AP Pass Rates

[cookderosa]

I thought it would be fun to post the AP pass rates put out by college board for the 2015 season. We don't have a ton of AP test takers, but in theory, it's open to anyone of any age. (if you don't mind writing and paying a little more, you can sneak in a few subjects CLEP and DSST don't have)

According to pass rate data from 2015, here are the 5 exams with the lowest pass rates, followed by the exams with the 5 highest pass rates on the last cycle. This year's scores are not all reported. (link to pdf follows)

LOWEST PASS RATES
1. Physics 1 (pass rate 39.2%)
2. Environmental Science (pass rate 47.0%)
3. Govt. and Politics (pass rate 48.0%)
4. United States History (pass rate 51.2%)
5. World History (pass rate 52.1%)

HIGHEST PASS RATES
1. Chinese Language (pass rate 93.1%)
2. Spanish Language (pass rate 90.1%)
3. Calculus BC (pass rate 79.9%)
4. Studio Art 2-D (pass rate 78.2%)
5. Studio Art Drawing (pass rate 78.1%)

https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/di...s-2015.pdf

[Zachcleigh]

One thing to keep in mind is that AP exams are scored 1-5. Passing score =3.
Generally most schools will take almost every exam with a score of 3 or above. However, at least from my experience, I have noticed that the majority of schools for the calc ab and bc exams require a minimum of 4-5 for credit.
I self studied the AP calc ab exam my junior year. Got a 3 on it. Woohoo I PASSED!
But my school only accepts 4s and up.

Just something to be wary about if you attempt to self study an exam.

[TrailRunr]

I agree with the comment about Calc AB and BC.

I've seen schools require a 5 and only give you free elective credit for 4s and 3s. Then you end up having to retake Calc even though you "passed" the AP test. These schools don't take CLEP at all. This type of restriction on AP credit also occurs with other AP subjects as well, with less frequency.

[cookderosa]

I agree with the comment about Calc AB and BC.

I've seen schools require a 5 and only give you free elective credit for 4s and 3s. Then you end up having to retake Calc even though you "passed" the AP test. These schools don't take CLEP at all. This type of restriction on AP credit also occurs with other AP subjects as well, with less frequency.

Yes, you have to look. Sometimes the exact equivalency will have 2 exam options, and the college will award different credit. I've seen AP American History (which is = to CLEP US History 1 and US History 2) only yield 3 credits, while with CLEP you could get 3 for each.

Also, if you're in any way seeing colleges that don't award AP credit, you're not usually going to go very far with CLEP. AP is accepted at 3200 colleges while CLEP is only at about 2900. So, you can research it backwards- if they award credit for CLEP, you can probably count on AP too. AP has a few subjects CLEP doesn't, so for someone who likes to jump through lots of hoops, AP is an option.

[cookderosa]

Here are the basics when comparing CLEP and AP:

(posted on my Homeschooling for College Credit page Nov 19, 2013)

BRAND
CLEP-The College Board
AP-The College Board

COST
CLEP- $80 plus testing center fee $0-$30 paid on exam day
AP- $92 paid in advance.

AUDIENCE
CLEP- any age allowed, typically adults
AP- any age allowed, typically high school students

TEST LOCATION
CLEP- any test center found in the database, including local colleges
AP – area high schools that offer the AP course will also offer the exam for that course

AVAILABILITY
CLEP- 365 days per year
AP- 1 day per year (May)

PROCTOR
CLEP- an approved proctor within the testing center
AP- an approved proctor within the high school

FORMAT
CLEP- all exams are multiple choice on computer (select the bubble by clicking the mouse). College Composition Modular also requires an essay typed into a text box on the screen to be sent away for grading.
AP- all exams (except Chinese & Japanese) are pencil and paper tests. (fill in the bubble by coloring in the bubble). All exams have a free response section requiring solutions, essays, or spoken answers depending on the specific exam.

TIME
CLEP- all exams are 90 minutes.
AP- all exams are 3 hours.

SCORE NOTIFICATION
CLEP- instantly provided online when you hit “submit” on your test.
AP- mailed into graders. Starting in 2014, scores will be posted to the student’s online account starting in June.

SCORE
CLEP- a numeric scaled score that ranges from 20-80. 80 is a “perfect score.” A passing score is generally considered to be 50, but colleges may require higher scores or accept lower ones.
AP- a numeric scaled score that ranges from 1-5. 5 is a “perfect score.” A passing score is generally considered to be 3, but colleges may require higher scores or accept lower ones.

VARIETY OF TESTS
CLEP- 33 exams.
AP- 37 exams, but only 10 exam days are open per year, and many exams happen at the same time. (ex. Macroeconomics, Italian Language, World History, and Microeconomics all share the same time slot, so you can only choose 1)

DUPLICATION
Most CLEP and AP exams duplicate. For instance, CLEP’s Biology duplicates AP’s Biology. Furthermore, both exams would duplicate any course called Introductory Biology. Though there is no rule that prohibits your child from taking all the exams or a courses, but college policy will prevent your child from getting college credit for more than one Biology experience. (exam or course).

ACCEPTANCE
CLEP- roughly 2900 colleges award credit for passing scores.
AP – roughly 3200 colleges award credit OR advanced standing for passing scores.

REVISIONS
CLEP- Most exams are ACE evaluated through 2018 (no revisions announced).
AP- College Board is revising all AP exams from 2015-2018.

ALIGNMENT
CLEP- exam content is aligned with College level 101/201 courses.
AP- exam content is aligned with high school Common Core standards.

CHOOSE AP WHEN: there is no CLEP in that subject, when you're applying to a competitive college, the college does not accept CLEP but accepts AP.
CHOOSE CLEP WHEN: in all other cases.

CREDIT AWARD:
CLEP: credit awarded ranges from 3 to 9 credits per exam.
AP: credit awarded ranges from 3-12 credits per exam.

LEVEL:
CLEP: 100 and 200 level credit
AP: 100 and 200 level credit

AWARDS:
CLEP: no awards
AP: many awards are available (certificates, not scholarships) https://apscore.collegeboard.org/scores/...lar-awards

ART SUBJECTS
CLEP- Humanities
AP- Art History, Music Theory, Studio Art 2-D, Studio Art 3-D, Studio Art Drawing

FOREIGN LANGUAGES
CLEP- French, German, Spanish
AP- French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Latin

ENGLISH
CLEP- Composition, Composition Modular (no essay)
AP- Composition

LITERATURE
CLEP- American Literature, English Literature, Analyzing and Interpreting Literature
AP- English Literature

HISTORY
CLEP- American Government, US History 1, US History 2, Western Civilization 1, Western Civilization 2, Social Sciences and History
AP- Comparative Government, United States Government, United States History, World History, European History, Human Geography

SOCIAL SCIENCES
CLEP- Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Psychology, Educational Psychology, Human Growth and Development, Sociology
AP- Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Psychology

MATH
CLEP- College Math, College Algebra, Precalculus, Calculus
AP- Calculus (AB), Calculus (BC), Statistics

SCIENCE
CLEP- Biology, Chemistry, Natural Science
AP- Biology, Chemistry, Physics (electricity), Physics (mechanics), Physics 1 (algebra based), Physics 2 (algebra based)

COMPUTERS
CLEP- Information Systems and Computer Applications
AP- Computer Science, Computer Science Principles

BUSINESS
CLEP- Financial Accounting, Business Law, Management, Marketing
AP- none

RESEARCH
CLEP- none
AP- Research, Seminar


Check AP credit awarded by a specific institution here: https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/credi...t-policies
Check CLEP credit awarded by a specific institution by visiting that institution's website, use search term "CLEP."

SPECIFIC TEST INFORMATION
CLEP – http://www.collegeboard.org
AP- http://www.collegeboard.org