Resources for the AP Psychology Exam

With the 2011 AP Psychology Exam just around the corner, I (Kent) thought it might be helpful to list some of the many resources available on AP Central. Best of luck to all on the 2011 AP Psychology Exam.

General Information on AP Psychology

AP Psychology Home Page

AP Psychology Course Description Book (Acorn Book)

AP Psychology Exam Information
This site includes basic information on the AP Psychology Exam and access to all the Free Response Questions, rubrics, sample responses, etc. since 1999.


Released AP Psychology Exams

Occasionally, the College Board releases the actual AP Psychology Exam students have taken. To date, the 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2007 AP Psychology exams have been released. The 1994 and 1999 released exams can be found on the AP Central website. The 2004 and 2007 released exams can be purchased at the College Board Store. Due to the changes in scoring for the multiple choice section starting in 2011 (see below), revised scoring worksheets have been published for all the released exams except for 1994.

1994 AP Psychology Released Exam

• Please Note: There are no revised scoring worksheets for the 1999 AP Psychology Released Exam

1999 AP Psychology Released Exam

• Revised Scoring Worksheet for the 1999 AP Psychology Released Exam

2004 AP Psychology Released Exam
The 2004 AP Psychology Released Exam can be purchased from the College Board Store

• Revised Scoring Worksheet for the 2004 AP Psychology Released Exam

2007 AP Psychology Released Exam
The 2007 AP Psychology Released Exam can be purchased from the College Board Store

• Revised Scoring Worksheet for the 2007 AP Psychology Released Exam

AP Psychology Practice Exam

In 2008, the College Board released an AP Psychology Practice Exam free to authorized teachers. The practice exam, which mirrors a typical AP Psychology Exam, is available only to AP Psychology teachers who have passed the AP Audit. A major difference between the practice exam and the released exams is that students have access to the released exams, but not the practice exam.

Before using the AP Psychology Practice Exam, please read through the "Usage Guidelines". The practice exam should NOT be published on a website or in any other electronic format. Many teachers give the practice exam to their students for a grade in their AP Psychology course. Please do not violate the confidentiality of the practice exam by posting it on a website where any enterprising student can find it.

Information and access to the AP Psychology Practice Exam can be found at
http://www.collegeboard.com/html/apcourseaudit/practice_exams.html


Changes in Scoring for Advanced Placement Exams

Beginning in 2011, the scoring for the multiple choice section of AP exams will change. Below is a quote from the AP Central Website explaining the change.

"Beginning with the May 2011 AP Exam administration, there will be a change to the way AP Exams are scored. Total scores on the multiple-choice section will be based on the number of questions answered correctly. Points will no longer be deducted for incorrect answers and, as always, no points will be awarded for unanswered questions." (http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/212187.html)


Again, best of luck to all. Just think, on May 3rd we can start counting down to Monday May 7, 2012.

News on AP Psychology

As with most years, there have been a number of changes in the AP Psychology Program. Below you should find a listing of some of the major items in no particular order.

• This summer, for the first time, AP teachers were able to find their student's AP exam scores online. For the most part, the process worked extremely well and was, in my opinion (Kent), a hundred times better than waiting for the paper reports. Make sure to look over the Instructional Planning Report in addition to the scores. Go to https://scores.collegeboard.com for more information.

• After maintaining the same fee structure for some time, the cost for an AP exam (2011) was increased to $87. For detailed information on the fee structure http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/exam/calendar/190165.html
  

• For those of us in AP Psychology, many feel the biggest change this year has been the moving of the AP Psyc exam date from the second Tuesday to the first Monday of AP testing. Last year the AP Psychology exam was on May 11th. The 2011 exam is scheduled for May 2nd. Please be aware, if your school's spring break is based on Easter, May 2nd might be the Monday students come back from break. For a complete schedule of AP exams go to http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/exam/calendar/index.html

• To download the new AP Psychology Course Description Book for Fall 2010 (Acorn Book) go to http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap-psychology-course-description.pdf I have not had the opportunity to look for changes in this edition of the book. Please feel free to leave any changes you have found in the comments section of this posting.
  

• No doubt the largest change for AP teachers and students as a whole, is the removal of the quarter point deduction for an incorrect answer. Starting in 2011, a student's score will be based only on how many questions they get correct. For more information on this change and revised worksheets for scoring the 2004 and 2007 released AP Psychology exams, go to http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/212187.html

• AP Central now includes a link to PDF copies of the 1994 and 1999 AP Psychology Released Exams at http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/213057.html

• Below is a listing of the currently scheduled College Board one-day workshops throughout the country for the 2010-2011 school year. Click on the workshop title for more information on that specific workshop. Click on the location for a link to Yahoo maps.
  
  There is an Institutes and Workshop page at AP Central http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/Pageflows/InstitutesAndWorkshops/InstitutesAndWorkshopsController.jpf where you can search for a workshop by topic, date, and location.

AP Workshop - Psychology	10/09/2010		La Jolla HS (La Jolla, CA)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/11/2010		Greenway Professional Development Center (Pittsburgh, PA)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/12/2010		Niagara University (Niagara University, NY)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/15/2010		Valencia Community College - West Campus (Orlando, FL)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/15/2010		South Hagerstown HS (Hagerstown, MD)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/15/2010		Viera HS (Viera, FL)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/16/2010		Roosevelt HS (Seattle, WA)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/19/2010		University of Nebraska - Omaha (Omaha, NE)
AP Workshop - Psychology - New Teachers	10/21/2010		Four Points by Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center (Norwood, MA)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/22/2010		University Center of Lake County (Grayslake, IL)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/23/2010		Perth Amboy HS (Perth Amboy, NJ)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/23/2010		Bingham HS (South Jordan, UT)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/25/2010		Edward H. White HS (Jacksonville, FL)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/29/2010		Broward County Convention Center (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
AP Workshop - Psychology	10/29/2010		Heritage HS (Wake Forest, NC)
AP Workshop - Psychology	11/02/2010		Norview HS (Norfolk, VA)
AP Workshop - Psychology	11/02/2010		Long Island City HS (Queens, NY)
AP Workshop - Psychology	11/03/2010		Delsea Regional HS (Franklinville, NJ)
AP Workshop - Psychology	11/06/2010		Cherry Creek HS (Greenwood Village, CO)
AP Workshop - Psychology	11/10/2010		Eastern Michigan University - Livonia (Livonia, MI)
AP Workshop - Psychology	11/13/2010		Abington Senior HS (Abington, PA)
AP Workshop - Psychology	11/20/2010		Glasgow HS (Newark, DE)
AP Workshop - Psychology	11/23/2010		Butler University (Indianapolis, IN)
AP Workshop - Psychology	11/30/2010		University of Wisconsin - Madison - Pyle Center (Madison, WI)
AP Workshop - Psychology	12/14/2010		University of Minnesota - Continuing Education and Conference Center (St. Paul, MN)
AP Workshop - Psychology	01/03/2011		Lincoln HS (Tallahassee, FL)
AP Workshop - Psychology	01/04/2011		Georgia Perimeter College (Dunwoody, GA)
AP Workshop - Psychology	01/21/2011		Renaissance Dallas Richardson Hotel (Richardson, TX)
AP Workshop - Psychology	02/05/2011		Aragon HS (San Mateo, CA)
AP Workshop - Psychology	02/12/2011		Roybal Learning Center (Los Angeles, CA)
AP Workshop - Psychology	03/05/2011		Sachem North HS (Lake Ronkonkoma, NY)
AP Workshop - Psychology - Experienced Teachers	03/10/2011		Four Points by Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center (Norwood, MA)
AP Workshop - Psychology	03/16/2011		Triton College (River Grove, IL)

Letters of Recommendation

Although the time for letters has past for the fall, I suspect that many of us will be writing letters in the spring for our students, either for college/university acceptance.  Because of the perception of psychology teachers as having some kind of special knowledge/insights about people, we are often asked for letters.

While I am no expert, based upon what I have seen on college forms, I tend to use the following points as I write:

• Who the student is and the purpose of the letter
• How I know the student-context, length of time and how well 
• Personality characteristics of the student
  
• Highlighting the academic record of the student
• Highlighting the community service and activities of the student
  
• Experiences that I know about--how they have helped the student grow as a person/student
• How the above points will make the person successful in college/worthy of the scholarship
  
• Reiteration of positives and contact information
  

The halo effect tends to take place with me.  I only will write letters for those students whom I know fairly well and who I feel I can write a good letter for.  If I see a negative, I tend to simply omit that aspect of the student or couch it in terms that makes it more positive.  I've read about teachers and professors getting sued for "negative" letters. 

When in doubt, I say something like, "I'm not sure I know you well enough to write a letter that will be good/effective enough for you.  Try checking with other teachers who have known you longer."

I also ask the student to provide me with an unofficial transcript, an activities sheet (like a resume), and some sort of self-reflection on the kinds of things they would like me to be able to provide them.  I also ask for two weeks.

What do all of you think?  It would be great to hear from all those letter writers so we can share our collective wisdom and experience.

Chuck