The College Board has recently announced some changes for AP Statistics for next school year. They also released a short video specifically for AP Statistics. So, what’s new?
Most important, let’s start by acknowledging what IS NOT CHANGING:
The content is still the same.
This is not a course redesign like you heard your science and social studies colleagues grumbling about. The information that was previously in the AP Statistics Topic Outline will now be clearly articulated in detail in the new AP Statistics Course and Exam Description, which will be released in late May (pre-order using this form).
The AP Exam is the same.
The number and type of questions remains the same: 40 multiple choice, 5 short free response and 1 investigative task.The weighting, timing, and number of questions on the exam aren't changing.
Now, here is what IS GOING TO BE NEW for next school year:
New Formula Sheet
Hooray!!! This might be the most exciting change for new year. We hope they get rid of this one:
The new formula sheet will be released after the May 2019 exam.
Online Test Bank of Released College Board questions
The College Board has taken all of the released multiple choice and free response questions and put them into a searchable test bank, allowing teachers to create custom assignments and assessments to use with their students (online or printed). No more screenshots and copy/paste!
The New Course Framework has 9 Units
The College Board has organized the content into 9 Units, which will align with the 9 Personal Progress Checks available to students through their College Board accounts.
Exploring One-Variable Data
Exploring Two-Variable Data
Collecting Data
Probability, Random Variables, and Probability Distributions
Sampling Distributions
Inference for Categorical Data: Proportions
Inference for Quantitative Data: Means
Inference for Categorical Data: Chi-Square
Inference for Quantitative Data: Slopes
The Units make it clear that the content of the course has not changed (although it may be grouped a bit differently). The full Course Framework will be publicly released in late May 2019.
Personal Progress Checks and Progress Dashboard
Using students’ College Board accounts, teachers can assign the Personal Progress Checks throughout the year to assess student understanding. These formative assessments will align with College Board suggested Units. Teachers can then use the Progress Dashboard to access the results from these assessments, allowing teachers to pinpoint areas of weakness in their students.
Student Registration is Moving to the Fall
Students will have to commit to taking the AP Exam earlier in the school year. The College Board piloted this new structure with 40,000 students last year and found the number of students earning qualifying scores increased overall, with bigger increases for underrepresented minority students and low-income students.