This analysis delves into the score distributions of the Ap Comparative Government and Politics Exam, comparing the results from 2019 to 2021. The data encompasses 17,750 students globally who participated in either the paper or digital exam format in May. It’s important to note that data from students who tested in June were not available at the time of this report.
AP Comparative Government and Politics Score Distribution: A Comparative Look
The table below provides a direct comparison of student performance between 2019 and 2021. This allows us to observe trends in student achievement relative to a pre-pandemic full-length exam.
| AP Score | 2019 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 22% | 17% |
| 4 | 25% | 24% |
| 3 | 19% | 31% |
| 2 | 19% | 15% |
| 1 | 15% | 13% |
Notably, within this cohort of 17,750 students, two individuals achieved a perfect score. This remarkable accomplishment signifies that these students correctly answered every multiple-choice question and received perfect scores from all professors and readers on every free-response question, earning a flawless 120 out of 120 possible points on the AP Comparative Government and Politics Exam.
May 17 In-School Paper Exam: Key Performance Insights
The May 17th exam date represented the largest administration of the AP Comparative Government and Politics Exam. Therefore, the subsequent analysis focuses specifically on the paper exam version administered on this date.
Consistent with previous years, students demonstrated stronger performance on the multiple-choice section compared to the free-response questions.
Multiple-Choice Section Breakdown
- Course Periods/Units Performance:
- Students exhibited exceptional understanding of Unit 3, Political Culture and Participation. An impressive 24% of students achieved a perfect score on questions related to this unit, with an additional 27% missing only a single point. Mastery of Unit 1 (Political Systems, Regimes, and Governments) and Unit 5 (Political and Economic Changes and Development) was also notably strong.
- Unit 4, Party and Electoral Systems and Citizen Organizations, proved to be the most challenging unit for students, with 10% achieving perfect scores within this area.
- Disciplinary Practices Assessment:
- Data Analysis Skills: Students showed the highest proficiency in data analysis. 39% answered all data analysis questions correctly, and less than 25% missed more than a single point in this area.
- Source Analysis Skills: 28% of students answered all source analysis questions correctly, indicating a solid grasp of this skill.
Free-Response Section Analysis: Set 2 Questions
To maintain exam security, multiple sets of free-response questions were used. This analysis will concentrate on “Set 2,” one of the most widely administered sets.
- Question 2 (Quantitative Analysis of Political Freedom Rankings): This question saw the strongest student performance. 4% of students earned all 5 possible points, and a further 32% earned 4 out of 5 points.
- Question 1 (Rule of Law): This question presented the greatest challenge for students on the exam. While 12% achieved perfect scores, 38% of students earned 0 points.
- Question 3 (Comparative Analysis of Social Movements): This question also proved difficult for some. 10% earned all 5 points, whereas 18% earned 0 points.
- Question 4 (Argumentative Essay on Executive Term Limits):
- Claim/Thesis Point: 79% of students earned this point, demonstrating a strong ability to formulate a thesis.
- Evidence Points: 34% earned 2 evidence points, 35% earned 1 evidence point, and 31% earned 0 evidence points, indicating varied levels of evidence integration in essays.
- Reasoning Point: 52% of students earned the reasoning point, highlighting a moderate ability to connect evidence to their claims.
- Responding to an Alternative Perspective Point: 38% earned the point for addressing alternative perspectives, suggesting this remains an area for improvement for many students.
Digital Exam Adaptations and Difficulty Considerations
The availability of both paper and digital exam formats was crucial to ensure student access during the testing period. To safeguard exam integrity, numerous distinct exam versions were developed. Psychometricians conducted separate analyses for each exam version to account for variations in difficulty arising from testing mode (paper vs. digital) and question-specific difficulty. This ensured fair score standards (for scores of 3, 4, and 5) across all versions.
The key factors considered in these analyses were:
- Testing Mode Differences: Sections easier in digital format required more points for higher AP scores on digital versions, and vice versa for paper format advantages.
- Question Difficulty Variations: Easier questions necessitated more points for each AP score, while harder questions required fewer points on certain versions.
The overall outcome for the 2021 AP Comparative Government and Politics exams was that most digital versions were found to be more challenging than the paper version, despite being out of 120 possible points. Consequently:
- On the easiest digital version, students needed 1 additional point to achieve an AP score of 3 or higher compared to paper exam takers.
- On the more difficult digital versions, students needed 4–8 fewer points (depending on the specific version) to obtain an AP score of 3 or higher when compared to the paper exam.
This detailed analysis provides valuable insights into student performance on the 2021 AP Comparative Government and Politics Exam, highlighting areas of strength and areas needing further attention in curriculum and student preparation.
