Advanced Placement (AP) Chinese Language and Culture (commonly known as AP Chinese) is a course and exam offered by the College Board as a part of the Advanced Placement Program in the United States. It requires proficiencies throughout the Intermediate range as described in the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines. The course interweaves language and culture learning and is conducted mostly in Mandarin Chinese. The first AP Chinese courses were offered worldwide in the fall of 2006, followed by the exam in May 2007.
Topic Outline
The course covers six units. Students should know these topics to succeed in the course and on the exam.
Units |
---|
Families in Different Societies |
The Influence of Language and Culture on Identity |
Influences of Beauty and Art |
How Science and Technology Affect Our Lives |
Factors That Impact the Quality of Life |
Environmental, Political, and Societal Challenges |
Exam
The AP Chinese Language and Culture Exam is approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes in length. It assesses Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational communication skills in Mandarin Chinese, along with knowledge of Chinese culture.
Section I consists of multiple-choice questions.
- Part A: Listening
- Part B: Reading
Section II, the free-response section, requires one to produce written and spoken responses.
- Part A: Writing
- Part B: Speaking
Grade distribution
The AP Chinese Language and Culture exam consistently has the highest percentage of 5 scores out of all AP tests, likely attributed to fluent Chinese speakers taking the exam for credit. The exception is in 2022, when the AP Japanese Language and Culture exam narrowly had a higher 5-rate by 0.5 percentage points. The 5-rate for the Chinese exam, on average, steadily declined as the years passed. The grade distributions since the exam's debut in 2007 were:
Score | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 | 81.0% | 85.5% | 81.5% | 76.7% | 72.3% | 71.1% | 69.7% | 68.5% | 65.3% | 62.8% | 68.4% | 66.1% | 60.1% | 55.4% | 57.2% | 49.3% | 50.0% | 50% |
4 | 11.8% | 8.1% | 9.8% | 13.2% | 13.9% | 13.2% | 14.6% | 14.4% | 16.0% | 16.4% | 11.3% | 12.2% | 14.9% | 15.5% | 15.5% | 19.6% | 17.0% | 20% |
3 | 4.5% | 4.7% | 6.0% | 6.6% | 9.2% | 10.9% | 10.7% | 11.6% | 11.8% | 14.4% | 12.5% | 13.0% | 14.8% | 17.9% | 15.5% | 18.0% | 18.0% | 17% |
2 | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 1.5% | 2.1% | 2.3% | 2.3% | 2.8% | 3.1% | 2.7% | 3.3% | 3.7% | 4.0% | 5.1% | 4.6% | 5.3% | 6.0% | 6% |
1 | 1.5% | 1.0% | 1.7% | 2.0% | 2.5% | 2.5% | 2.8% | 2.7% | 3.9% | 3.7% | 4.5% | 5.0% | 6.2% | 6.1% | 7.1% | 7.8% | 9.0% | 7% |
% of Scores 3 or Higher | 97.3% | 98.3% | 97.4% | 96.5% | 95.4% | 95.2% | 95.0% | 94.5% | 93.0% | 93.7% | 92.2% | 91.3% | 89.8% | 88.7% | 88.2% | 86.9% | 85.0% | 87% |
Mean | 4.70 | 4.76 | 4.69 | 4.61 | 4.51 | 4.48 | 4.46 | 4.43 | 4.36 | 4.32 | 4.36 | 4.31 | 4.19 | 4.09 | 4.11 | 3.97 | 3.93 | 4.00 |
Standard Deviation | 0.74 | 0.67 | 0.77 | 0.84 | 0.93 | 0.95 | 0.97 | 0.98 | 1.06 | 1.05 | 1.10 | 1.14 | 1.20 | 1.22 | 1.24 | 1.26 | 1.31 | 1.24 |
Number of Students | 3,261 | 4,311 | 5,100 | 6,388 | 7,970 | 9,357 | 10,121 | 10,728 | 11,633 | 12,524 | 13,091 | 13,825 | 13,853 | 14,663 | 13,122 | 15,277 | 17,000 |
See also
References
- "AP Chinese Language and Culture Course". AP Central. College Board. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- "AP Chinese Language and Culture". College Board. Archived from the original on 13 August 2006. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
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: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "AP Chinese Language and Culture Course and Exam Description, Effective Fall 2020" (PDF). College Board. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- "2018 AP Exam Score Distributions".
- 2007 Grade Distributions
- Past AP Chinese Language and Culture Score Distributions
- "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS" (PDF). Retrieved January 12, 2024.
- AP Chinese 2010 Score Distribution
- AP Chinese 2011 Score Distribution
- The College Board. "AP Chinese Language Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved 7 May 2013.
- AP Chinese 2013 Score Distribution
- "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS" (PDF). Retrieved January 12, 2024.
- "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS" (PDF). Retrieved January 12, 2024.
- "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS" (PDF). Retrieved January 12, 2024.
- "AP Score Distributions – AP Students | College Board".
- "Student Score Distributions, AP Exams - May 2018" (PDF). The College Board. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
- "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS" (PDF). Retrieved July 9, 2020.
- "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS" (PDF). Retrieved June 9, 2021.
- "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS" (PDF). Retrieved 2022-07-06.
- "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved October 1, 2023.
- "AP Chinese Lang. and Culture - Compare Score Distributions Across Years". www.totalregistration.net. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
- Total Registration (2024-06-17). "2024 AP Exam Score Distributions". www.totalregistration.net. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
External links
- AP Chinese Language and Culture at CollegeBoard.com
- Teacher Resources for AP Chinese Course at CollegeBoard.com
- AP Chinese Language and Culture Course