section represents 50% of the composite score on the AP Statistics exam. It also represents 50% of the total time spent on the AP Statistics exam. The FRQ section is split into two parts. The first part, Part A , represents 37.5% of the composite exam score and lasts 65 minutes to answer five free-response questions . The question types, the skills they require you to apply, and the units from which these questions appear are listed in the table below.
The second part of the FRQ, Part B , is the investigative task. Part B represents 12.5% of the composite score and lasts for 25 minutes . The purpose of the investigative task is to assess multiple skill categories and content areas, focusing on the application of skills and content in new contexts or in non-routine ways. It is common for the investigative task to include hypothesis tests and other material that would not be included as part of the AP Statistics course but which can be understood by applying the concepts learned in the course.
At least three questions from Part A, as well as the investigative task in Part B, will assess statistical argumentation.
How to Answer AP Statistics FRQs?
Free-response questions, unlike multiple-choice questions, require you to write an answer rather than only select an option for an answer. This means you will need to show your work, including any method you used to arrive at your answer. Sometimes you will even need to create graphs. To really understand how to do well on the FRQs, it helps to know how the FRQs are scored.
Unlike the multiple-choice questions, which are scored by a machine, the free-response questions are scored by college faculty and AP teachers. These ‘AP Readers’ score the FRQs based on the precision of the methods as well as the accuracy and completeness of the results and explanations. This is done in two steps.
First, each part of the question is scored based on whether it meets the criteria for being essentially correct, partially correct, or incorrect. There are typically several components to a complete question that the AP Readers will check. If you check all of the boxes, you will earn an essentially correct answer for that part of the question. Next, each response is categorized based on the scores assigned to each part and awarded a score between 0 and 4 points. For example, it typically takes being essentially correct on all sections or parts of the question to earn 4 points for the overall question.
What does this mean for how you should write free-response questions? Several strategies are important.
Strategy 1: Explain your answer in detail, but be concise with individual points
To earn full credit, your response to an FRQ must fulfill multiple criteria based on the intention of the question. Checking off those "boxes" should be your objective. This means making your answer detailed and broad, as well as being accurate. But you will not earn more points for devoting a lot of time to an individual component.
For example, an FRQ may require you to describe a distribution in a graph. The criteria for the answer will include such things as (1) center, (2) spread, (3) shape, and (4) unusual features. An answer with four sentences, each tackling one of those components correctly, will earn full credit. However, an answer with five sentences focusing only on 'center’ will have a much lower score.
Strategy 2: Keep an eye on the clock
Time is an important factor for every AP exam. For Part A of the FRQ section of the AP Stats exam, you will technically have thirteen minutes per question. But you should aim to spend ten to twelve minutes on questions. You will want to check your answers and focus more on more difficult questions, so leaving time left over is best. You will have twenty-five minutes for Part B, which will include multiple parts. You will have 4-5 minutes for each part of that section. This may mean you have to consider a trade-off. If a particular part of a question will take too long to answer and you do not feel confident, it is OK to skip it to avoid running out of time. You do not need a perfect score to earn a 5 on the AP Stats exam, so missing some points is OK if it allows you to earn more points at another point.
Strategy 3: Use key terms you learned in class and use proper units
The criteria that you need to fulfill in an FRQ answer are often directly related to the key terms you learned in class. Using those terms makes it easier for an AP reader to recognize that you are meeting those criteria.
An important example is the units you use to refer to any statistical data. A common criterion that AP readers look for in answers is that the answer properly refers to the context of the question, and the use of proper units in your answer is important.
Strategy 4: Answer each part of multi-part questions in order
The parts of a multi-part question on the AP Stats exam often build on one another. Even when the exam does not explicitly state it, the answers to previous parts can often be used to solve later parts. For this reason, try to answer multi-part questions in the order they are presented. This may not always be possible or practical, but it should be your default strategy.
Strategy 5: Decide beforehand when you want to do Part B (the investigative task)
The last FRQ of the exam is the investigative task in Part B. This question represents a greater percentage of the exam than any FRQ from Part A. You may want to strategize the way you tackle it. If you like getting more difficult and meaningful questions out of the way, you can start working on them before finishing Part A. Doing so may help with time management and getting the most points in the time you have to finish the FRQ section.
But at most, only go over the time meant for Part B (25 minutes) by a couple minutes. While Part B is worth more than the other FRQs, it is not an overwhelming amount. If you have tackled the majority of Part B and are stuck on one part, move back to Part A.
AP Statistics FRQ Examples
We will now go over some examples of FRQ questions from the 2019 AP Exam to give you an idea of what to expect. However, note that all of this information is provided by the College Board on their website, and we have only compiled them here for quick reference.
We have explained each example with two types of answers that can earn you full credit. An essentially correct answer includes a complete answer with all the components of the question correctly addressed. As a reference, we have also added the ideal solution provided by AP to help you understand the answering criteria put forward by the College Board. You can compare the two answer categories to identify the components for AP Stats FRQs.
Present all of your work. You will be graded on the accuracy and completeness of your results and explanations, as well as the correctness of your techniques, so make sure to clearly indicate these.
Part A – Question 1 (a)
The sizes, in square feet, of the 20 rooms in a student residence hall at a certain university are summarized in the following histogram.
(a) Based on the histogram, write a few sentences describing the distribution of room size in the residence hall.
Explanation:
For the sake of ease, we are considering only the first sub-part of Question 1. While solving a question like this, below are a few pointers that will help you:
Intent of this Question
Test your ability to describe features of a distribution using a histogram.
Essentially Correct Answer Includes
An answer to this part of Question 1 is considered “Essentially Correct” if it includes each of these four components detailed by AP.
- The shape is bimodal, OR there are two peaks, OR there are two clusters.
- The center is between 200 and 300 square feet.
- The spread is addressed by stating the range, which is a value between 150 and 250 square feet, OR the interquartile range is a value between 50 and 150 square feet, OR all room sizes are between 100 and 350 square feet.
The response includes context.
Ideal Solution provided by AP
The distribution of the sample of room sizes is bimodal and roughly symmetric, with most room sizes falling into two clusters: 100 to 200 square feet and 250 to 350 square feet. The center of the distribution is between 200 and 300 square feet. The range of the distribution is between 150 and 250 square feet. There are no apparent outliers.
*Source: Refer question 1 of Part A of the 2019 released items from the CollegeBoard Released FRQs
Part B – Investigative Task: Question 6 (a – c)
Emma is moving to a large city and is investigating the typical monthly rental prices of available one-bedroom apartments. She obtained a random sample of rental prices for 50 one-bedroom apartments taken from a website where people voluntarily list available apartments.
(a) Describe the population for which it is appropriate for Emma to generalize the results from her sample. The distribution of the 50 rental prices of the available apartments is shown in the following histogram.
(b) Emma wants to estimate the typical rental price of a one-bedroom apartment in the city. Based on the distribution shown, what is a disadvantage of using the mean rather than the median as an estimate of the typical rental price?
(c) Instead of using the sample median as the point estimate for the population median, Emma wants to use an interval estimate. However, computing an interval estimate requires knowing the sampling distribution of the sample median for samples of size 50. Emma has one point, her sample median, in that sampling distribution. Using information about rental prices that are available on the Web site, describe how someone could develop a theoretical sampling distribution of the sample median for samples of size 50.
- For (a) : Recognize the population to which results from a random sample may be generalized.
- For (b) : Describe a disadvantage of using a sample mean rather than a sample median to indicate typical values when the sample distribution is skewed.
- For (c) : Describe how the theoretical sampling distribution of the sample median could be constructed.
For Parts (a) and (b) , the answers are collectively considered “essentially correct” if they include each of these three components detailed by AP.
- In part (a) , the correct population (listings of one-bedroom apartments on the website) is identified.
- In part (b) , identifying that using the sample mean instead of the sample median overestimates the typical rental price. The disadvantage of using the sample mean that is reported in part (b) is correctly linked to some feature of the distribution (e.g. skewness) that is evident in the histogram.
- Indicates that Emma would need to obtain every possible sample of 50 one-bedroom apartments.
- Indicates that Emma would need to compute the median rental price for each sample.
- Part (a) : Because random sampling was used, the results of the sample may be generalized to the population of rental prices for one-bedroom apartments in the city that are listed on this particular website at the time the sample was taken.
- Part (b) : Because the distribution of the 50 rental prices in the sample is skewed to the right, the sample median provides a better indicator of typical rental prices than the sample mean. Some very large rental prices result in a sample mean that is substantially larger than the more typical rental prices. As a result, the sample mean would overestimate the typical rental price, whereas the sample median would be a more accurate representation of typical rental prices.
- Part (c) : To determine the sampling distribution of median rental prices for random samples of 50 one-bedroom apartments from this population, Emma would need to obtain every possible sample of 50 one-bedroom apartments from this website and compute the median of each sample. The collection of all possible sample medians is the theoretical sampling distribution for sample median.
*Source: Refer question 6 of Part B of the 2019 released items from the CollegeBoard Released FRQs
How can I practice AP Statistics free-response questions?
The most effective way to practice AP Statistics free-response questions is to use the FRQ sections of past exams for practice runs. Pay particular attention to what you need to do to stay within the time allotted for the exam. Once you have finished a practice run, grade your answers yourself using the scoring guidelines provided by the College Board.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How many frqs are there on the ap statistics exam.
There are five free-response questions included with Part A and one free-response question included with Part B. However, several FRQs contain multiple parts.
How are AP Statistics FRQs graded?
The FRQ section constitutes 50% of the AP Statistics exam. The FRQs are graded by AP readers based on the correctness of the methods as well as the accuracy and completeness of the results and explanations.
How long is the FRQ section of the AP Statistics exam?
The total time allotted for the FRQ section of the AP Statistics is 90 minutes, split between Part A (65 minutes) and Part B (25 minutes).
Where can I get the AP Statistics past exam FRQs?
The College Board releases past exam questions where you can download FRQs from. In addition, you can download scoring guidelines, sample responses from exam takers, and scoring distributions.
Read more about the AP Statistics Exam
AP Statistics Exam: 2021 Results
Trevor Packer
- July 27, 2021
The following data reflect the 183,181 students worldwide who took either the paper or the digital AP Statistics Exam prior to June 12.
The following table enables comparisons of student performance in 2021 to student performance on the comparable full-length exam prior to the covid-19 pandemic.
Out of these 183,181 students, 2 answered every multiple-choice question correctly and received perfect scores on all 6 free-response questions by every college professor and AP teacher who scored their work.
It’s also important to honor the work of students who did not qualify for a score of 3+, but who nonetheless developed basic understandings and skills in the course. As a reminder, the most recent research on students who achieve a score of 2 in AP Statistics found that they proceed to earn significantly higher grades when taking the course in college than students with the same high school GPA, SAT score, race, and gender. And these outcomes are stronger for AP Statistics students who receive a 2 than they are for students receiving 2s in any other AP subject.
The largest exam date for AP Statistics was May 17, so the following information is specific to the exam version administered on that date.
As usual, students scored significantly higher on the multiple-choice section than on the free-response questions.
- Course Units:
- AP Statistics students generally scored very well on questions about Units 1, 2, and 3, with ~18% of students answering all such questions correctly.
- The most challenging units were 4 (Probability, Random Variables, and Probability Distributions) and 5 (Sampling Distributions). 5% of students answered every question about these units correctly, and 5% of students answered no questions about these units correctly.
- Skill Categories:
- AP Statistics students’ strongest skill was generally Skill Category 2; 18% of students answered every question that required this skill correctly.
- The most challenging questions for students required Skill Category 3, Using Probability and Simulation. Scores would have been significantly higher if students performed this skill as well as they performed Skill Categories 1 and 2.
Free-response section:
- The strongest results were typically on Question 4 and Question 6. Students found the starting point of Question 6 to be the easiest of the 6 free-response questions, and more students (10%) earned all 4 points possible on Question 4 than on any of the other free-response questions.
- By far the most challenging questions on this year’s exam were Questions 2 and 3; ~1% of students earned all 4 points possible on these questions.
The Digital Exams
- Differences in the testing mode (paper or digital). For sections of the exam that proved easier to take digitally, the digital versions require more points for each AP score. For sections of the exam that proved easier to take on paper, the paper exam requires more points for each AP score.
- Differences in the difficulty of specific questions. When exam questions prove easier, more points are required for each AP score, and when exam questions prove more difficult, fewer points are required on one version than another.
- The net result for this year’s AP Statistics Exams is that out of 100 points possible, the digital versions were generally somewhat easier than the paper versions. Accordingly, students taking one of the somewhat easier digital versions needed to earn 1–7 more points to earn a score of 3+, depending on their version, than students who took the paper exam on May 17.
AP® Statistics
3 ways to approach ap® statistics free response questions.
- The Albert Team
- Last Updated On: March 1, 2022
How to Approach AP® Statistics Free Response Questions
At first glance, the free response questions (FRQ’s) may seem like the most intimidating part of the AP® Statistics exam. Essay questions on a math test?
The FRQ section consists of five short answer questions and one investigative task. This portion takes ninety minutes and is half your exam score . Here are some tips for studying beforehand and for how to approach the test itself.
Before the Test: Read Past AP® Statistics Free Response Questions
Studying the exams of the past will prepare you for the kinds of questions the test may have. The College Board website features archives of free-response questions and sample answers dating back to 1998. This free resource exists to help students like you prepare for the exam.
If you have a study group or a study hall period, try solving some of the past FRQ’s as a team. Some of you may have stronger writing skills while others have stronger math skills, so take the opportunity to learn from each other.
Structuring Your Written Responses
The primary goal of writing about math is to cover all the relevant information clearly and succinctly, with adept analysis that shows you understand how the math applies to a real-life problem. Keep your responses brief and avoid filler content.
Let’s break down the structure of this sample response to part 2(e) of the AP® Stats investigative task question:
1. State your answer.
2. Explain it in a few sentences.
3. Restate and justify your answer.
Image Source: College Board
In the first sentence, the student stated their answer and gave a brief reason. The second sentence went on to explain why they chose that answer. In the final sentence, the student restated their answer using their analysis to justify their conclusion. Notice the transition and information words: “because,” “tend to be,” and “Therefore.” Words that transition to or set up information are the key to a neat, concise response.
How to Approach the Questions on Test Day
1: the “nike” method.
Like Nike’s “Just Do It!” slogan, you can approach the AP® Statistics free response questions as they come. The “just do it” method works best for those of us who get in a highly focused, efficient mental zone when test-taking. If you become easily distracted or anxious, you may want to try to complete the whole FRQ section in an uninterrupted, linear manner.
Diving in and plowing through can also help if you tend to get test anxiety. Think of the five short answer questions as a warm-up for the investigative task. Use the first five short-answer questions to build up your confidence before tackling the long, multi-part question. When you get there, think about that last long FRQ as just another series of short answer questions.
2: Back to Front
You may want to work backwards, starting with the investigative task FRQ. If you can feel the pressure of that long question and the number of points it represents hanging over your head, answering it first will considerably relieve your test anxiety. Tackling the longest question first also ensures that you will have enough time to finish it. If you tend to be a slow test-taker and are worried about finishing that investigative task question, this might be the best method for you.
3: Pick and Choose
If you are confident in your time management skills, doing the FRQ portion out of order may work best for you.
First, allow yourself about ten minutes to read through the free response questions and plan your approach. Which questions seem easiest? Which seem hardest?
If you prefer to answer the easier questions first, mark them in order of easiest to most difficult. That way, you can quickly answer the questions you feel confident about before moving on to those that give you more trouble. If you want to get the harder questions out of the way first, mark your test from hardest to easiest. That way, you’ll be sure to have enough time to work out the more difficult questions.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
Reading through all the questions beforehand may seem counter intuitive on a timed test, but this approach lets you see if any of the questions relate to each other. If questions two and four involve box plots, for example, you ought to do them one after the other instead of in test order.
With this approach, your ability to time yourself without letting the clock make you nervous is paramount. The pick and choose approach is best for highly organized test takers who stay calm under pressure.
Wrapping Up AP® Statistics FRQ’s: The Key to Statistics is Context
Statistics without explanation or application is just numbers. When doing your AP® Statistics review work, consider that the main goal of your free response questions is to provide the context that will demystify those numbers. As we saw from the example answer above, a well-organized, structured AP® Statistics free response question ought to demonstrate that you can apply your analysis to a real-life scenario.
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📊 AP Statistics - Free Response Questions (FRQs)
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Advanced Placement (AP)
Are you taking the AP Statistics exam soon and want to make sure you're prepared? One of the best ways to measure your progress and figure out which areas you need to focus on is to take practice exams. There are a lot of AP Statistics practice exams available; however, some are higher-quality than others. Taking a poorly written practice exam can cause you to study the wrong things and give you an inaccurate picture of what the real AP exam will be like.
In this guide, I'll go over every AP Statistics practice test available, explain if and how you should use each one, and end with a schedule you can follow to help you incorporate practice tests into your study plans.
Official AP Statistics Practice Exams
Official practice exams are those that have been created by the College Board (the organization that develops and administers all the actual AP exams). They are always the top resources to use because you can be sure that they accurately reflect the format and content of the real AP exam.
There are three types of official practice resources:
Complete Practice Tests
The College Board has released two complete exams which are linked below .
2012 AP Statistics Released Exam
1997 AP Statistics Released Exam
Both links include the complete exam, an answer key, and scoring information. Both of these are very useful study resources, even the 1997 exam since the AP Stats exam hasn't changed much since then.
The current exam is three hours long in two sections. Students can use a graphing calculator for the entire exam.
Multiple-Choice Section:
- 40 questions
- Worth 50% of total score
Free-Response Section:
- 6 questions (5 free response and one investigative task)
The only major difference between the current format and the format of the 1997 exam is that the 1997 exam had 35 multiple-choice questions instead of 40. The content the exam tests has remained consistent, so, despite its age, this test is still a great resource to use and will give you a good idea of what your AP exam will be like. The 2012 exam has the same format as the current exam.
Multiple-Choice Questions
The College Board often reuses multiple-choice questions, so there are not many released official multiple-choice questions available for AP Stats.
Besides the multiple-choice questions from the released exam, the only official multiple-choice questions you can use in your studying are in the AP Statistics Course Description . Beginning on page 240, there are 16 multiple-choice questions (as well as 2 free-response questions), along with an answer key.
Free-Response Questions
Compared to multiple choice, there are many more official free-response questions you can use to study and, since they are recent, they'll give you a very accurate idea of what to expect on the real exam.
The College Board has released free-response questions from 1998-2019 , as well as 2021 which means you have dozens of official free-response questions to use for your studying. All the free-response questions include answer keys and sample responses.
Unofficial AP Statistics Practice Tests and Quizzes
Even though they weren't created by the College Board, many unofficial practice AP Statistics exams are still high-quality and can be a great study resource. For each resource listed below, I explain what it includes and how you should use it.
Shmoop is the only resource on this list that requires you to pay to access any of its resources. Paying its monthly fee of about $25 gets you access to a diagnostic exam, four full-length practice tests, and additional practice questions. With a paid subscription, you also get access to Shmoop's resources for the SAT, ACT, and other AP exams.
This is a complete, 40-question, multiple-choice test. You can take the test timed or untimed, and you can choose to see the answer to each question immediately after you answer it or wait until the end of the exam to see what the correct answers were. Some of these questions are a bit easier than those found on the real AP exam, but this is still a solid resource.
Albert organizes its practice questions into the four Big Ideas of AP Statistics, and the Big Ideas are further broken down into more specific topics, each with relevant short quizzes which can be useful if you're studying and want to easily find questions on certain subjects. The questions are ranked as easy, moderate, or difficult, they aren't timed, and you see the correct answer (plus a detailed explanation) after you answer each question.
You will have to sign up for a free account, which includes a limited number of credits you can use to answer questions. If you want to access more questions beyond your initial allotment, you'll need to pay the $79 fee for full access.
Varsity Tutors
The Varsity Tutors resources include four diagnostic tests and 139 short practice quizzes, organized by topic. The four diagnostic tests each contain 40 multiple-choice questions and, like the Stat Trek test, they are similar to, but a bit easier than, the real AP exam . You're timed while taking the exams and, as a bonus, after you complete the exam, the questions are organized into different categories so you can see which categories you did best in and which categories you should focus your studying on.
For this site, I'd recommend mostly using the diagnostic tests since most of the individual quizzes are so short (only 1-3 questions) that it can be frustrating to continually start and finish separate quizzes.
Kansas State University Quiz and Answer Key
This is a 25-question multiple-choice quiz from Kansas State University's Department of Mathematics. The questions are good quality, although you do have to grade the quiz yourself (the correct letter is in bold in the answer key). This another good option if you want a to answer some practice questions but don't want to take a full exam.
Dan Shuster
This site has 24 quizzes (12 multiple choice and 12 free response). They were created by an AP Statistics teacher and follow his curriculum schedule. Each multiple-choice quiz has 10 questions, and short answer explanations are given after you complete each quiz. Each free-response quiz has three questions as well as answer explanations. The free-response questions especially are shorter and easier than you'll find on the real AP exam, but you can still use this resource if you want to do some quick, targeted studying.
How to Use These AP Statistics Practice Tests
Knowing how to use each of these resources will make your studying more effective, as well as prepare you for what the real AP Statistics exam will be like. Read the guide below to learn how and when you should use these practice tests and quizzes.
First Semester
Right now you're still learning a lot of key information, so during your first semester of AP Stats you should focus on quizzes and free-response questions on topics you've already covered. Begin using these materials about halfway through the semester.
Multiple-Choice Practice
For multiple-choice practice, take unofficial quizzes that let you choose which subjects you want to be tested on. This lets you review content you've already learned and avoid questions on material you haven't covered yet. The best resources for this are Albert, Varsity Tutors, and Dan Shuster because their quizzes are clearly organized by specific subject.
Free-Response Practice
For free-response questions, use the official released free-response questions from the Official Practice Exams section. There are a lot of questions available, so look through them to find questions you can answer based on what you've already learned. It's best if you answer a group of them (up to six) together at a time to get the most realistic preparation for the actual AP exam.
It also helps to time yourself when answering these questions, particularly as it gets later in the semester. Try to spend about 12 minutes each on the first five questions and 30 minutes on the investigative task (which will be the last question in the section).
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Second Semester
Second semester is when you can begin taking complete practice exams and continue reviewing content you've already learned. Follow these five steps:
Step 1: Complete Your First Complete Practice Exam
About a month or two into this semester, after you've covered a majority of the content you need to know for the AP exam, take your first complete practice exam. For this first practice test, I recommend using the 1997 official practice exam . You should take this test timed and in one sitting, then correct it when you're finished.
If you haven't already, this is a good time to set a score goal for yourself. Aim for at least a 3 since this is the lowest passing score for the exam. However, if you scored a 3 or higher on this first practice exam, it's a good idea to set your goal score even higher, to a 4 or 5. Getting a higher score on the AP Stats exam looks more impressive to colleges, and it can sometimes get you more college credit.
Step 2: Analyze Your Score Results
After you've figured out your score, look over each problem you answered incorrectly and try to figure out why you got the question wrong. As you're doing this, look for patterns in your results. Are you finding that you got a lot of questions on experimental design wrong? Did you do well on multiple choice but struggled with free response?
Figuring out which problems you got wrong and why is the best way to stop repeating your mistakes and make improvements for future exams. Even if it seems tedious, don't be tempted to skip this step!
Step 3: Focus on Your Weak Areas
By now, you should have a good idea of the areas or techniques you need to work on to raise your score. If there are specific content areas you need to work on, review them by going over your notes, reading a review book, and answering multiple-choice and free-response questions that focus specifically on those topics.
If you're struggling with your test-taking techniques, for example, running out of time on the exam or misreading questions, the best way to combat these issues is to answer a lot of practice questions under realistic testing conditions.
Step 4: Take Another Practice Exam
After you've spent time improving your weak areas, it's time to see the results of your hard work. Take and score another complete practice exam, timed and finished in one sitting. This is a good time to use the 2012 official released exam or the multiple-choice section from University of Delaware + a set of official free-response questions.
Step 5: Review Your Results to Determine Your Future Study Plan
Now you're able to see how much you've improved, and in which areas, since you took your first complete practice exam. If you've made improvements and have reached or are close to your target score, you may only need to do some light studying from now until the AP exam.
However, if you haven't improved a lot, or you're still far from your score goal, you'll need to analyze the way you've been reviewing and think of ways to improve. The most common reason for not improving is not actively studying, and only passively leafing through your notes or reviewing missed questions.
Active studying takes longer and requires more effort, but it's the best way to see significant improvements. As you're studying, make sure you really understand exactly where you made a mistake for every practice question you answer incorrectly. Also, when you're reviewing your notes, stop every few minutes and mentally go over what you just learned to make sure you're retaining the information.
You can repeat these steps as many times as you need to in order to make improvements and reach your target score . If you need more complete practice tests, you can create your own by combining a set of official free-response questions with 40 unofficial multiple-choice questions. Stat Trek and Varsity Tutors are probably the best resources to use for the multiple-choice questions since each of their exams already have 40 questions combined for you.
Conclusion: Where to Find AP Statistics Practice Exams
If you want to score well on the AP Statistics exam, you'll almost certainly need to take some practice tests. Official resources are the best to use, but there are also lots of high-quality unofficial quizzes and tests that you should be using.
During your first semester, focus on answering individual free-response and multiple-choice questions on topics you've already covered in class.
For your second semester, follow these steps:
- Take and score your first complete practice exam
- Analyze your score results
- Focus your studying on weak areas
- Take and score another complete practice exam
- Review your results to determine your future study plan
What's Next?
Wondering which other math classes you should take? Math is often the trickiest subject to choose classes for, but out guide will help you figure out exactly which math classes to take for each year of high school.
How many AP classes should you take? Get your answer based on your interests and your college goals.
Want some tips on how to study for your AP exams? Check out our five-step plan on how to study for AP exams.
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Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.
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AP Statistics Exam Free-Response Question and Scoring Archive AP Statistics Exam Free-Response Question and Scoring Information Archive Download free-response questions from past exams along with scoring guidelines, sample responses from exam takers, and scoring distributions.
The Exam AP Statistics Past Exam Questions AP Statistics Past Exam Questions Free-Response Questions Download free-response questions from past exams along with scoring guidelines, sample responses from exam takers, and scoring distributions.
AP Statistics Exam This is the regularly scheduled date for the AP Statistics Exam. Add To Calendar Details Exam Components Collapse All Section 1: Multiple Choice 40 questions 1hr 30mins 50% of Score Section 2: Free Response 6 questions 1hr 30mins 50% of Score Exam Essentials Exam-Day Policies Exam Accommodations Calculator Policy Exam Tips
The AP Statistics Exam has consistent question types, weighting, and scoring guidelines every year, so you and your students know what to expect on exam day. Section I: Multiple Choice 40 Questions | 1 Hour 30 Minutes | 50% of Exam Score Individual questions or sets of questions based on a shared prompt Section II: Free Response
Here are all of the FRQs from previous AP Statistics Exams according to topic. A huge thank you to Josh Tabor for always updating this list. Searchable List of All Free-Response Questions Ever CED Unit 1: Exploring One-Variable Data CED Unit 2: Exploring Two-Variable Data CED Unit 3: Collecting Data
AP® STATISTICS 2018 SCORING GUIDELINES © 2018 The College Board. Visit the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org. Question 1 (continued) 4 Complete Response
The FRQs are designed to test your knowledge of statistics, and your ability to apply multiple skills and concepts in a question. There are four AP Stats skills that are tested on the exam. Skills for AP Statistics: Skill 1: Selecting Statistical Methods (15-23% of exam) Skill 2: Data Analysis (15-23% of exam)
AP® Statistics 2011 Free-Response Questions . About the College Board . The College Board is a mission-driven not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity.
Supporting Students from Day One to Exam Day - AP Central | College Board
The FRQ section represents 50% of the composite score on the AP Statistics exam. It also represents 50% of the total time spent on the AP Statistics exam. The FRQ section is split into two parts. The first part, Part A, represents 37.5% of the composite exam score and lasts 65 minutes to answer five free-response questions. The question types ...
AP Statistics students generally scored very well on questions about Units 1, 2, and 3, with ~18% of students answering all such questions correctly. ... Students found the starting point of Question 6 to be the easiest of the 6 free-response questions, and more students (10%) earned all 4 points possible on Question 4 than on any of the other ...
The free-response section is worth 50% of your total AP Statistics score. For each free-response question, you'll receive a score from 0 to 4 depending on the accuracy and completeness of your answer. Your Investigative Task score will be scaled so that it's worth about three times as much as a single short-answer question.
Before the Test: Read Past AP® Statistics Free Response Questions. Studying the exams of the past will prepare you for the kinds of questions the test may have. The College Board website features archives of free-response questions and sample answers dating back to 1998. This free resource exists to help students like you prepare for the exam.
AP Statistics - Free Response Questions (FRQs) With our resources, learn how to master the free response question section on the AP Statistics exam featuring practice prompts with student responses and teacher feedback, logistics, key concepts, and helpful tips, you'll be ready to ace the exam. We also go through the rubric and key equations.
The College Board has released free-response questions from 1998-2019, as well as 2021 which means you have dozens of official free-response questions to use for your studying. All the free-response questions include answer keys and sample responses. Unofficial AP Statistics Practice Tests and Quizzes