AP English Language and Composition

Last updated

Advanced Placement (AP) English Language and Composition (also known as AP English Language, APENG, or AP Lang) is a course and examination offered by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program.

Contents

Course

AP English Language and Composition is a course in the study of rhetoric taken in high school. Many schools offer this course primarily to juniors and the AP English Literature and Composition course to seniors. Other schools reverse the order, and some offer both courses to both juniors and seniors. The College Board advises that students choosing AP English Language and Composition be interested in studying and writing various kinds of analytic or persuasive essays on non-fiction topics, while students choosing AP English Literature and Composition be interested in studying literature of various periods and mediums (fiction, poetry, drama) and using this wide reading knowledge in discussions of literary topics. [1]

Exam

Format

The AP English Language and Composition exam is typically administered on a Tuesday morning in the second week of May. The exam consists of two sections: a one-hour multiple-choice section, and a two-hour fifteen-minute free-response section. [2] The exam is further divided as follows:

# of Questions
Percentage of score
Time Allowed
Section I: Multiple-Choice
45
45
60 Minutes
Section II: Free-Response
3
55
15 minutes (reading portion)
120 minutes (writing portion)

Section I: Multiple-Choice

The multiple-choice section of the test features 45 questions, divided between 23-25 reading questions and 20-22 writing questions. [3] There are typically 4 short passages divided between pre-20th century non-fiction prose, and 20th and 21st century non-fiction prose. The questions assess students ability to understand rhetorical situations, claims and evidence, reasoning and organization, and style. [4] Students have 60 minutes to answer all 45 questions, and the section accounts for 45% of the students' scores. [3]

Section II: Free-Response Writing

The Free-Response section of the test consists of three prompts, each of a different type: synthesis, rhetorical analysis, and argument. [3] Each is scored on a scale from 0 to 6. [4]

With the introduction of the synthesis essay in 2007, the College Board allotted 15 additional minutes to the free-response exam portion to allow students to read and annotate the three prompts, as well as the passages and sources provided. During the reading time, students may read the prompts and examine the documents. They may use this time to make notes, or begin writing their essay.

The synthesis prompt typically requires students to consider a scenario, then formulate a response to a specific element of the scenario using at least three of the accompanying sources for support. [4] While a total of six or seven sources accompany the prompt, using information from all of the sources is not necessary, and may even be undesirable. The source material used must be cited in the essay in order to be considered legitimate.

The analysis prompt typically asks students to read a short (less than 1 page) passage, which may have been written at any time, as long as it was originally written in modern English. After reading the passage, students are asked to write an essay in which they analyze and discuss various techniques the author uses in the passage. The techniques differ from prompt to prompt, but may ask about strategies, argumentative techniques, motivations, or other rhetorical elements of the passage, and how such techniques effectively contribute to the overall purpose of the passage. The prompt may mention specific techniques or purposes, but some leeway of discussion is left to the student.

The argument prompt typically gives a position in the form of an assertion from a documented source. Students are asked to consider the assertion, and then form an argument that defends, challenges, or qualifies the assertion using supporting evidence from their own knowledge or reading.

Scoring

The multiple-choice section is scored by computer. Formerly, the test was scored by awarding 1 point for correct answers, while taking off a 1/4 point for incorrect answers. No points were taken away for blank answers. However, the College Board discontinued the policy for all AP Exams in 2011; now, they only award 1 point for each correct answer, with no 1/4 point deductions.

The free-response section is scored individually by hundreds of educators each June. Each essay is assigned a score from 0–6, 6 being high. The student's thesis may earn one point, their argument and evidence may earn up to four points, and an extra point may be earned for holistic complexity and sophistication of the argument or of the essay as a whole.

The FRQ scoring was changed in 2019 from a 9 point holistic scale.

The scores from the three essays are added and integrated with the adjusted multiple-choice score (using appropriate weights of each section) to generate a composite score. The composite is then converted into an AP score of 1-5 using a scale for that year's exam. [5]

Students generally receive their scores by mail in mid-July of the year they took the test. Scores can be viewed on the College Board website using My AP. Alternatively, they can receive their scores by phone as early as July 1 for a fee. [6] Sub-scores are not available for students for the English Language and Composition Exam.

Instructors of all AP courses each receive a score sheet showing the individual score for each of their students, as well as some score information and national averages.

Grade distributions

The grade distributions since 2008 are shown below:

YearScore percentages % of Scores 3 or HigherMeanStandard DeviationNumber of Students
54321
2008 [7] 8.7%18.2%31.4%30.5%11.3%58.2%2.821.12306,479
2009 [8] 10.5%19.0%30.2%28.4%11.9%59.7%2.881.16337,441
2010 [9] 10.7%20.8%29.3%27.6%11.6%60.8%2.911.17374,620
2011 [10] 11.1%20.0%30.1%27.5%11.3%61.2%2.921.17412,466
2012 [11] 11.0%20.2%28.9%27.9%11.9%60.2%2.901.18443,835
2013 [12] 10.2%16.2%28.6%29.8%15.2%55.0%2.771.19476,277
2014 [13] 9.6%17.9%28.4%30.1%14.1%55.8%2.791.17505,244
2015 [14] 9.9%18.3%27.3%29.7%14.8%55.5%2.791.19527,274
2016 [15] 10.7%17.6%27.1%32.1%12.6%55.4%2.821.18547,575
2017 [16] 9.1%18.3%27.7%30.7%14.2%55.0%2.771.17579,426
2018 [17] 10.6%17.7%28.8%29.3%13.5%57.2%2.831.19580,043
2019 [18] 9.9%18.2%26.2%31.2%14.5%54.3%2.781.19573,171
2020 [19] 12.6%20.4%29.1%26.2%11.8%62.1%2.961.20535,478
2021 [20] 9.1%22.9%25.8%29.3%12.9%57.7%2.861.18518,548
2022 [21] 10.4%21.1%24.2%29.8%14.5%55.7%2.831.21520,771
2023 [22] 10.3%19.7%26.1%29.5%14.4%56.1%2.821.20562,328

After 2010, the AP English Language and Composition test overtook the AP United States History test as the most taken in the AP program. [23]

Composite score range

The College Board has released information on the composite score range (out of 150) required to obtain each grade: [24] This score table is not absolute, and the ranges vary with each administration of the test. With the addition of the synthesis essay in 2007, the scoring tables were revised to account for the new essay type in Section II of the test.

Final ScoreRange (2001)Range (2002)
5108-150113-150
493-10796-112
372-9276-95
243-7148-75
10-420-47

Recent changes

In 2007, there was a change in the multiple choice portion of the exam. Questions began to be included about documentation and citation. These questions are based on at least one passage which is a published work, including footnotes or a bibliography.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advanced Placement</span> American program with college-level classes offered to high school students

Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board. AP offers undergraduate university-level curricula and examinations to high school students. Colleges and universities in the US and elsewhere may grant placement and course credit to students who obtain qualifying scores on the examinations.

Test of English as a Foreign Language is a standardized test to measure the English language ability of non-native speakers wishing to enroll in English-speaking universities. The test is accepted by more than 11,000 universities and other institutions in over 190 countries and territories. TOEFL is one of several major English-language tests worldwide, including IELTS, Duolingo English Test, Cambridge Assessment English, and Trinity College London exams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College Board</span> US educational nonprofit testing organization

The College Board is an American not-for-profit organization that was formed in December 1899 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) to expand access to higher education. While the College Board is not an association of colleges, it runs a membership association of institutions, including over 6,000 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations.

Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry is a course and examination offered by the College Board as a part of the Advanced Placement Program to give American and Canadian high school students the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities and earn college-level credits at certain colleges and universities. The AP Chemistry Exam has the lowest test participation rate out of all AP Courses, with around half of AP Chemistry students taking the exam.

Advanced Placement (AP) English Literature and Composition is a course and examination offered by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program in the United States.

Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish Language and Culture is a course and examination offered by the College Board in the United States education system as part of the Advanced Placement Program.

Advanced Placement (AP) United States History is a college-level course and examination offered by College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program.

Advanced Placement (AP) United States Government and Politics is a college-level course and examination offered to high school students through the College Board's Advanced Placement Program. This course surveys the structure and function of American government and politics that begins with an analysis of the United States Constitution, the foundation of the American political system. Students study the three branches of government, administrative agencies that support each branch, the role of political behavior in the democratic process, rules governing elections, political culture, and the workings of political parties and interest groups.

Advanced Placement (AP) World History: Modern is a college-level course and examination offered to high school students in the United States through the College Board's Advanced Placement program. AP World History: Modern was designed to help students develop a greater understanding of the evolution of global processes and contacts as well as interactions between different human societies. The course advances understanding through a combination of selective factual knowledge and appropriate analytical skills.

Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish Literature and Culture is a high school course and examination offered by the College Board's Advanced Placement Program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advanced Placement exams</span> Exams offered by College Board culminating Advanced Placement courses

Advanced Placement (AP) examinations are exams offered in United States by the College Board and are taken each May by students. The tests are the culmination of year-long Advanced Placement (AP) courses, which are typically offered at the high school level. AP exams have a multiple-choice section and a free-response section.

Advanced Placement (AP) Comparative Government and Politics is an Advanced Placement comparative politics course and exam offered by the College Board. It was first administered in 1987.

Advanced Placement (AP) Environmental Science is a course and exam offered by the American College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program to high school students interested in the environmental and natural sciences. AP Environmental Science was first offered in the 1997–1998 school year.

Advanced Placement (AP) French Language and Culture is a course offered by the College Board to high school students in the United States as an opportunity to earn placement credit for a college-level French course. The AP French Language test is widely compared to a final examination for a French 301 college course. Enrollment requirements for AP French Language differ from school to school, but students wishing to enter it should have a good command of French grammar and vocabulary as well as prior experience in listening, reading, speaking, and writing French and a holistic cultural knowledge of francophone regions. The AP French Language and Culture exam underwent a change beginning in May 2012 designed to better test interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational communication skills.

Advanced Placement (AP) Latin Literature was one of two examinations offered by the College Board's Advanced Placement Program for high school students to earn college credit for a college-level course in Latin literature.

Advanced Placement (AP) Music Theory is a course and examination offered in the United States by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program to high school students who wish to earn credit for a college-level music theory course.

Advanced Placement (AP) Latin, formerly Advanced Placement (AP) Latin: Vergil, is an examination in Latin literature offered to American high school students by the College Board's Advanced Placement Program. Prior to the 2012–2013 academic year, the course focused on poetry selections from the Aeneid, written by Augustan author Publius Vergilius Maro, also known as Vergil or Virgil. However, in the 2012–2013 year, the College Board changed the content of the course to include not only poetry, but also prose. The modified course consists of both selections from Vergil and selections from Commentaries on the Gallic War, written by prose author Gaius Julius Caesar. Also included in the new curriculum is an increased focus on sight reading. The student taking the exam will not necessarily have been exposed to the specific reading passage that appears on this portion of the exam. The College Board suggests that a curriculum include practice with sight reading. The exam is administered in May and is three hours long, consisting of a one-hour multiple-choice section and a two-hour free-response section.

AP Capstone is a 2-year program developed by the College Board, which consists of two courses: the AP Seminar and AP Research. Students who successfully complete the program and obtain scores of 3 or higher on at least four other AP exams receive either an AP Capstone Diploma or an AP Seminar and Research Certificate.

The SAT Subject Test in Spanish was a standardized test given by the College Board that assessed fluency in Spanish among high school students. It was typically taken after three to four years of studying the language, once the student had reached a significant level of understanding and competence in it. The test also partially emphasized preparation for AP Spanish and/or Spanish as a course in College. Passage selections were drawn from prose fiction, historical works, and newspaper and magazine articles, as well as advertisements, flyers and letters.

Advanced Placement (AP) International English Language is an AP Examinations course managed by Educational Testing Service (ETS) with the sponsorship of the College Board in New York. It is designed for non-native speakers to prepare for studying in an English-speaking university, particularly in North America. The course also gives students a chance to earn college credit. The three-hour exam assesses four language skills: listening, reading, writing, and speaking. The test paper has two sections: multiple-choice questions and free-response questions. APIEL committee consists of high school and university English teachers from Belgium, China, France, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States.

References

  1. ↑ "AP English Course Description" (PDF). College Board. 2008. p. 12. students choosing AP English Language and Composition should be interested in studying and writing various kinds of analytic or persuasive essays on nonliterary topics, and students choosing AP English Literature and Composition should be interested in studying literature of various periods and genres and using this wide reading knowledge in discussions of literary topics.
  2. ↑ "AP: English Language". Archived from the original on 2004-08-19. Retrieved 2007-06-03.
  3. 1 2 3 "AP English Language and Composition Exam Dates and Information – AP Students – The College Board". apstudent.collegeboard.org. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  4. 1 2 3 "AP® English Language and Composition: COURSE AND EXAM DESCRIPTION" (PDF). apcentral.collegeboard.org. Fall 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2023.
  5. ↑ "About AP Scores – The College Board". www.collegeboard.com. Archived from the original on 2008-12-18. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "View Your Scores on AP Exams – The College Board". www.collegeboard.com. Archived from the original on 2008-12-01. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  7. ↑ "AP English Language and Composition Student Grade Distributions: AP Examinations - May 2008" (PDF). College Board .
  8. ↑ "AP English Language Student Grade Distributions - Global: AP Examinations - May 2009" (PDF). College Board .
  9. ↑ "AP English language student score distributions - Global AP exams" (PDF). secure-media.collegeboard.org. May 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 4, 2022.
  10. ↑ "AP English Language Student Score Distributions - Global: AP Exams - May 2011" (PDF). College Board .
  11. ↑ "AP English Language Student Score Distributions - Global: AP Exams - May 2012" (PDF). College Board .
  12. ↑ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  16. ↑ "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS: AP Exams - May 2017" (PDF). College Board .
  17. ↑ "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS" (PDF). College Board .
  18. ↑ "2019 AP Exam Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  19. ↑ "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS" (PDF). Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  20. ↑ "2021 AP Exam Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  21. ↑ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  23. ↑ "AP Data – Archived Data 2011 – Research – College Board". www.collegeboard.com. Archived from the original on 2013-04-01. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  24. ↑ AP: The Grade-Setting Process Archived 2008-12-18 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 9 May 2008.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.