AP® Statistics Exam Scoring Guide

This grading rubric implies that if you only include a few correct equations or arithmetic answers, you won't earn many points. To get a good score on these questions, you must demonstrate that you understand how to use statistics.

AP Statistics raw score conversion

Once your total points from each section are calculated, they are added to present your final composite score which is then converted into the AP scaled score, ranging from 1 to 5. The raw score conversion process is kept confidential by the College Board Your composite score on the AP Exam is never presented publicly. You only get the AP Exam grade (1-5) which is calculated after processing your composite raw score on your AP mark sheet.

If you are curious to estimate your composite score for the AP Statistics exam, here is a table explaining the possible raw score conversion setup:

Let’s follow this table to understand how to derive your raw score:

1. For the MCQ section, multiply each answer you got right with 1.25. For instance, if you got 20 answers correctly, your composite score for Section I should be 20*1.25 = 25.
2. For the free-response questions numbered 1 through 5, add the total number of points you scored and multiply that by 1.875. For eg., if your total number of points in the five FRQs comes up to 16, then your composite score for these five questions would be 16*1.875 = 30.
3. For FRQ no. 6, which is the investigative task, multiply your points by 3.125. Let us say you scored 4 points on this question, then your composite score would be 4*3.125 = 12.5.
4. Your next step is to add up the composite scores for all the sections to get your final composite score. In the examples we considered above, your final composite score would be 25+30+12.5 = 67.5.

This composite score is then converted into the AP scaled score by the College Board to give you your final AP score. The composite score needed to attain a 5 on the AP Statistics exam fluctuates annually. For students aiming to secure a 5 on the AP Statistics exam, an estimated objective is to obtain between 75% and 80% of the maximum possible points on the test.

Keeping these AP Statistics scoring guidelines in mind, we are now ready to look at how your AP scores reflect on your college applications. Let us find out which AP scores can get you a recommendation, a placement, and college credits.

AP Statistics Scoring Table

After your statistics exam scores are recorded on the AP grading scale, they are sent to the respective colleges that you’ve selected for admission. If you want to learn how to have the College Board send your AP scores to your college, check out our page on AP Exam Scores.

Although each college has its own criteria for granting credit and/or placement based on AP scores, most colleges follow a standard formula when converting your AP Stats score to the equivalent college grade. Following is the AP score table showing the conversion of AP scores into equivalent college grades for the Stats exam:

As you can see from the table, colleges do not consider scores below 3 during admissions. Therefore, the rule of thumb would be to achieve a score of 3 or higher if you are considering getting college credits and Advanced Placement® for your AP Stats exam score. However, always remember to check with the colleges you intend to apply to on their minimum requirements.

" A recent study on students who achieve a score of 2 in AP Stats found that they earn significantly higher grades when taking the course in college than students with the same high school GPA! "

AP Statistics Score Distributions

AP Stats is one of the most popular AP exams taken by students every year. This is because Stats is one of the most versatile AP courses that can earn you Advanced Placement and/or course credit as you enter college, even if you have not finalized your college major. There are numerous other benefits of taking your AP exam for Statistics. Check out our AP Statistics Exam Guide to discover why taking the Stats exam is beneficial for your career.

In 2023, a total of 242,929 students took the AP Stats exam, with 60% of test-takers scoring 3, 4, and 5. That’s a fairly average success rate considering the common myth about AP Stats being one of the easiest exams to crack!

For 2023, let us crunch some numbers below to get an idea about the AP Statistics score distributions:

Contrary to popular myth, the AP Stats exam is a challenging subject, but you can be a 5 pointer with the right study tools, course instruction, and dedication.

UWorld’s online AP Statistics practice questions will help you get there. Taking practice tests will help you track your progress and clear out doubts to help you form a solid foundation of core statistics concepts. You can also make quick notes and use our flashcards to revise concepts and theorems in a jiffy when reviewing for the exam.