AP Statistics Exam Tips for Students

Courtesy of Daren Starnes of the Webb Schoools (portions are edited)

Exam preparation begins on the first day of your AP Statistics class. Keep in mind the following advice throughout the year:

• Read your statistics book. Most AP Exam questions start with a paragraph that describes the context of the problem. You need to be able to pick out important statistical cues. The only way you will learn to do that is through hands-on experience.
• Practice writing about your statistical thinking. Your success on the AP Exam depends on how well you explain your reasoning.

Specific Advice on Free-Response Questions

Note: You should practice these skills on your everyday homework just as you would on the exam. One thing to always remember – you “perform” just like you practice.

On problems where you have to produce a graph:

• Label and scale your axes! Do not copy a calculator screen verbatim onto the test.
• Don't refer to a graph on your calculator that you haven't drawn. Transfer it to the exam paper. This is part of your burden of good communication.

Communicate your thinking clearly.

• When you finish writing your answer, look back. DID YOU ADDRESS THE CONTEXT OF THE PROBLEM? Does the answer make sense?
• Organize your thoughts before you write, just as you would for an English paper.
• Write efficiently. Say what needs to be said, and move on. Don't ramble. That being said, remember that the burden of communication is on you. Don't leave it to the reader to make inferences.
• Avoid bringing your personal ideas and philosophical insights into your response.

About graphing calculator use:

• Do not write directions for calculator button-pushing on the exam!
• Avoid calculator syntax, such as normalcdf or 1-PropZTest. Instead say “On my calculator I determined that the probability of a score being 1.5 standard deviations above the mean or below is equal to 93.32%”

Follow directions. If a problem asks you to "explain" or "justify," then be sure to do so.

• Don't "cast a wide net" by writing down everything you know, because you will be graded on everything you write. If part of your answer is wrong, you will be penalized.
• Don't give parallel solutions. Decide on the best path for your answer, and follow it through to the logical conclusion. Providing multiple solutions to a single question is generally not to your advantage. You will be graded on the lesser of the two solutions. Put another way, if one of your solutions is correct and another is incorrect, your response will be scored "incorrect."
• The amount of space provided on the free-response questions does not necessarily indicate how much you should write.
• If you cannot get an answer to part of a question, make up a plausible answer to use in the remaining parts of the problem.