GENERAL NOTES FORM THE 2001 AP READING
Jeff Lucia - Providence Day School - Charlotte, NC

• There were 146,100 AB exams this year, 37,800 BC exams, and 2001 alternate exams, for a total of 185,900 exams.

• There were 615 readers, 112 of which were new.

• About 20 new readers who had been invited received a letter of "disinvitation" in May because a larger-than-expected percentage of people receiving the original invitation accepted. Those people were paid a one day reading stipend and guaranteed an invitation for next year.

• Check out the helpful AP Calculus links for a long list of professional development resources. 

http://www.collegeboard.org/ap/calculus/
http://www.collegeboard.org/ap/library/cd_02-03.html 
http://www.collegeboard.org/ap/techman/ 
http://www.collegeboard/colleges/credit01.html 

• Here are the mean scores out of nine points for each of the questions. The score in parentheses represents the adjusted mean, computed when scores of zero are omitted.

  AB 1 - 4.84 (5.61)		BC 1 - 2.69 (3.31)
  AB 2 - 3.49 (4.18)		BC 2 - 5.27 (5.59)
  AB 3 - 2.40 (3.38)		BC 3 - 4.16 (4.69)
  AB 4 - 3.05 (3.60)		BC 4 - 4.70 (4.91)
  AB 5 - 6.12 (6.64)		BC 5 - 5.61 (6.61)
  AB 6 - 3.64 (4.74)		BC 6 - 3.69 (4.25)
  Total AB 23.54 (28.15)		Total BC 26.12 (29.36)

  
  
• Teachers should emphasize to students to interpret direction in an explanation. In AB 2/BC 2 (c) the student who said "this means that the temperature is changing at a rate of -0.549° C/day when t = 12 days" did not get the explanation point. It was necessary for the student to say "decreasing," "falling," "cooling," etc. (or "increasing" if the answer had been positive).
• There are still some variations in the internal algorithms of different acceptable calculators which can cause "correct" answers to differ at the third decimal place. The grading takes this into account, but this is something still being worked on.
• Students continue to put themselves in jeopardy by not labeling or incorrectly labeling sign tests in justifications. In most of these cases, students left off a label or used a generic f(x) in a question such as AB 3/BC 3 (where a(t) and v(t) are used) or AB 4/BC4 (where h(x) and its derivatives are used). Usually the students were thinking correctly, but the labeling error leaves doubt as to what label they want. Students:

DON'T MAKE THE READER MAKE YOUR DECISION FOR YOU!

• Once again, students are reminded that they should indicate somehow (underline, circle, box, etc.) their final answer to a problem. This eliminates any possible ambiguity as to the student's intention.
• Units are important!! When a problem requests units there will be points allocated for them.
• Many students seem to automatically go into a second derivative test for justification of local extrema, even when the first derivative test is easier to apply (see AB4/BC4). Quotient rule errors caused many students who took this approach to lose points.
• In a question with a given domain other than all real numbers, students should repeat the restrictions in their answers. Phrases like "concave up everywhere" or "concave up for all x" lost a point on AB 4/BC 4 (b) because x = 0 was not repeated in the answer.
• Now that the questions are not printed in the student solution booklet, students should take extra care to put work for each part of each question in the correct space. Readers attempt to catch such errors, but things are not always clear, and it is a shame for a student to lose points for that reason.

A CONVERSATION WITH THE AP CALCULUS 
TEST DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
Jeff Lucia - Providence Day School - Charlotte, NC

On Wednesday, June 13 the annual "conversation" was held between the members of the AP Calculus Test Development Committee (TDC) and many of the over 600 readers and table leaders at the AP Calculus reading at Colorado State University. The Committee members are: Chairman Thomas Dick, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon; Stella Ashford, Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; David Bressoud, Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota; Benjamin Klein, Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina; Maria Perez-Randle, Bishop Kenny High School, Jacksonville, Florida; Nancy Stephenson, Clements High School, Sugar Land, Texas; Michael White, Pennridge High School, Perkasie, Pennsylvania. Present at some or all of the Committee's meetings are Calculus Chief Faculty Consultant Larry Riddle, Agnes Scott College, Decatur, Georgia, and Gloria Dion, Chauncey Jones and Craig Wright from Educational Testing Service. Here are some of the highlights from that meeting:

TDC: Let's start by telling you a little about what we do. First, we construct the test, not the grading rubrics. It's up to the exam leadership to develop the rubrics, and Larry Riddle often sits in our meetings writing possible rubrics as he listens to the free response questions we are discussing. We want to create questions that will include some writing in the solution, and we don't want to compartmentalize the questions into 9 one-point parts. Our concern is that the question is a valid calculus question and his priority is that the rubric is fair and consistent for the students, not necessarily that it's easy for the readers to score. The whole thing is really a joint effort.

Anyway, we meet four times a year, for four days at a time, in July, October, January and March. Between meetings we write questions, both multiple choice and free response, and critique existing items in the pool. At the meetings we develop sets of six free response questions and review multiple choice sections. We also discuss issues pertinent to AP Calculus, such as the Course Description, exam directions, equity, calculators and technology and teacher development.

We put together the exam by first choosing three common questions to be on both the AB and BC exams. We then fill out each of those exams with three more questions, with three questions in the open calculator section and three in the closed calculator section. One of the BC questions must be split so that part of it contains BC-only content and the rest has material common to both the AB and BC Course Descriptions. ETS then puts together a section of multiple choice questions for the Committee to review. The questions must complete the coverage of overall course content as much as possible, and they will also contain equating questions which provide a statistical link to previous exams. After that's done we revise, revise and revise. We will pretty much finish the exam for 2002 at the July 2001 meeting. At that time we will also do the first draft of the 2003 exam. We do not reuse free response questions, although we used to do that some on the alternate exam. That exam was secure (not released) so we were OK there. But the alternate exam has gotten so big now that we are probably unable to keep it secure, so we will begin creating a new one for each year and will probably release the free response questions.

Reader: Are there any upcoming changes to the AP Calculus Course Description?

TDC: Yes, beginning in 2003-2004 slope fields will be included in the AB syllabus for the first time. We think the appropriate place to introduce slope fields is at the very beginning of antiderivatives, so that students can get a visual concept of that process. We also considered other topics, like Euler's Method, but we didn't think it would be wise to add too much.

Reader: In questions where tabular data is given, why isn't there a statement in the directions telling the student "do not attempt to answer this question by finding a function which fits the data?

TDC: To a certain extent, we want students to develop a sense of when the approach is appropriate. In any case, to do that would likely mean that the student would generate a regression equation, and that is not one of the four allowable calculator operations for the AP Exam.

Reader: Why, in both 2000 and 2001, has there been one out of three questions in the open calculator section of the free response questions which was not calculator active?

TDC: This is not really a change. Since 1995, when graphing calculators were first allowed, roughly one-third of the exam has been calculator active. That's two free response questions. It is possible, however, that we might, in the future, distribute those calculator active points among all the of those questions.

Reader: Is there any plan to change the directions for how answers are presented on the exam, such as the three decimal place rule or requiring simplification of answers to some standard form?

TDC: The exam directions are an ongoing discussion item. We don't want to make wholesale changes, but we might tweak things a bit. We are not all happy with three decimal places, but we have to have some standard, and that's what we have chosen. We are also sympathetic to the student who loses points for simplification (non-calculus errors), and we fear that more points might be lost if we required answers to be simplified. Often the readers here can tell which students have teachers who are readers or take AP workshops by the way they present their solutions. We probably need to train teachers better about those things.

Reader: What interactions does the Committee have with client disciplines such as science and engineering?

TDC: As a committee, we really don't, but generally we are people who are interested and knowledgeable in various areas. When we use a "real world" problem, ETS checks with "experts" to be sure the question is reasonable. One thing we have learned is that those disciplines don't want us to use a generic "f(x)" for every function. So we will continue to use multiple labels like W(x) and P(t), and hope that students are trained well enough on this that they don't lose points on the exam for misuse of these labels or calling everything f(x).

Reader: Would it be appropriate to consider all the work on a student's graph in grading the exam, or at least include a disclaimer in the question that it may not be considered? After all, the graph is printed in the solution booklet. And I think units should be graded for correctness every time they are included in a problem.

TDC: That's a good suggestion, maybe so, but the length of the directions is a concern. There might be a limit to how much students can actually keep in mind, especially if they are not particularly familiar with the directions going into the exam. (Editor's Note: The directions are available on the Internet and are sent to every school many weeks in advance of the exam.) And about the units, that's really for the Chief Faculty Consultant to decide.

Reader: Is it possible to have the point values printed on each question on the exam?

TDC: Probably not, because sometimes the preliminary point values are changed in the setting of the standards in order to allow the question to read more fairly. That happened this year on a couple of questions.

Reader: Will the multiple choice section be released any time soon?

TDC: It was unusual for Calculus to release both the 1997 and 1998 exams. We generally operate on about a five year cycle, so possibly 2003 will be released.

Reader: Have you considered switching the two multiple choice parts of the exam? That way students could work the open calculator section first, give up their calculators, and work on the closed section while having an opportunity to go back to the open section without a calculator.

TDC: I don't know, we can certainly discuss it. ETS may have reasons for not doing it that way. Proctoring might be a problem.

Reader: Now that more and more students are getting their first calculus course in Advanced Placement, what do college faculty want to be done better or differently in AP?

TDC: We are actually pretty happy with AP. The emphasis is on understanding and reasoning, not just algorithms. Frankly, not all colleges do that particularly well. Often the best prepared students for Calculus II are those who took Calculus AB in high school. One particular college accepted 100 students into their Honors Program all of whom took AP Calculus in high school.

Reader: Are you able to try out the free response questions on real students?

TDC: The college people, maybe, very discreetly. But the high school members, that's a different story. Mainly, we on the Committee are the main pilots.

Reader: Do you think it would be a good idea for "writing mathematics" to be included in the Course Description? And do you have any suggestions to help the students do better?

TDC: I can't say for sure that it will be in the Course Description, but we could possibly publish some examples. We saw on AB 4/BC 4 this year that students have difficulty with writing. For one thing, they need to have questions during their courses which require writing, and be held accountable for it. And don't just start that in Calculus class. Use your vertical teams and start it in previous courses. As they say, early and often. Another thing you could do is have students write, critique each other, and rewrite, like they do in some English and writing courses. If you feel like you have little time to create, use what you already have. You could ask them to explain multiple choice responses on tests, or part of your final exam could be done in groups in class. Project assignments which require writing can be helpful. There are lots of good materials already published. Check a math resource library for help.

Reader: I thought the time allocation on the Free Response section was much better this year. And thanks for making Problem 1 accessible for all students.

TDC: We strive for all questions to be accessible. There's no more Question 6, like there used to be, to separate the 6's from the 5's, so to speak. We like parts (a), (b), and (c), for instance, to be thematic, with multiple entry points. Tell your students to at least attempt every part of every question. As for the timing, it was a big concern. We're glad you're happy!

A READER'S COLORADO DIARY
Tish Morris - Greensboro Day School - Greensboro, NC

Friday night I wonder why I am packing to catch a flight to Denver at 7 a.m. The final week of school has been grueling, but I don't have to tell you that! Last year's experience, my first, is a distant memory. The plane lands at Jeppeson Field and the "why" is answered in an overwhelming rush. The cool, dry air and the majestic scenery are only a small piece of the puzzle called AP grading or as I fondly refer to it as "Calculus Camp."

Shuttle buses line the walk near the baggage carousel. They run continuously (not discreetly) as readers arrive from their various locations around the world. The destination is Colorado State University located about one hour north in Fort Collins at the base of the Rockies. I catch up with a dear friend, who as luck would have it, arrives at the same time. Check-in is swift, we get our dorm keys and meal cards, unpack, and head out to find the others with whom we've shared this experience and anticipation with before.

First year readers, "acorns" as they are referred to because of the acorn on their name tags, can only guess what the following week holds in store for them. Besides the obvious, they will find the reading to be a clearinghouse of activities and experiences. It is a good place to network, share ideas, and where opportunities for professional growth, both planned and haphazard, are plentiful. 

Readers have their own dorm room and share a bathroom with an adjacent room. Meals are provided in a cafeteria in one of the dorms. Breakfast and dinner are at fixed times while the group rotates through three different lunch slots to save time. We are also treated to midmorning and mid-afternoon snacks. If the weather is cooperative, the breaks are sometimes held outdoors. The view from this location is awesome - facing west across a large expanse of green playing fields and ending at the snowcapped Rockies. Food is plentiful with many choices. It is probably just as well that the dorms are about a quarter mile from the reading location!

The process begins at 8 a.m. on Sunday morning. Six hundred plus readers, table leaders, question leaders, exam leaders, and the chief faculty consultant, Larry Riddle from Agnes Scott College, gather in an auditorium for orientation. Besides the usual "housekeeping stuff" that goes on during the first two hour session, the main attraction is the unveiling of this year's tee shirt. Annually a new logo is designed and the number and the different style of shirts he wears throughout the week can determine a reader's longevity. We get down to business after the morning break when we all head back into the auditorium for our first briefing session. 

Questions 2, 3, and 4 were common to both the AB and BC exams. Question leaders for number two start the show and present us with the standard or rubric for grading it. (Standards will be available in early July at www.collegeboard. com/ap/ subjects. html.) This was determined the previous week after much discussion and haggling. They lead us through the different kinds of mistakes students can make and how to read along with these mistakes and when/if to award any points for subsequent work. We are then given a packet with at least a dozen student samples. Quietly we grade one of these at a time as a group, discuss the correct result and get to ask the "what-if" questions. We will do this at least a half a dozen more times. Nearly two hours later, the graders are almost ready to venture out on their own. 

Twelve graders are assigned to a room with two table leaders and an assistant who is generally a college student and/or local person. When we arrive in our rooms, we are asked to grade two or three more student samples and then discuss them together. At that point we're ready to start on our own.

The logistics and organization of moving approximately 184,000 exams around is truly amazing! A folder contains twenty-five exam booklets and six scoring sheets, one for each question. Ten of these folders are in one box. The boxes are moved from room to room via hand-held trucks. The helper's job is to distribute and collect folders, make sure our #2 pencils are sharpened, and that we're well stocked with candy. Our grader number goes on the scoring sheet and the folder so we can check to make sure we don't grade a second question from the same folder of exams. 

The grader's job is to determine if the student addressed the question the test committee asked. As we all know, there can be several different routes to get the right answer and many times more mistakes can be made along the way. The first couple of folders seem to take forever to grade as you get used to the different approaches the students can take. But even repetitiveness does not guarantee familiarity. I had easily graded over 250 AB #6's when I came across a mistake that could have caused a five out of a nine-point swing on that problem. When in doubt, you ask your table partner how he would interpret the work. Your table partner, another reader, is your first line of defense. As your primary consultant, he becomes your "significant other" each day from 8 to 5. You also quickly learn not to be intimated when he laps you in getting problems graded faster than you do! When still in doubt, you go to your table leader. 

Table leaders have had six years experience as a reader as well as their years as TL's. I think of them as the quality control department. One of their main jobs is to "back read" the readers. In essence, they check a folder a reader has already graded for accuracy. In addition to their experience, they arrive several days in advance of the rest of us so they have had the advantage of more practice in reading the problems. 

During my acorn year, I felt slightly in awe and intimidated by them. I wondered if I knew enough to grade, would I be accurate enough, and would I grade fast enough. You quickly learn to grade at your own speed with a high degree of precision and that the table leaders are there to help you interpret the students' work.

I believe each reader grades a problem as if it were done by one of his own students. If you were to take a minute and observe the other graders, you'd probably see quite an animated lot. People are counting on the fingers, jotting down tic marks, or moving coins to help them keep track of point distributions. You can hear groans; see folks hitting themselves on the head or fists lightly hitting the table. You'll be disappointed when a student writes "When x < 2, is positive and increases while when x > 2, is negative and decreases making x = 2 a local minimum." UGH!!! Equally so, you'll hear quiet cheers, "YESSSS", and see thumbs up. You'll be amazed at how many blank pages you'll come across, and you'll rejoice at the perfect documentation allowing you to write a "9".

My room is to leave question 2 Sunday afternoon and begin number 3 on Monday morning. We are scheduled to grade numbers 2, 3, 4, and 6 returning to number 2 on Friday or Saturday. By the end of the day on Wednesday you feel as though you'll never get to Saturday but by Thursday afternoon, you can't believe that tomorrow's Friday!

A different activity is planned each evening. College Board holds an open forum to discuss pertinent issue and to announce the opening of AP Central this fall, a most comprehensive site online. The test development committee describes their work to us, takes our questions, and listens to our comments. One evening, an "off-campus field trip" is planned. This year, several busloads of graders went to Rocky Mountain

During a professional night, Janet Andersen from Hope College in Michigan entertained us with her bag of tricks for teaching calculus. Friday night brings a special closing night dinner and the calculus stage show. This annual event celebrating our creative talents is a high point of the week. In my opinion, some folks are so gifted, they could quit their day jobs! At the end of the program, sixth year graders are recognized and retired. 

Every teacher should have this kind of opportunity for validation. The collegiality is limitless, from being in a formal presentation to walking between buildings. It would be impossible to leave the reading without having felt some kind of professional growth. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I highly recommend it to each and every one of you. 

NOTES FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK
Deborah Britt - Asheville High School - Asheville, NC

The reading is over and once again we were able to get all those papers graded. Scores will be coming to your school and your students in the next few weeks. Overall, I thought the AB exam was very typical of the new curriculum changes with more emphasis (but gradual) on units and appropriate calculator use. It was disappointing for me to grade AB and BC papers where students were getting setup points but could not get the answer point because they could not type in a numerical derivative or integral in their calculator. I felt that this might mean teachers need to be using and showing how this would be done on an overhead. Students will imitate our behavior and if they do not see the calculator in our hands and being used, some will not take their own initiative. I had prepared my students to expect the "good old particle problem" but once again I was not correct. However, my students said they were more prepared for the Calculus exam than any other by doing old test questions. 

To see the pictures of things that went on at the 2001 reading, please go to users.hawken.edu/creno/apmath. Please note this is not a www. address and that we really did grade papers some of the time. My biggest excitement was being part of the group that officially graded over one million AP essay questions in a single reading. It feels like being part of an unnamed famous fast food chain celebrating the sales of their one-millionth burger. (Hint, this chain has some famous mathematical golden arches.) They might have done this last year if it were not for all the blank books we saw. But, this year it was official. 

Using the TI-83 in class has kept me from using my TI-89 as much as I did when I first got it. Most of my students have 83's and we have class sets at my school now so most of my daily involvement with 89's comes from helping an individual student now and then. The students cannot use the 89 on the State EOC tests so I have limited their use in non calculus classes to homework and class work. I wish I could resolve this dilemma, but I feel that the 83 is so wonderful in Statistics and does everything required by the AP program that it is my calculator of choice for the department. To help with the appreciation of the 89, I asked Brenda Batten to write an article for us with screens so that we would want to pick up those 89's and play. Brenda is a dear friend and fellow College Board consultant who wrote most of the article at the AP reading. She and Larry Peterson co-authored a really good AP Calculus test bank that was released last year and is geared to AP. I hope her article is useful to you and she is willing to write more for the 89 if we want her to do so.

The AP reading was a great time to share and NCAAPMT members would be proud of your Board Members using so much of their time to make our newsletter and organization better. I'm sure you'll recognize their efforts when you gain their insight about specific problems on this year's exam so I will not elaborate here on their efforts. Read their comments in this newsletter about each question and note that we recruited some other out-of-state members of our organization to help with all the work. (Yes, some of these are not southerners, but we love 'em anyway! One of these days I will compose my article onhow to identify a redneck calculus teacher. Send your comments and suggestions to me at dbritt1039.aol.com. We have always come up with fun endings at the readings to "You might be an AP Redneck Calculus Teacher if..." Somehow being in Clemson started all this, and it lost some of its flair in Colorado, but we worked on it more this year.)

I had several comments about our web site and the fact that it is not as up to date as it needs to be and that some of the links were inaccessible. I spent an evening with Marshall Ransom discussing how we could resolve this. Marshall has obtained several million dollars in monies to help math organizations with Internet access. He and our own Earl Mitchelle started this web idea, and now we need to move a step beyond. Marshall has offered to work with our as yet unknown representative in Daytona, Florida, to see that we better serve you and our AP students. Our next NCAAPMT Board of Director's meeting will be Saturday, August 11 and this Internet connection to you will be on the agenda. Contact us if you have ideas.

I hope you have purchased at least a personal copy of the APCD for Calculus that The College Board now has available. Both teachers and students can purchase individual copies for around $49. It has practice exams, practice scoring for students and some wonderful demonstrations with rotations of solids. There is a great demo for each major topic that teachers will find helpful. If they still have the special at 2 for $79, you and another AP colleague can save money. I went in with the AP European History teacher but you can also get two of the same topic. There is also a site license available for your school or system for around $450. This year was my trial year to see how good it was and whether I'd really use it. Next year, I plan for students to buy their own or to invest in school wide access. I also have some new interactive rotation of solids software that Audrey Weeks (amweeks@aol.com) from California demonstrated in Orlando at NCTM. It is absolutely great but you need to already have Geometer's Sketchpad and be familiar with using it. I hope to see her stuff become available on the TI-92 now that our newest versions have the Sketchpad rather than Capri Geometry. I was also able to see and play with the newer and faster TI-83 Silver edition at the reading and see some new applications for us in calculus. I do not know many details as yet but will let you know more later. I suggest you join the AP Calculus Listserv group presently on The College Board Internet site. 

I look forward to seeing you at our annual meeting this fall at NCCTM (October 11-12) in Greensboro, NC. Please plan to attend the 2nd annual AP reception and information session at the NCTM meeting in Los Vegas April 2002. Last year's 1st official AP reception in Orlando was well attended with most of the test development committee and College Board people there to answer questions. The free materials and $100 gift certificates from sponsors also helped to make the evening enjoyable. Susan Kornstein is really working hard to make the AP info on the Internet useful. Susan is the mathematics editor for the new site called AP Central, the online resources for Teachers, Schools, Colleges, and Educational professionals. Visit AP Central at collegeboard.com launching in Fall 2001 on the College Board Web site.

To close, I'll say that the best thing you can do to better serve your students is to keep trying to become an AP Reader. I know there is a waiting list but please don't give up trying. Thanks for allowing me to serve you. Our AP 2001 T-shirt contest slogan winner probably says it best... 

AP Exam $77  Graphing Calculator $100 #2 pencil 5 cents Knowledge of Calculus ... Priceless!

2002-2003 CALCULUS COURSE DESCRIPTION BOOKLET
Earl Mitchelle - Asheville School - Asheville, NC

The 2002-2003 Course Description booklet , a. k. a., the "acorn booklet", is now available at the following web site in PDF format and can be downloaded.

http://www.collegeboard.org/ap/library/cd_02-03.html 

Much of the material in the last edition is still in the new edition and is, of course, still valid. There is some new information in the 2002-2003 booklet. However, there are no major changes in the Topic Outline from the 2000-2001 Topic Outlines for either AB or BC calculus, a CD-ROM, is available for both teachers and students. It includes multiple-choice examinations, free-response tutorials, and interactive explorations of selected calculus concepts.

The new edition announces that slope fields will be included in the Topic Outline for AB calculus Topic Outline for the 2003-2004 academic year and will be included in the possible topics for the 2004 AB examination. Slope fields are already on the BC Topic Outline.

A statement "Use of Graphing Calculators" addresses the issues involved with the need for classroom instruction to include both paper-and-pencil techniques as well as the use of graphing calculators to solve problems.

The new edition of the acorn booklet also includes "Showing Work on the Free-Response Sections." This includes a brief discussion about the need for students to show adequate justification to support answers that have been obtained using a graphing calculator. In the past, students have not earned the maximum points for a response because they have not included adequate justification or analysis to support their answers. Students should be cautioned not to give "bald'" answers, i. e., answers with no supporting work. 

This year, 2001, is the fourth year that students who take the BC examination have also been given an AB subscore. A subset of questions on BC examinations cover material that is also included in the AB Topic Outline. The College Board has included a section called "Calculus AB Subscore Graded for the Calculus BC Examination." College Board has done a comparative study between the BC scores and the AB subscores for the years 1998, 1999, and 2000 which is included in the 2002-2003 acorn booklet. Here are some examples of the data that are included in the study.

• In 1998, 28.3% of the students who got a 1 on the BC examination also got an AB subscore of 1. 

• In 1999, 39.4% of the students who got a 3 on the BC examination also got an AB subscore of 3.

• In 2000, 98.8% of the students who got a 5 on the BC examination also got and AB subscore of 5

The complete set of the data for all three years is contained in the 2002-2003 course description booklet.

In the new section "The Grade Setting Process," a brief explanation is given that outlines how the cutoff points for determining the grades 1-5. The statistical process called "equating" is used to compare the achievement of students on the current year's examination with the achievement of students in previous years.

2001 AB AND BC EXAMINATIONS STATISTICS 
FOR FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

NCAAPMT extends its appreciation to Craig Wright of the Educational Testing Service for providing these statistics. 

Approximate Numbers Of Examinations:
  AB: 144,000
BC: 37,800

AB Grade Distribution
Mean Grade: 3.00 - Standard Deviation: 1.34
Grade Approximate Percent

BC Grade Distribution
Mean Score: 3.62 - Standard Deviation: 1.37
Grade Approximate Percent

AB Subscore Grade Distribution
Mean Score: 4.00 - Standard Deviation: 1.10
Grade Approximate Percent

Comparison Of BC Grades And AB Subscore Grades

• 58.9% of the students had the same AB subscore grade and they had on their BC grade. 
• 37.5% of the students had a higher grade on their AB subscore grade than they had on their BC grade.
• 3.6% of the students had a lower AB subscore grade than they had on their BC grade. The majority of these students had a 5 on their BC examination and a 4 on their AB examination.
• The 2002-2003 Calculus Course Description booklet contains the section "Calculus AB Subscore Grade for the Calculus BC Examination" on pages 22-24. This section gives a more extensive comparison between the AB subscore grade and the BC score for the years 1998, 1999, and 2000.