AP Statistics Exam

Section I: Multiple choice

42 questions · 90 minutes · 50% of score

Forty-two multiple choice questions in one 90 minute sitting, a little over two minutes per question, with no penalty for guessing. Items are distributed across the four statistical practices, so expect far more reading, interpreting, and choosing of methods than raw computing:

• Practice 1, Formulate Questions: 5 to 10 percent. Turning a real situation into an answerable statistical question.
• Practice 2, Collect Data: 20 to 30 percent. Sampling methods, bias, randomization, and experimental design.
• Practice 3, Analyze Data: 25 to 35 percent. Graphs, summary statistics, probability, intervals, and test statistics.
• Practice 4, Interpret Results: 25 to 35 percent. What the numbers mean in context, and what conclusions the design supports.

Section II: Free response

4 questions · 90 minutes · 50% of score · 10 points each

Four free response questions worth 10 points each, so each one is 12.5 percent of your total score. Budget roughly 22 minutes per question. The four are fixed in design:

• Question 1, Multi-Focus: Practices 1 and 2. Formulating a statistical question and evaluating how the data were, or should be, collected.
• Question 2, Multi-Focus: Practices 3 and 4. Analyzing data and interpreting what the analysis shows.
• Question 3, Inference: a full hypothesis test or confidence interval, carried from naming the procedure and checking conditions through a conclusion in context.
• Question 4, Multi-Focus: Practices 2, 3, and 4 together, from design through analysis to interpretation.

Trained readers score against rubrics with partial credit throughout. Conclusions must be stated in the context of the problem: a bare "reject the null" leaves points on the table. See the full FRQ guide for what each question wants and how the points are earned.

Calculator and provided references

Both sections, both tools

• A graphing calculator with statistical capabilities is expected in both sections. There is no no-calculator part. Be fluent with summary statistics, regression output, probability distributions, and the interval and test functions.
• A formula sheet and tables are provided for both sections. You are not memorizing formulas; you are learning what each one is for and which situation calls for it.
• The calculator does the arithmetic, which is exactly why the exam grades what the calculator cannot do: choosing the right procedure, checking its conditions with numbers, and writing the conclusion in context.

Multiple choice by unit

Approximate ranges from the 2026 CED

• Unit 1, Exploring One-Variable Data and Collecting Data: 20 to 30 percent. 13 topics.
• Unit 2, Probability, Random Variables, and Probability Distributions: 15 to 25 percent. 12 topics.
• Unit 3, Inference for Categorical Data: Proportions: 15 to 25 percent. 15 topics.
• Unit 4, Inference for Quantitative Data: Means: 10 to 20 percent. 10 topics.
• Unit 5, Regression Analysis: 10 to 20 percent. 5 topics.

The four Statistical Practices

What every question is really testing

• Practice 1, Formulate Questions: 5 to 10 percent of the multiple choice.
• Practice 2, Collect Data: 20 to 30 percent. Sampling, randomization, and what each design permits you to conclude.
• Practice 3, Analyze Data: 25 to 35 percent. Producing and reading graphs, statistics, probabilities, intervals, and tests.
• Practice 4, Interpret Results: 25 to 35 percent. Saying what a result means in context, and what it does not mean.