Short description: Advanced Placement course
Advanced Placement (AP) Microeconomics (also known as AP Micro) is a course offered by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program for high school students interested in college-level coursework in microeconomics and/or gaining advanced standing in college. The course begins with a study of fundamental economic concepts such as scarcity, opportunity costs, production possibilities, specialization, and comparative advantage. Major topics include the nature and functions of product markets; factor markets; and efficiency, equity, and the role of government.[1] AP Microeconomics is often taken in conjunction with or after AP Macroeconomics.[citation needed]
Topics outline and distribution of topics
Topics covered in the AP Microeconomics course and exam include:[2]
| Unit
|
Topic
|
Exam Weighting
|
| 1
|
Basic Economic Concepts
|
12-15%
|
| 2
|
Supply and Demand
|
20-25%
|
| 3
|
Production, Cost, and the Perfect Competition Model
|
22-25%
|
| 4
|
Imperfect Competition
|
15-22%
|
| 5
|
Factor Markets
|
10-13%
|
| 6
|
Market Failure and the Role of the Government
|
8-13%
|
The exam
- Multiple Choice: Students are given 70 minutes to complete 60 multiple choice questions which are weighted 2/3 (66.7%) of the total exam score.
- Free-Response Students are allotted 10 minutes of planning then 50 minutes of writing for one long free-response question (weighted 50% of section score) and two short ones (weighted 25% section score each).[3]
Score distribution
74,049 students took the AP Microeconomics exam in 2014.[4]
The exam was first held in 1989, along with Macroeconomics. Grade distributions since 2008 are as follows:
| Score
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
2011
|
2012
|
2013
|
2014
|
2015[5]
|
2016[6]
|
2017[7]
|
2018[8]
|
2019[9]
|
2020[10]
|
2021[11]
|
2022[12]
|
2023[13]
|
| 5
|
18.1%
|
17.9%
|
16.6%
|
16.1%
|
16.6%
|
18.1%
|
15.9%
|
19.1%
|
15.3%
|
21.5%
|
19.2%
|
22.2%
|
23.3%
|
18.5%
|
17.7%
|
21.3%
|
| 4
|
26.3%
|
27.4%
|
27.0%
|
26.2%
|
28.2%
|
28.6%
|
28.9%
|
28.6%
|
27.3%
|
28.3%
|
28%
|
28.4%
|
29.0%
|
24.0%
|
22.5%
|
26.0%
|
| 3
|
18.8%
|
19.7%
|
20.2%
|
21.3%
|
20.9%
|
20.0%
|
20.7%
|
19.4%
|
23%
|
18.5%
|
20.2%
|
17.8%
|
16.6%
|
16.6%
|
18.8%
|
20.7%
|
| 2
|
15.2%
|
14.6%
|
14.8%
|
15.6%
|
15.8%
|
14.9%
|
15.5%
|
13.8%
|
14.4%
|
12.8%
|
15.8%
|
12.4%
|
14.2%
|
17.0%
|
16.9%
|
19.9%
|
| 1
|
21.5%
|
20.4%
|
21.4%
|
20.8%
|
18.5%
|
18.4%
|
18.9%
|
19.1%
|
20%
|
18.9%
|
16.8%
|
19.2%
|
16.9%
|
23.9%
|
24.2%
|
12.1%
|
| % of scores 3 or higher
|
63.2%
|
65.0%
|
63.8%
|
63.6%
|
65.7%
|
66.7%
|
65.5%
|
67.1%
|
65.6%
|
68.3%
|
67.4%
|
68.4%
|
68.9%
|
59.1%
|
59.0%
|
68.0%
|
| Mean
|
3.04
|
3.08
|
3.03
|
3.01
|
3.09
|
3.13
|
3.07
|
3.15
|
3.04
|
3.21
|
3.17
|
3.22
|
3.28
|
2.96
|
2.93
|
3.25
|
| Standard deviation
|
1.41
|
1.39
|
1.39
|
1.38
|
1.36
|
1.37
|
1.35
|
1.39
|
1.35
|
1.41
|
1.36
|
1.42
|
1.40
|
1.45
|
1.44
|
1.32
|
| Number of Students
|
|
46,272
|
51,601
|
56,303
|
62,351
|
67,505
|
74,049
|
78,408
|
82,388
|
87,858
|
90,032
|
91,551
|
82,415
|
80,199
|
84,386
|
94,772
|
See also
- AP Macroeconomics
- Microeconomics
- Economics
- Economics education § Curriculum
- Glossary of economics
External links
- ↑ "Course Description of AP Microeconomics". 2012. pp. 6–8. http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap-economics-course-description.pdf.
- ↑ "Course Description of AP Microeconomics". 2012. pp. 9–10. http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap-economics-course-description.pdf.
- ↑ "Course Description of AP Microeconomics". 2012. p. 5. http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap-economics-course-description.pdf.
- ↑ Microeconomics Score Distributions
- ↑ 2015 AP Score Distributions - Total Registration
- ↑ Total Registration. "2016 AP Exam Score Distributions". http://www.totalregistration.net/AP-Exam-Registration-Service/2016-AP-Exam-Score-Distributions.php.
- ↑ Total Registration. "2017 AP Exam Score Distributions" (in en). https://www.totalregistration.net/AP-Exam-Registration-Service/2017-AP-Exam-Score-Distributions.php.
- ↑ "Student Score Distributions, AP Exams - May 2018". https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/research/2018/Student-Score-Distributions-2018.pdf.
- ↑ @AP_Trevor (12 June 2019). "The 2019 AP Microeconomics scores: 5: 22.2%; 4: 28.4%; 3: 17.8%; 2: 12.4%; 1: 19.2%.". https://twitter.com/AP_Trevor/status/1138885286916743169.
- ↑ "STUDENT SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS". https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/research/2020/Student-Score-Distributions-2020.pdf.
- ↑ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved October 1, 2023.
- ↑ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved October 1, 2023.
- ↑ "2023 AP Exam Score Distributions". https://www.totalregistration.net/AP-Exam-Registration-Service/AP-Exam-Score-Distributions.php.
Study Resources
- Anderson, David; Ray, Margaret (2019). Krugman's Economics for the AP Course (3rd ed.). New York: BFW. ISBN 978-1-319-11327-8. https://www.highschool.bfwpub.com/Catalog/product/krugmanseconomicsfortheapcourse-thirdedition-anderson.
- Free online AP Microeconomics course taught by Prof. Jon Gruber (MIT): https://www.edx.org/course/introductory-ap-microeconomics
 | Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AP Microeconomics. Read more |