1. April 28 – AP Lit – The Exam Agenda: The Exam Practice: Take out:
Structure
Scoring
What it really is
Practice:
Essay prep
Take out:
Pen/Pencil
Notebook
Highlighter
Homework:
Choose ONE of the essay prompts, and complete the essay for class tomorrow

2. The AP English Literature Exam
Thursday, May 8 at 7:30 am
3 hours of testing time
1 hour = 55(ish) MC Questions
2 hours = 3 Essays

3. The Structure Multiple Choice:
55 test questions (give or take one or two)
4 or 5 passages of prose and poetry (usually two of each)
= 45% of total score
60 minutes
Essays:
3 Questions, 120 minutes
Question 1: Prose
Analysis of a 1-page piece of a short story, play or novel
Question 2: Poetry
An analysis of one or a comparative analysis of two poems
Question 3: Free Response
Free response about a novel of “literary merit”

4. So what is the test really?
A giant, demanding, reading comprehension test
An attempt to determine and evaluate your ability to insightfully read and interpret difficult texts
NOT a test of specific content
An exercise in time management – especially on the essay portion
The evil offspring of the College Board and the Educational Testing Service

5. Scoring MC Scoring Change – WRONG ANSWERS ARE NOT NEGATIVE POINTS
Essays are scored by readers in the early weeks of June
Readers are 55% College Professors and 45% HS AP (content area) Teachers
Readers are assigned to only one type of essay (at least three people will – likely – read your work)
Scores are based on a composite score formula

6. Scoring Formula Multiple choice = 45% of grade Essays = 55% of grade
(Essay 1 + Essay 2 + Essay 3) x = Essay Composite
(MC Score x 1.3) + Essay Composite = Composite Score on a scale of 150
But that’s not an AP score…

7. Equating, composite scores and cutpoints… oh my
Scores are then EQUATED based on a similar set of MC questions common to exams from multiple years
Common MC questions cover a wide range of content and difficulty levels
Used to compare students from year to year
The C.B. conducts college score comparability studies with college students in comparable courses
Composite score “cutpoints” and therefore AP scores are set to equate an AP 5 to a comparable college A, a 4 to a B, and a 3 to a C, etc.

8. For Example… Notice: There is NOT a fixed composite score
You can get just over 2/3 of the possible total, and still get a 5
Score setting is not common b/t subjects

9. Approximate Grading Scale:
Essay Points 15 18 21 24 27
MC Points 20 2 3 4 5 25 30 35 40 45 50 55

10. But what does that mean? Meaning
Approximate % of (participating) college students receiving that score
Equivalent 1st year college course grade
Will a student receive credit for this score?
5 – Extremely well qualified
6.5% A
Usually
4 – Well qualified
19.9%
A-/B+
3 – Qualified
33.9%
B-/C
Maybe
2 – Possibly qualified
30.6%
C/D
Rarely
1 – No recommendation
9.1% D
NOPE

11. Essay Prep - Practice
Complete the following before the end of the class period:
Review all three essay prompts
Decide in which order you would answer them
Write a comprehensive working thesis for each prompt
Choose one of the prompts to complete as a practice-write for homework this evening