AP Psychology Course and Exam Description Notes

What AP® Stands For

• Thousands of Advanced Placement teachers contributed to the principles.
• Principles: Clarity, evidence-based, opposes censorship and indoctrination, fosters open-mindedness, respects students, and is a choice.
• AP stands for clarity and transparency; teachers and students deserve clear expectations.
• AP is an unflinching encounter with evidence; students develop as independent thinkers using the scientific method.
• AP opposes censorship; intellectual freedom is respected.
• AP opposes indoctrination; students analyze different perspectives.
• AP courses foster an open-minded approach to different peoples' histories and cultures, grounded in primary sources.
• Every AP student is listened to and respected; diversity is valued.
• AP is a choice for parents and students, with informed decisions encouraged.
• If a school bans required topics, AP designation is removed.
• AP students analyze different perspectives; no points are awarded for agreeing with any specific viewpoint.
• AP students are not required to feel certain ways about themselves or the course content; abilities to assess credibility and draw conclusions are developed.
• AP courses ground studies in primary sources for student evaluation.

Contents

• Acknowledgments
• About AP
• AP Resources and Supports
• Instructional Model
• About the AP Psychology Course
• College Course Equivalent
• Prerequisites
• COURSE FRAMEWORK
• Introduction
• Course Framework Components
• Science Practices
• Course Content
• Course at a Glance
• Unit Guides
• Using the Unit Guides
• UNIT 1: Biological Bases of Behavior
• UNIT 2: Cognition
• UNIT 3: Development and Learning
• UNIT 4: Social Psychology and Personality
• UNIT 5: Mental and Physical Health
• INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACHES
• Selecting and Using Course Materials
• Developing the Science Practices
• Instructional Strategies
• EXAM INFORMATION
• Exam Overview
• Sample Exam Questions

Acknowledgments

• List of committee members, consultants, and reviewers who assisted with the development of the course.
• Includes affiliations current at the time of contribution.

About AP

• AP enables willing and academically prepared students to pursue college-level studies and earn credit/advanced placement while in high school.
• AP courses in 40 subjects culminate in a challenging exam.
• Students learn to think critically, construct arguments, and see multiple sides of an issue.
• Taking AP courses demonstrates a challenging curriculum to college admissions officers.
• Research indicates that students scoring 3+ on AP Exams have greater academic success in college and are more likely to earn a degree.
• AP teacher syllabi are evaluated and approved by college faculty.
• AP Exams are developed and scored by college faculty and experienced AP teachers.
• Most four-year colleges and universities in the United States grant credit, advanced placement, or both for successful AP Exam scores.
• Over 3,300 institutions worldwide annually receive AP scores.
• AP Course Development
  • AP courses and exams emphasize challenging, research-based curricula aligned with higher education expectations.
  • Individual teachers design their own curriculum, selecting appropriate readings, assignments, and resources.
  • The course and exam description presents content and skills, organized into units representing a typical college textbook sequence.
  • The intention is to respect teachers' time and expertise by providing a roadmap.
  • AP Program provides teachers and students with free formative assessments (Progress Checks).
• Enrolling Students: Equity and Access
  • AP Program encourages educators to make equitable access a guiding principle.
  • Opportunity is given to all willing and academically prepared students to participate in AP.
  • Encourages the elimination of barriers that restrict access.
  • All students should have access to challenging coursework before enrolling in AP classes.
• Offering AP Courses: The AP Course Audit
  • Each school implements it's own curriculum to develop content understandings and skills as described in the course framework.
  • A short list of curricular and resource requirements exist that must be fulfilled before a school can label a course "Advanced Placement" or "AP."
  • The AP Course Audit requires AP teachers' course materials to be reviewed by college faculty.
  • This process provides teachers and administrators with clear guidelines on curricular and resource requirements and helps colleges and universities validate courses marked “AP” on students’ transcripts.

AP Course Audit

• The AP Course Audit form is submitted by the AP teacher and school principal.
• A syllabus or course outline, detailing how course requirements are met, is submitted by the AP teacher for review by college faculty.
• Visit collegeboard.org/apcourseaudit for more information.

How the AP Program Is Developed

• The scope of content for an AP course and exam is derived from an analysis of hundreds of college and university syllabi and course offerings.
• A committee of college faculty and expert AP teachers articulate what students should know and be able to do upon completion of the AP course.
• The course framework is the heart of this course and exam description and serves as a blueprint of the content and skills that can appear on an AP Exam.
• The AP Test Development Committees are responsible for developing each AP Exam, ensuring the exam questions are aligned to the course framework.
• The AP Exam development process is a multiyear endeavor; all AP Exams undergo extensive review, revision, piloting, and analysis to ensure that questions are accurate, fair, and valid.
• Committee members represent a variety of perspectives and institutions (public and private, small and large schools and colleges), and a range of gender, racial/ethnic, and regional groups.
• College Board gathers feedback from various stakeholders in both secondary schools and higher education institutions.
• This feedback is carefully considered to ensure that AP courses and exams are able to provide students with a college-level learning experience and the opportunity to demonstrate their qualifications for advanced placement and/or college credit.

How AP Exams Are Scored

• The exam scoring process relies on the expertise of both AP teachers and college faculty.
• Multiple-choice questions are scored by machine, the free-response questions are scored by thousands of college faculty and expert AP teachers.
• All AP Readers are thoroughly trained, and their work is monitored for fairness and consistency.
• A respected college faculty member serves as Chief Faculty Consultant and maintains the accuracy of the scoring standards.
• Scores on the free-response questions and performance assessments are weighted and combined with the results of multiple-choice questions, converted into a composite AP score on a 1-5 scale.
• AP Exams are not norm-referenced or graded on a curve; they are criterion-referenced.
• Every student who meets the criteria for an AP score of 2, 3, 4, or 5 will receive that score.
• Criteria for scores of 3, 4, or 5 include:
  • The number of points successful college students earn when their professors administer AP Exam questions to them.
  • Performance that researchers have found to be predictive of an AP student succeeding when placed into a subsequent higher-level college course.
  • The number of points college faculty indicate, after reviewing each AP question, that they expect is necessary to achieve each AP grade level.

Using and Interpreting AP Scores

• AP Exam scores accurately represent students’ achievement in the equivalent college course.
• Frequent and regular research studies establish the validity of AP scores.
• Most private colleges and universities award credit and/ or advanced placement for AP scores of 3 or higher.
• Most states in the U.S. have adopted statewide credit policies that ensure college credit for scores of 3 or higher at public colleges and universities.
• To confirm a specific college’s AP credit/placement policy, search at apstudent.org/creditpolicies.
• AP Score Credit Recommendation College Grade Equivalent.
  • 5 Extremely well qualified A.
  • 4 Well qualified A-, B+, B.
  • 3 Qualified B-, C+, C.
  • 2 Possibly qualified n/a.
  • 1 No recommendation n/a.

Becoming an AP Reader

• Each June, AP teachers and college faculty members gather to evaluate and score the free-response sections of the AP Exams.
• Ninety-eight percent of surveyed educators say it was a positive experience.
• Opportunities include:
  • Bring positive changes to the classroom.
  • Gain in-depth understanding of AP Exam and AP scoring standards.
  • Receive compensation; expenses, lodging, and meals are covered for those who travel.
  • Score from home (online distributed scoring opportunities for certain subjects).
  • Earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs).

How to Apply to Become an AP Reader

• Visit collegeboard.org/apreading for eligibility requirements and to start the application process.

AP Resources and Supports

• Teachers and students receive access to classroom resources.
• AP Classroom: An online platform designed to support teachers and students throughout their AP experience, providing tools to give and get meaningful feedback on student progress.

Components of AP Classroom

• UNIT GUIDES: Outlining all required course content and skills, organized into units, suggesting content sequence, scaffolding skill instruction, organizing content into topics, and providing tips on taking the AP Exam.
• PROGRESS CHECKS: Formative AP questions for every unit providing feedback to students on areas where they need to focus, measuring knowledge and skills through multiple-choice questions with rationales and free-response questions with scoring information.
• REPORTS: Providing teachers with a one-stop shop for student results on all assignment types, including Progress Checks, to view class trends and see where students struggle with content and skills.
• QUESTION BANK: A searchable library of all AP questions that teachers use to build custom practice for their students.

Class Section Setup and Enrollment

• Teachers and students sign in to or create their College Board accounts.
• Teachers confirm they have added the course they teach to their AP Course Audit account and have it approved by their school’s administrator.
• Teachers or AP coordinators set up class sections so students can access AP resources and have exams ordered on their behalf.
• Students join class sections with a join code provided by their teacher or AP coordinator.
• Students will be asked for additional information upon joining their first class section.

Instructional Model

• Integrating AP resources throughout the course helps develop skills and conceptual understandings.
• Plan: Review the Unit Guide to identify essential questions, understandings, and skills. Use the Unit at a Glance table to plan pacing. Identify useful strategies in the Instructional Approaches section.
• Teach: Use topic pages in the Unit Guides. Integrate content with skills, considering scaffolding. Employ instructional strategies. Use available resources, including AP Daily.
• Assess: Use AP Classroom to assign Topic Questions, Progress Checks as homework or in-class tasks. Provide question and skill-level formative feedback. Create additional practice opportunities using the Question Bank.

About the AP Psychology Course

• Introduces students to the systematic and scientific study of human behavior and mental processes.
• Students explore and apply psychological theories, key concepts, and phenomena associated with major units of study.
• Includes biological bases of behavior, cognition, development, learning, social psychology, personality, and mental and physical health.
• Students employ research methods and data interpretation to evaluate claims and communicate ideas.
• AP Psychology course is equivalent to an introductory college-level psychology course.
• No prerequisites.
• Students should be able to read a college-level textbook and express themselves clearly in writing.

Introduction to the AP Psychology Framework

• Aligned with content and skills used in college-level courses and recommended by the American Psychological Association (APA).
• Organized into five units that mirror the content organization recommended by the APA.
• Framework integrates key skills throughout the course.
• Focus of the framework is to provide the student with a learning experience that supports learning of introductory psychology content and skills.

Course Framework Components

• The course framework provides a clear and detailed description of the course requirements necessary for student success.
• The framework specifies what students should know and be able to do to qualify for college credit and/ or placement.

Two essential components of the AP psychology framework:

• SCIENCE PRACTICES are central to the study and practice of psychology. Students should develop and apply the described skills on a regular basis over the span of the course.
• COURSE CONTENT is organized into units of study that provide a suggested sequence for the course. These units comprise the content and conceptual understandings that colleges and universities typically expect students to be proficient in to qualify for college credit and/or placement.

AP Psychology Science Practices

• Concept Application. Apply psychological perspectives, theories, concepts, and research findings.
• Research Methods and Design. Evaluate qualitative and quantitative research methods and study designs.
• Data Interpretation. Evaluate representations of psychological concepts in quantitative and qualitative research, including tables, graphs, charts, figures, and diagrams.
• Argumentation. Develop and justify psychological arguments using evidence.