AP Biology Changes for 2020
As you already know, AP Biology is a great course to take and exam to sit for, especially
if you’re a budding scientist or future health professional — or, if you’re just
obsessed with Punnett squares.
The AP bio exam clocks in at a solid three hours.
That might seem a tad excessive when you learn that an appendectomy can be performed in around
an hour.
So it’s a three-appy situation, if you will.
And if you’re a future doctor, it’s a nice warm-up for the 7-and-a-half-hour marathon
that is the MCAT.
Kudos to you for getting a head start!
As of May 2020, the AP Biology exam is changing.
We’ve released a brand-new fully updated edition of our Cracking the AP Biology Exam
guidebook to help you master this latest exam.
Here’s what is most important to know about the overhauled exam.
It's still going to be split into multiple-choice and free-response sections, but the pacing
and content have changed.
And I’m here bearing good news: These changes are actually better for you!
On the multiple-choice side, the test is dropping from 69 questions to a much more manageable
60 questions.
Thankfully, you’ll still have an hour and thirty minutes to complete this section.
That means more time per question.
How much more?
A luxurious, roomy 12 extra seconds for each question.
That doesn’t sound like a lot when I frame it that way, but the extra time really can
make a difference.
(Speaking of time management, now would be a good moment to remind you that there’s
no penalty for guessing!
So leave nothing blank!)
Now, you’ll still be asked to answer discrete questions (meaning, one-offs) as well as questions
in sets — usually with four or five per set.
But the updated exam will no longer have grid-in questions.
Folks, if I had confetti, I’d be throwing it up in the air right now.
And to all you math gurus out there: Worry not, you’ll still have questions that assess
mathematical calculations!
But they'll be multiple-choice now, so it'll be easier to check and confirm your answers
— no more being off by a single digit!
Thankfully, you'll still have an hour and thirty minutes to complete this section, and
it'll still be worth 50% of your exam score.
Let’s move on to free-response!
Not to be outdone by its multiple-choice counterpart, this section is also changing for 2020.
Previously, the free-response contained eight questions — two long ones with (one of which
was lab or data-based) and six short-answer questions, each requiring a response or argument
roughly the length of a paragraph.
Now you’ll only have to answer a total of six free-response questions.
That is a 25% reduction!
There will still be two long questions, both of which will ask you to interpret and evaluate
the results of an experiment.
And be prepared — one of these questions will require graphing.
You’ll then have four short-answer questions.
These will be focused on scientific investigation, conceptual analysis, analysis of model or
visual representation, and analysis of data.
Once again, you’ll have an hour and thirty minutes to complete this entire section.
And, as you might have guessed, the free response questions will make up the other 50% of your
total score.
And if you’re worried about doing quick arithmetic, don’t be!
You will be allowed to use a calculator on the exam.
You can bring a four-function (complete with square root), scientific, or graphing calculator.
Folks, pick up a copy of one of our brand-new AP Bio books to get all the latest content
review, along with a number of practice tests.
Our fully updated PREMIUM edition has 5 full-length practice tests, and our standard edition features
2.
Whatever you choose, you will have plenty of opportunities to practice, folks!
Thanks so much for watching!
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