As the AP World Exam season comes to an end, AP students are reflecting back on the result of months of studying, note taking, and group cramming sessions. The AP World test is an academically challenging exam, analzying students’ abilities to interpret documents, write responses, and answer accurately on multiple choice questions over a three hour long assessment period.
The exam is broken up into two sections, the first being dedicated to 55 multiple choice questions to be answered in 55 minutes, and 3 short answer questions to be answered in 40 minutes. The second half gives students a full hour and 40 minutes to write a document based essay, and a long question essay. There’s a ten minute break in between sections.
Students are graded on a scale of 1-5, and receive their scores in July. Scores 1-2 are failing, while 3 and above are passing, and have the potential to receive college credit. According to College Board, only 13.9% students scored a 5 on the exam, while around 64.3% of students scored a 3 or higher.
To help better grasp a more general understanding of the test-taking experience, AP World students reflected back on both the test and how they think they did.
Q: What was the most and least challenging part of the exam?
A: The easiest part was definitely the multiple choice questions. And the hardest was the long essay question.
Q: What is your predicted score?
A: I might have gotten a five, but I think I got a four.
Q: What was the best way you studied?
A: Social studying with friends. I felt prepared.
Q: What was the most and least challenging part of the exam?
A: I think the easiest part was the LEQ because I felt like I was the most prepared for it, format and content wise. The hardest part was the short answer questions because I felt less prepared.
Q: What’s your predicted score?
A: I think I got a four or a five.
Q: What were the best ways you studied?
A: I did a lot of picking a time period and then listing out all the most important empires during that time period, and just wrote out everything I remembered about them and went back into my notes and filled in a different color for everything I didn’t remember. And then I just kept going until I remembered everything. Also using the dashboard and answering practice short answer questions.
Q: What was the most and least challenging part of the exam?
A: I think the easiest part was probably the multiple choice questions. It was a lot easier than I was expecting it to be. And than the hardest part…was the short answer questions, because I had trouble knowing if my answers were too long or too short.
Q: What’s your predicted score?
A: Honestly a 4 or a 5 because I was really confident on most of it.
Q: What were the best ways you studied?
A: I use a lot of different study methods. The most efficient one was probably me and my friends. Maybe a timeline where we would, like, add one thing and just connect one thing from a long time ago to a modern thing today.
Q: What was the most and least challenging part of the exam?
A: The most challenging part was probably the DBQ because I definitely panicked while reading the prompts and forgot to prewrite some stuff. The easiest part was probably the multiple choice because the answers were really broad.
Q: What’s your predicted score?
A: I think four, but I’m aiming for a five.
Q: What were the best ways you studied?
A: I feel like learning key terms made stuff really easy because I could just pull a bunch of specifics out of nowhere.
Q: What was the most and least challenging part of the exam?
A: The easiest part was the multiple choice questions, and the hardest part was the DBQ.
Q: What’s your predicted score?
A: I think my predicted score would be like a four? Like a higher four?
Q: What was the best way you studied?
A: I think studying socially with my peers was really useful and then doing practice tests for writing tests.
Q: What was the most and least challenging part of the exam?
A: The easiest part was the short answer question, and the hardest part was the multiple choice.
Q: What’s your predicted score?
A: Like around a four.
Q: What was the best way you studied?
A: Going over time periods and listening to videos.
Q: What was the most and least challenging part of the AP world exam?
A: I would say the hardest part was the DBQ. I had no idea what in the world the prompt was, and the easiest part was probably the long essay question.
Q: What’s your predicted score?
A: Five.
Q: What’s the best way you studied?
A: I would say the best study method would be going through the book and redoing the 55 multiple choice at the end.
As another year of testing comes to a close, AP World students can look back at the year and their exam knowing their hard work paid off.