1.The AP Program Offers High School Students an Opportunity to Receive College Credit for Courses They Take in High School.
The AP program is a collaborative effort of secondary schools, colleges and universities, and the College Board. More than 1 million students like you who are enrolled in AP or honors courses in any one or more of thirty-eight subject areas may receive credit or advanced placement for college-level work completed in high school. While the College Board makes recommendations about course content, it does not prescribe content. The annual testing program ensures a degree of comparability among high school courses in the same subject.
2.Thousands of Colleges and Universities in the United States and in 30 Other Countries Participate.Neither the College Board nor your high school awards AP credit. You will need to find out from the colleges to which you are planning to apply whether they grant credit and/or use AP scores for placement. It is important that you obtain each school‘s policy in writing so that when you actually choose one college and register, you will have proof of what you were told.
3.The AP U.S. Government & Politics Test Measures Factual Knowledge and a Range of Skills.
According to the course description for the AP U.S. Government & Politics Test, the test measures a variety of skills and abilities. Among them are:
Factual knowledge: facts, concepts, and theories of U.S. government
Comprehension of the typical patterns of political processes and behaviors and their effects
Analysis and interpretation of governmental and political data and of relationships in government and politics
The ability to analyze and interpret a variety of stimuli as the basis for essays that draw conclusions and relate information to general concepts
The ability to craft well-organized and specific essays
4.The AP U.S. Government & Politics Test Has Two Sections: MultipleChoice and a Four-Part Essay Section.
The total test is 2 hours and 25 minutes. Section I: Multiple Choice has 60 questions and counts for 50 percent of your total score. You will have 45 minutes to complete it.In Section II, you are given four essay topics to write about. Unlike the old government test or some of the other AP tests, you have no choice about which four essays you respond to. This part of the test is 100 minutes (1 hour and 40 minutes) and counts for 50 percent of your total score.
5.The AP U.S. Government & Politics Test Covers Six Areas of American Government and Politics.In its course description for the AP U.S. Government & Politics Test, the College Board lists six broad areas of study and twenty-three categories that are further broken down. The basic course outline looks like the following:
Constitutional Basis of the Government
Influences on the Framers of the Constitution
Separation of powers and checks and balances
Concept of federalism
Theories of democratic government
Political Beliefs and Behaviors of Individuals
Basic political beliefs that individuals hold
Ways people acquire political knowledge and attitudes
Public opinion
Methods of political participation, including voting
Factors that influence how and why people develop different political beliefs and behaviors
Political Behavior of Groups: Functions, Activities, Sources of Power, Influences
Political parties
Elections
Interest groups, including PACs
The mass media
National Government: Organization, Functions, Activities, Interrelationships
Presidency
Congress
Federal judiciary
Federal bureaucracy
Role of voters, nongovernmental groups, and public opinion
Linkages between government institutions and voters, public opinion,interest groups, political parties, mass media, and subnational governments
Public Policy
How policy is made and by whom
How policy is implemented: the role of the bureaucracy and the courts
Influences: political parties, interest groups, voters, and public opinion
Linkages between public policy and political parties, interest groups,voters, and public opinion
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Constitutional guarantees
Role of judicial interpretation
Impact of the Fourteenth Amendment
In designing the test, the test writers allot a certain percentage of questions to each broad area. Note that one question may actually ask you about several areas because topics may overlap. For example, a question about civil rights might involve the role of the federal judiciary and the Constitution. The following list shows the range of questions that might appear on an AP U.S. Government & Politics Test:
Constitutional Basis of the Government-5 to 15 percent
Political Beliefs and Behaviors of Individuals-10 to 20 percent
Political Behavior of Groups: Functions, Activities, Sources of Power, Influences-10 to 20 percent
National Government: Organization, Functions, Activities, Interrelationships-35 to 45 percent
Public Policy-5 to 15 percent
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties-5 to 15 percent
As you can see, the largest number of questions (between 21 and 27)， will deal with the
institutions of the national government.
6.There Is No Required Length for Your Essays.
It is the quality, not the quantity, that counts. Realistically, a one-paragraph essay is not goingto garner you a high score because you cannot develop a well-reasoned analysis and present iteffectively in one paragraph. An essay of five paragraphs is a good goal. By following thismodel, you can set out your ideas with an interesting beginning, develop a reasoned middle,and provide a solid ending.
7.You Will Get a Composite Score for Your Test.
The College Board reports a single score from 1 to 5 for the two-part test, with 5 being thehighest. By understanding how you can balance the number of questions you need to answercorrectly against the essay score you need to receive in order to get at least a 3, you can relievesome of your anxiety about passing the test.
8.Educated Guessing Can Help.
No points are deducted for questions that go unanswered on the multiple-choice section, and don’t expect to have time to answer them all. A quarter of a point is deducted for wrong answers. The College Board suggests guessing IF you know something about a question andcan eliminate a couple of the answer choices. Call it “educated guessing.” You‘ll read more about this later in this chapter.
9.The Test Is Given in Mid-May.
Most likely the test will be given at your school, so you do not have to worry about finding a strange building in a strange city. You will be in familiar surroundings, which should reduce your anxiety a bit. If the test is given somewhere else, be sure to take identification with you.
10.Studying for the Test Can Make a Difference.
The first step is to familiarize yourself with the format and directions for each part of the test. Then, you will not waste time on the day of the test trying to understand what you are supposed to do. The second step is to put those analytical skills you have been learning to work, dissecting and understanding the kinds of questions you will be asked; and the third step is to practice “writing on demand” for the essays. So let’s get started.
