Hi all. Quick question. I just got back my AP scores and I got some 3s. What does this mean in terms of how I did? What percentage of questions did I get right?
Hey there! Each AP exam is scored on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest and regarded as equivalent to an A in a corresponding college course. A score of 3 is considered "qualified" by the College Board, meaning you've demonstrated an understanding of the subject material at a level that would allow you to potentially succeed in a corresponding college course.
To your question about the percentage needed to score a 3 on an AP exam, it indeed varies between different AP subjects. The exams are designed with both multiple-choice and free-response questions, each contributing to half of your score. The percentage of correct answers needed to earn a 3 would depend on the difficulty of the questions, the curve established by the College Board for that year's exam, and the distribution of students' scores.
The College Board uses a statistical process called equating to ensure that the level of ability necessary to earn a specific score is the same from one year to the next, even if the exam's difficulty varies slightly. So, unfortunately, there's no set percentage of correct answers that will guarantee a score of 3 on any AP exam. You can look up past years' score distributions to get a ballpark idea, but remember there may be slight fluctuations year-to-year.
Don't stress too much about your score — you still passed and did well! The hard part is over and now you can focus on enjoying your summer and destressing!
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