AP Biology

Encyclopedia : A : AP : APB : AP Biology

This article is part of the
Advanced Placement Program
series.

General Exam Structure

Awards

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Advanced Placement Biology (or AP Biology) is a course and examination offered by the College Board to high school students in the United States as an opportunity to earn placement credit for a college-level biology course.

Contents

1 The Course

1.1 Topics Covered

2 The Exam
3 Grade Distribution
4 External Links

The Course

This course is offered to highly motivated students who wish to pursue their interests in the biological sciences. Enrollment requirements for the AP Biology course depend on policies established by each high school offering the course. While some schools may have selective acceptance into the course, determined by academic record in prerequisite courses, other schools adhere to a policy of open enrollment, encouraging its undertaking by students that demonstrate capability for the course, though they may have performed unsatisfactorially in previous science courses.

Topics Covered

Topics covered by this course include:

The Exam

The AP test for this course consists of two sections. Section I, administered over a period of 1 hour 20 minutes, is comprised of 100 multiple-choice questions. Section II, which lasts 1 hour and 30 minutes, consists of 4 essay prompts to be answered comprehensively by the student. A mandated 10 minute reading period is held prior to beginning to write the four essays. During this time, a student may record notes in the exam booklet containing the essay prompt, though the booklet used to record official essay responses must remain sealed until the reading period is completed.

The exam grade is weighted unevenly between Section I and Section II, with 60% of the score dependent on success in Section I and the remaining 40% determined by results from Section II.

Grade Distribution

According to www.collegeboard.com, scores from 2005 administration of the AP Biology exam showed the following distribution.

Score Percent
5 18.2%
4 20.1%
3 22.9%
2 23.3%
1 15.5%

Score	Percent
5	18.2%
4	20.1%
3	22.9%
2	23.3%
1	15.5%

External Links

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