Advanced Placement (AP) Environmental Science (also known as APES, AP Enviro, AP Environmental, AP Environment, or AP EnviroSci) is a course and exam offered by the American College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program to high school students interested in the environmental and natural sciences. AP Environmental Science was first offered in the 1997–1998 school year.
Course
This course is designed to provide students with scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies necessary to comprehend the relationships abundant within the natural world, to identify and analyze environmental problems, to evaluate relative risks associated with these identified problems, and to examine alternative solutions for resolving and/or preventing similar problems facing the global environment.
Topics covered in AP Environmental Science as of Fall 2019 include:
| Unit | Topic | Exam Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Living World: Ecosystems | 6–8% |
| 2 | The Living World: Biodiversity | 6–8% |
| 3 | Populations | 10–15% |
| 4 | Earth Systems and Resources | 10–15% |
| 5 | Land and Water Use | 10–15% |
| 6 | Energy Resources and Consumption | 10–15% |
| 7 | Atmospheric Pollution | 7–10% |
| 8 | Aquatic and Terrestrial Pollution | 7–10% |
| 9 | Global Change | 15–20% |
Topics covered in AP Environmental Science prior to Fall 2019 include:
| Topic | Percent |
|---|---|
| Earth Systems and Resources | 10–15% |
| The Living World | 10–15% |
| Population | 10–15% |
| Land and Water use | 10–15% |
| Energy Resources and Consumption | 10–15% |
| Pollution | 25–30% |
| Global Change | 10–15% |
Exam
The AP Environmental Science exam is divided into a multiple choice and free response section.
Old exam (1998–2019)
The old exam was 3 hours long and contained two sections:
- Section I: Multiple Choice (100 questions, 90 minutes).
- Section II: Free-Response (one data-set question, one document-based question, and two synthesis and evaluation questions, 90 minutes).
Current exam (2020–present)
As of fall 2019, multiple changes have been made to the AP Environmental Science exam. These changes include but are not limited to: allowed calculator use, changes in the number of multiple choice questions, the use of stimuli in multiple choice questions, and changes in free response questions.
According to the College Board: "The exam is 2 hours and 40 minutes long and includes 80 multiple-choice questions and 3 free-response questions. A four-function, scientific, or graphing calculator is allowed on both sections of the exam."
The new exam contains two sections with slight changes:
- Section I: Multiple Choice (80 questions, 90 minutes).
- Section II: Free-Response (one investigation design question, one solution to an environmental problem proposal question, and one solution to an environmental problem proposal question with calculations, 70 minutes).
Grade distribution
The percentage of students scoring a grade of "5" was only 7.0% in the 2021 testing administration. It remains one of the lowest "5" scoring AP Exams to this date right under AP Art History, AP English Literature & Composition, AP English Language & Composition, and AP World History. The AP Environmental Science exam was first administered in 1998.
Grade distributions since 2009 are:
| Score | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 10.4% | 10.4% | 8.9% | 8.9% | 8.0% | 8.3% | 7.7% | 7.6% | 9.5% | 8.8% | 9.4% | 11.9% | 7.0% | 8.9% | 8.3% | 9% |
| 4 | 20.7% | 22.6% | 24.8% | 24.9% | 23.4% | 23.6% | 24.2% | 23.2% | 24.5% | 23.9% | 25.7% | 28.5% | 24.9% | 27.4% | 28.4% | 27% |
| 3 | 18.9% | 17.0% | 15.6% | 16.6% | 16.8% | 15.3% | 15.1% | 14.8% | 15.4% | 15.0% | 14.1% | 13.0% | 18.5% | 17.5% | 17.0% | 18% |
| 2 | 18.5% | 18.1% | 24.9% | 24.3% | 25.4% | 25.5% | 25.4% | 25.8% | 24.5% | 25.8% | 25.4% | 25.5% | 27.6% | 25.9% | 26.4% | 26% |
| 1 | 31.5% | 32.0% | 25.8% | 25.3% | 26.5% | 27.2% | 27.6% | 28.6% | 26.2% | 26.5% | 25.4% | 21.0% | 22.1% | 20.3% | 19.9% | 20% |
| % of scores 3 or higher | 50.0% | 50.0% | 49.4% | 50.4% | 48.2% | 47.3% | 47.0% | 45.6% | 49.4% | 47.7% | 49.2% | 53.4% | 50.3% | 53.8% | 53.7% | 54% |
| Mean | 2.60 | 2.61 | 2.66 | 2.68 | 2.61 | 2.60 | 2.59 | 2.55 | 2.67 | 2.63 | 2.68 | 2.85 | 2.67 | 2.79 | 2.79 | 2.79 |
| Standard deviation | 1.38 | 1.40 | 1.33 | 1.33 | 1.31 | 1.32 | 1.32 | 1.32 | 1.34 | 1.33 | 1.34 | 1.35 | 1.26 | 1.29 | 1.28 | 1.28 |
| Number of students | 73,575 | 86,650 | 98,959 | 108,839 | 118,288 | 130,321 | 138,703 | 149,096 | 159,578 | 166,433 | 172,456 | 162,469 | 160,771 | 179,957 | 209,757 |
References
- Barlaz, Dora; Freudenrich, Craig; Gardner, Jane (2011). AP Environmental Science 2011. New York, New York: Kaplan Publishing.
- ^ "AP Environmental Science Course and Exam Description" (PDF). College Board. Fall 2019.
- "1998 AP Environmental Science Released Exam" (PDF). College Board. 1998.
- "Environmental Science Course Description Effective Fall 2013" (PDF). College Board. 2013.
- "AP Environmental Science: The Course | AP Central – the College Board". 2024-03-13.
- http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap09_EnvSci_GradeDistributions.pdf 2009 Grade Distribution
- http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/2010_EnvSci_Score_Dist.pdf 2010 Grade Distribution
- http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/2011_Env_Sci_Score_Dist.pdf 2011 Grade Distribution
- "AP Environmental Science Student Score Distributions" (PDF). The College Board. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
- http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/ap/apcentral/ap13_enviro_sci_ScoringDist.pdf 2013 Grade Distribution
- http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/research/2014/STUDENT-SCORE-DISTRIBUTIONS-2014.pdf 2014 Student Score Distributions
- "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved January 17, 2024.
- "Student Score Distributions AP Exams - May 2016" (PDF). Archived from the original on 2017-11-13. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
- "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved January 13, 2024.
- "Student Score Distributions, AP Exams - May 2018" (PDF). The College Board. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
- "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved January 13, 2024.
- "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 9, 2021.
- "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved July 23, 2022.
- "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved January 13, 2024.
- "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved January 13, 2024.
- "2024 AP Score Distributions". Retrieved July 8, 2024.