New AP Biology Exam Creates Controversy

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By Elizabeth Miller '15, Co Editor-in-Chief

In July, thousands of teenagers across the country went to the Higher Board to discover out their scores on the AP Biology exam they took in May. Many

were disappointed.

2013 was the first yr that the College Lath gave the new AP Biological science exam. This test was based on beingness able to analyze information and use skills to problems, unlike the old exam, which was, in many ways, spitting out facts onto the page. In the words of Mr. Tim Dunn, the AP Biology teacher and chair of the science section, it has become more than of an "aptitude than achievement test". However, he doesn't accept very much of a problem with this, and does non plan to modify his course in any way, especially because it is designed to prepare students for two different tests: the AP and the Sat Discipline Exam in Biology. All of the more than factual information is necessary for the SAT Discipline Test, and is extremely helpful for understanding concepts on the AP.

The change that students and teachers were non prepared for was the changes in scoring. For the last 10 years, the distribution of scores has been relatively even. In 2012, 19.4% of students who took the AP received a 5. sixteen.9% got a iv, 14.3% got a 3, 14.6% got a ii, and 34.5% got a 1. AP Biological science was one of the easiest tests to get a five on.

This year, only 5.4% of students received a 5. 21.iv% got a iv, 36.three% got a 3, 29.5% got a ii, and 7.4% got a 1. In comparison to all other AP tests in 2012, it is the hardest exam to become a 5 on, closely followed by AP World History, in which six.9% of students received a v. The College Board has established the score of a 5 every bit a new "gilded standard", where only the all-time of students will receive the highest score.

This change has partially come about due to changes in how the test is graded. In years past, it was based on a panel of college students taking biology courses who took the examination. This gave an extremely accurate representation of how the scores should be distributed, as the AP Biology course is designed as a college-level grade. At present, the scores are determined by a panel of college professors.

I of the biggest issues caused by these changes is for seniors who took the exam, hoping to apply their scores to get out of requirements in higher. People who would have received a higher score are in some cases suing the College Board, every bit they were relying on having the exam'due south score distributions stay the aforementioned. Withal, this is not an issue for Country Twenty-four hours students, as practically every AP Biology student is a sophomore.

The main problem for Country Day students is that their scores are in many cases lower than they might take been, which might hurt their acceptances into colleges. Mr. Dunn advises these students to keep in mind that they are guinea-pigs in this state of affairs, as they were the commencement group of students to take the test. "Colleges will be aware of the difference" when they are considering people who took the test in 2013.

How the College Board will handle the unfavorable backfire to their changes is yet unknown, merely Mr. Dunn believes that it is perfectly possible that they could modify the distribution over again, making it easier to receive a college score again. We'll just have to await and see.