AP United States Government and Politics College Comparability Study 2008

A Presentation and Discussion at the 2008 AP Annual Conference Seattle, WA, July 19, 2008 Ed Wagner Educational Testing Service

Why do we do comparability studies?

To create a better fit between collegelevel grading standards and AP standards To improve the validity of AP exams and courses

AP United States Government, July 19, 2008

How is the study performed?

College students are given a mini-version of the exam (20 multiple choice questions and one free response question) Their instructors grade the exams on the A-F scale AP readers grade the college essays using the same standards as regular AP essays Statisticians extrapolate an AP grade for each college student and compare it to that students college grade
3 AP United States Government, July 19, 2008

AP US Government and Politics Comparability Study: Sample Size 23 colleges/universities 1,171 college participants

AP United States Government, July 19, 2008

Who participated in the 2008 study for AP US Government and

Politics? Roughly 1,200 students Temple University University of Memphis taking Intro to US Government at 23 University of Georgia University of New Orleans colleges: University of Florida University of Maryland
Old Dominion University City University of New York Valparaiso University Hofstra University University of Oklahoma Roger Williams University Gustavus Adolphus College Swarthmore College DePauw University
5 AP United States Government, July 19, 2008

University of Louisville University of Pittsburgh Idaho State University Texas Southern University Wheaton College Macon State University University of Alabama at Birmingham University of New Mexico

Composite Scores Corresponding to Each Letter Grade (120-point scale)

Colleges
Exam Grade

AP Students

Average AP Grade Minimum CompositeAverage Score Score Score

A B C D F

71 58 45 35 NA*

5 4 3 2 1

86 69 52 27 0

93 76 60 40 16

*Cases of college students to whom professors assigned an F for either the exam or 6 AP United States Government, July 19, 2008 the course were removed from the analysis

What were the results of the study?

AP students at the 5-4 cut point scored higher than the average score earned by a college student at the A level AP students at the 4-3 cut point scored higher than the average score earned by a college student at the B level AP students at the 3-2 cut point scored higher than the average score earned by a college student at the C level AP students at the 2-1 cut point scored higher than the average score earned by a college student at the D level

AP United States Government, July 19, 2008

AP Grade

Percentage of Students Earning Each AP Grade

2008 Grade Distribution Without the Comparability Study*

2008 Actual Grade Distribution

5 4 3 2 1

7.6% 17.7% 28.1% 30.5% 16.1%

12.2% 13.1% 25.3% 25.8% 23.6%

AP United States Government, July 19, 2008

*8Percentages based on most but not all of the 2008 data

What are the implications of the study for the future of AP US Government and Politics? The study indicated no serious discrepancy between AP US Government and Politics course content and grading standards and standards used by college courses in the survey

AP United States Government, July 19, 2008

What can AP US Government and Politics teachers do? Keep doing what theyre doing! Pay close attention to the course description and supporting materials Work on developing students writing and analytic skills

10

AP United States Government, July 19, 2008