The Advanced Placement (AP) Comparative Government and Politics Exam is a crucial assessment for students seeking college credit and demonstrating their understanding of political systems across the globe. This analysis delves into the performance of the 17,750 students worldwide who undertook the Ap Comparative Government and Politics Exam in May 2021, either in paper or digital format. This report provides a comparative overview of score distributions from 2019 and 2021 and examines specific trends in student performance across different exam sections and formats.
Comparative Score Distributions: 2019 vs. 2021
To understand the impact of recent educational disruptions and changes in exam formats, it’s essential to compare the 2021 score distributions with those from 2019, a pre-pandemic year. The following table presents a side-by-side comparison:
| AP Score | 2019 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 22% | 17% |
| 4 | 25% | 24% |
| 3 | 19% | 31% |
| 2 | 19% | 15% |
| 1 | 15% | 13% |
As the data indicates, there was a notable shift in score distributions between 2019 and 2021. A smaller percentage of students achieved the top scores of 5 and 4 in 2021 compared to 2019. Specifically, the percentage of students scoring a 5 decreased from 22% to 17%, and those scoring a 4 slightly decreased from 25% to 24%. Conversely, there was a significant increase in the percentage of students scoring a 3, rising from 19% in 2019 to 31% in 2021. The percentages of students scoring 2 and 1 both saw decreases. Notably, within this cohort of test-takers, only two students achieved a perfect score of 120 out of 120, showcasing exceptional mastery across all sections of the ap comparative government exam.
May 17 Paper Exam: Performance Breakdown
The May 17th in-school paper exam represented the largest administration of the AP Comparative Government and Politics Exam. Analyzing this specific exam date provides valuable insights into student strengths and weaknesses. Consistent with previous years, students generally performed better on the multiple-choice section compared to the free-response questions.
Multiple-Choice Section Analysis
The multiple-choice section assessed students across different course units and disciplinary practices. Key observations include:
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Course Periods/Units: Students demonstrated exceptional understanding of Unit 3, Political Culture and Participation. An impressive 24% of students achieved a perfect score on questions related to this unit, and an additional 27% missed only a single point. Strong performance was also observed in Unit 1 (Political Systems, Regimes, and Governments) and Unit 5 (Political and Economic Changes and Development). However, Unit 4, Party and Electoral Systems and Citizen Organizations, proved to be the most challenging, with only 10% of students achieving perfect scores in this area.
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Disciplinary Practices: In terms of skills, students excelled in Data Analysis. A significant 39% of students answered all data analysis questions correctly, and less than 25% missed more than one point. Source Analysis was also a strong area, with 28% of students answering all related questions correctly.
Free-Response Section Analysis (Set 2)
The free-response section utilized multiple sets of questions for exam security. Analysis of “Set 2,” one of the most widely administered sets, reveals specific performance patterns:
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Question 2 (Quantitative Analysis of Political Freedom Rankings): This question saw the highest performance on the free-response section. 4% of students earned all 5 possible points, and a further 32% earned 4 out of 5 points, indicating a strong ability to analyze quantitative data in a comparative government context.
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Question 1 (Rule of Law): Conversely, Question 1, focusing on the rule of law, presented the greatest challenge. While 12% of students achieved perfect scores, a substantial 38% earned zero points, highlighting a potential area for improved instruction and student preparation.
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Question 3 (Comparative Analysis of Social Movements): This question on social movements also proved challenging for some. 10% of students earned full marks, while 18% received no points, suggesting variability in student understanding of this topic.
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Argumentative Essay (Executive Term Limits): Performance on the argumentative essay revealed the following:
- Claim/Thesis Point: 79% of students successfully earned the claim/thesis point, indicating a good grasp of constructing an argumentative thesis.
- Evidence Points: Evidence application was more varied. 34% earned 2 evidence points, 35% earned 1, and 31% earned none, indicating a spectrum of abilities in using evidence to support arguments.
- Reasoning Point: 52% of students earned the reasoning point, showing a moderate level of success in connecting evidence to their claims.
- Responding to Alternative Perspective: 38% earned the point for addressing alternative perspectives, suggesting this is an area where further skill development is needed for many students.
May 28 Digital Exams and Difficulty Adjustments
Recognizing the need for flexible testing options, digital exams were also administered in May. To ensure fairness and comparable scoring across different exam formats and versions, psychometric analysis was conducted. This analysis considered:
- Testing Mode Differences (Paper vs. Digital): Adjustments were made to account for sections that were inherently easier in either digital or paper format. Digital versions requiring more points for higher scores in easier sections and vice versa for paper versions.
- Question Difficulty Variations: The difficulty of specific questions was factored in, with easier questions requiring more points and harder questions requiring fewer points for each AP score on different versions.
The overall outcome for the 2021 ap comparative government exams was that most digital versions were found to be more challenging than the paper version. Consequently:
- On the easiest digital version, students needed to earn 1 additional point to achieve an AP score of 3 or higher compared to paper exam takers.
- On more difficult digital versions, students needed to earn between 4 and 8 fewer points (depending on the specific version) to achieve an AP score of 3 or higher. These adjustments aimed to provide equitable scoring standards regardless of the exam version taken.
This detailed analysis of the 2021 AP Comparative Government and Politics Exam scores provides valuable insights for educators and students alike. Understanding performance trends across different exam sections and formats is crucial for targeted preparation and curriculum development in ap comparative government courses.
