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W 5/6/09
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AP Exam,
8:00 a.m., Activities Gym.
What to bring: several sharpened
pencils, TI-83 or TI-84 graphing calculator, spare batteries.
What to leave at home or in your car: cell
phone, scratch paper, non-graphing calculator, PDA, etc. The College
Board is apparently afraid of the possibility that students will communicate
illegally during the exam or hide contraband electronic devices disguised as
generic calculators.
Format of the exam is as follows:
Part IA (55 minutes): 28 multiple-choice questions, no calculator allowed.
Part IB (50 minutes): 17 multiple-choice questions, calculator allowed.
Bathroom break.
Part IIA (45 minutes): 3 free-response questions, calculator allowed.
Part IIB (45 minutes): 3 free-response questions, no calculator allowed.
In Parts IA and IB, questions are scored as 4 points if correct, 0 points if
omitted, and –1 point if answered incorrectly. There is no partial credit.
In Parts IIA and IIB, each question has several parts. Partial credit is
assessed according to a 9-point rubric, with no fractional points. Standard
mathematical notation is required, and you must work top to bottom, left to
right. It is best to place one equation, thought, or idea per line. Circle or
box your answers. You must justify your answers adequately, since answers
with no support will result in (at best) only partial credit. Instead of
erasing large sections, you should simply make an “X” through anything you
wish to be ignored. Simplification is usually not required. All decimal
answers must be correct to at least 3 places after the decimal point, and
that means that you should never
round your intermediate results. You are permitted to finish up Part IIA
(without calculator) during the time allotted for Part IIB.
Parts IA and IB are combined into a single multiple-choice score, and Parts
IIA and IIB are combined into a single free-response score. Your exam score
is then computed by an equal weighting of the multiple-choice and
free-response portions. Score cutoffs vary from year to year but are normally
in the high 60% range for a 5 (high pass) and mid-50% range for a 4.
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