Along with the course curriculum, the exam is developed by the AP Statistics Test Development Committee as well. With the help of other college professors, the committee creates a large pool of possible questions that is pre-tested with college students taking statistics courses. The test is then refined to an appropriate level of difficulty and clarity. Afterwards, the Educational Testing Service is responsible for printing and administering the exam.
Structure
The exam is offered every year in May. Students are not expected to memorize any formulas. Therefore, a list of common statistical formulas related to descriptive statistics, probability, and inferential statistics are provided. Moreover, tables for the normal, Student's t and chi-squared distributions are given as well. Students are also expected to use graphing calculators with statistical capabilities. The exam is three hours long with ninety minutes allotted to complete each of its two sections: multiple choice and free-response. The multiple choice portion of the exam consists of forty questions with five possible answers each. The free response section contains six open-ended questions that are often long and divided into multiple parts. The first five of these questions may require twelve minutes each to answer and normally relate to one topic or category. The sixth question consists of a broad-ranging investigative task and may require approximately twenty-five minutes to answer.
Grading
The multiple choice section is scored immediately after the exam by computer. One point is awarded for each correct answer, nopoints are credited or deducted for unanswered questions, and points are no longer deducted for having an incorrect answer.
Students' answers to the free-response section are reviewed in early June by readers that include high school and college statistics teachers gathered in a designated location. The readers use a pre-made rubric to assess the answers and normally grade only one question in a given exam. Each question is graded on a scale from 0 to 4, with a 4 representing the most complete response. Communication and clarity in the answers receive a lot of emphasis in the grading.
Both sections are weighted equally when the composite score is calculated. The composite score is reported on a scale from 1 to 5, with a score of 5 being the highest possible.
AP Statistics exam grade distributions
| 11.5 % | 23.4 % | 24.9 % | 19.1 % | 21.1 % | 2.85 |
| 11.2 % | 21.8 % | 23.9 % | 19.2 % | 23.9 % | 2.77 |
| 13.2 % | 22.3 % | 26.4 % | 19.5 % | 18.6 % | 2.92 |
| 12.6 % | 22.4 % | 24.8 % | 19.8 % | 20.3 % | 2.87 |
| 12.6 % | 22.8 % | 25.3 % | 19.2 % | 20.1 % | 2.88 |
| 12.6 % | 22.2 % | 25.3 % | 18.3 % | 21.6 % | 2.86 |
| 11.9 % | 21.5 % | 25.4 % | 17.1 % | 24.1 % | 2.80 |
| 12.9 % | 22.7% | 23.7 % | 18.8 % | 21.8 % | 2.86 |
| 12.3% | 22.3% | 24.2% | 19.1% | 22.2% | 2.83 |
| 12.8% | 22.4% | 23.5% | 18.2% | 23.1% | 2.84 |