AP Us Government & Politics 2005

Kaplan

Chapter One: An Overview of the Test Structure

• How the Exam is Scored
• Registration and Fees
• Additional Resources

So, you've decided to take the Advanced Placement U.S. Government & Politics exam. What exactly is the exam, and why should you be interested in taking it? If you have taken Advanced Placement U.S. Government & Politics in high school or have a good foundation in political science, taking the AP exam could help you earn college credit and/or placement into advanced coursework.

This book is designed to help you prepare for the AP exam. We've included information about the format of the exam, test-taking strategies, and an extensive review of essential topics. Each chapter includes review questions to help you identify your strengths and weaknesses. Also included are two practice tests with answers and explanations. With Kaplan's proven test-taking strategies and the targeted political science review in this book, you'll have everything you need to ace the test.

An Overview of the Test Structure

What is the Exam?

This exam is designed to test knowledge of one year of introductory, college-level U.S.government and politics. There are two parts to the exam:

Section I: 60 multiple-choice questions 45 minutes
Section II: 4 essay questions 100 minutes
Total Length: 2 hours and 25 minutes

What's Covered on the Exam?

The exam covers six major areas: The numbers in parentheses indicate the approximate proportion of multiple-choice questions in each area. For example, 10-20% for Political Beliefs and Behaviors indicates that there will be 6-12 questions on this subject.

1. Constitutional Underpinnings of United States Government (5-15%)
(A) Considerations that influenced the formulation and adoption of the Constitution
(B) Separation of powers
(C) Federalism
(D) Theories of democratic government

2. Political Beliefs and Behaviors (10-20%)
(A) Beliefs that citizens hold about their government and its leaders
(B) Processes by which citizens learn about politics
(C) The nature, sources, and consequences of public opinion
(D) The ways in which citizens vote and otherwise participate in political life
(E) Factors that influence citizens to differ from one another in terms of political beliefs and behaviors

3. Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Mass Media (10-20%)
(A) Political parties and elections
(B) Interest groups, including political action committees (PACs)
(C) The mass media

4. The Institutions of National Government: The Congress, the Presidency, the Bureaucracy, and the Federal Courts (35-45%)
(A) Formal and informal institutional arrangements of power
(B) Relationships among these four institutions, and varying balances of power
(C) The ties between these institutions and the following: political parties, interest groups, the media, subnational governments, and public opinion

5. Public Policy (5-15%)
(A) Policy making in a federal system
(B) The formation of policy agendas
(C) The role of institutions in the enactment of policy
(D) The role of the bureaucracy and the courts in policy implementation and interpretation
(E) Linkages between policy processes and the following:
1. Political institutions and federalism
2. Political parties
3. Interest groups
4. Public opinion
5. Elections
6. Policy networks

6. Civil Liberties and Civil Rights (5-15%)
(A) The development of civil liberties and civil rights by judicial interpretation
(B) Knowledge of substantive rights and liberties
(C) The impact of the 14th Amendment on the constitutional development of rights and liberties

Anatomy of the Exam Section I consists of 60 multiple-choice questions. There are no set categories or question types; most ask about relationships within the context of U.S. government, and a very few test your knowledge of straight facts.

Section II consists of four essay questions, called free-response questions. The questions can cover any subject in the course outline, and will often bridge two subjects, such as political institutions and public policy. Each of the four questions is equally weighted, though the nature and tasks of each varies. You should allow about 25 minutes to prepare and write each response.

How the exam is scored

Sections I and II each account for 50 percent of your overall grade. The maximum number of points you can earn is 120, with 60 points for Section I, and 60 points for Section II.

Scoring of Section I: The raw score for Section I is calculated by taking the number of questions answered correctly, and subtracting 1/4 point for every incorrect response.

All "negative" raw scores will be rounded up to zero, so negative scores are not reported. If you were to get every multiple-choice question wrong, you would get a score of zero.

Scoring of Section II: In this section, there are four essay questions. Each essay question may have a different point value, so there is no set maximum number of points for the raw score. However, each question -- regardless of points -- is given the same weight in the final AP score. So for Section II, the maximum score is 60.

The composite scores are then converted into an AP grade from 1 to 5 (highest). The AP score uses a conversion that yields a normal distribution of grades around 3.

Wrong-Answer Penalty

For multiple-choice questions, there is a penalty for a wrong answer, as opposed to an answer left blank. You receive one point for a correct answer, zero points for no answer, and 1/4 point for a wrong answer. We'll talk more about what's often called the guessing penalty in the next section.

How Do I Get My Grade?

AP Grade Reports are sent in July to your home, high school, and any colleges designated by you. You may designate the colleges you would like to receive your grade on the answer sheet at the time of the test. You may also contact AP Services to forward your grade to other colleges after the exam or to cancel or withhold a grade.

AP Grades by Phone

AP Grades by phone are available for $15 per call beginning in early July. A touch-tone phone is needed. The toll-free number is (888) 308-0013.

Registration and Fees

To register for the exam, contact your school guidance counselor or AP Coordinator. If your school does not administer the exam, contact AP Services for a listing of schools in your area that do.

The fee for each AP Exam is $82. The College Board offers a $22 credit to qualified students with acute financial need. In addition, many states and school districts now cover AP Exam fees whether you can afford to pay for them or not. Check with your AP Coordinator.

What You Need to Bring

• Photo I.D.
• Your secondary school code number (see your Guidance Counselor or AP Coordinator)
• Your social security number
• Several sharpened No. 2 pencils
• Eraser
• A watch (in case your exam room doesn't have a clock you can see easily)

• Scratch paper (you will make your notes in the test booklet)
• Books, dictionaries, notes, or correction fluid
• Beepers or cell phones, or anything that has a beeper function
• Food or drink

For more information on the AP Program and the U.S. Government & Politics Exam, please contact AP Services at:

AP Services
P.O. Box 6671
Princeton, NJ 08541-6671
(609) 771-7300
Toll-free: (888) CALL-4-AP (888-225-5427)
Fax: (609) 530-0482
TTY: (609) 882-4118
Email: apexams@info.collegeboard.org
Website: collegeboard.com/ap/students/index.html

Copyright © 2005 by Apex Learning Inc.

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