Finance:AP Microeconomics
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Short description: Advanced Placement course
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Advanced Placement (AP) Microeconomics (also known as AP Micro and AP Microecon) 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.
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
94,772 students took the AP Microeconomics exam in 2023.[4]
The exam was first held in 1989, along with Macroeconomics. Grade distributions since 2007 are as follows:
| Score | 2007[5] | 2008[6] | 2009[7] | 2010[8] | 2011[9] | 2012[10] | 2013[11] | 2014[12] | 2015[13] | 2016[14] | 2017[15] | 2018[16] | 2019[17] | 2020[18] | 2021[19] | 2022[20] | 2023[4] | 2024[21][22] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 16.3% | 18.1% | 17.9% | 16.6% | 16.1% | 16.6% | 18.1% | 15.9% | 19.1% | 17.8% | 23.5% | 19.2% | 24.3% | 23.3% | 18.5% | 17.7% | 21.3% | 17% |
| 4 | 27.6% | 26.3% | 27.4% | 27.0% | 26.2% | 28.2% | 28.6% | 28.9% | 28.6% | 27.5% | 28.1% | 28% | 28.1% | 29.0% | 24.0% | 22.5% | 26.0% | 25% |
| 3 | 20.8% | 18.8% | 19.7% | 20.2% | 21.3% | 20.9% | 20.0% | 20.7% | 19.4% | 22.0% | 18.0% | 20.2% | 17.2% | 16.6% | 16.6% | 18.8% | 20.6% | 23% |
| 2 | 14.6% | 15.2% | 14.6% | 14.8% | 15.6% | 15.8% | 14.9% | 15.5% | 13.8% | 13.7% | 12.0% | 15.8% | 12.0% | 14.2% | 17.0% | 16.9% | 19.9% | 21% |
| 1 | 20.8% | 21.5% | 20.4% | 21.4% | 20.8% | 18.5% | 18.4% | 18.9% | 19.1% | 19.0% | 18.5% | 16.8% | 18.4% | 16.9% | 23.9% | 24.2% | 12.1% | 14% |
| % of scores 3 or higher | 64.6% | 63.2% | 65.0% | 63.8% | 63.6% | 65.7% | 66.7% | 65.5% | 67.1% | 67.3% | 69.5% | 67.4% | 69.6% | 68.9% | 59.1% | 59.0% | 68.0% | 65% |
| Mean | 3.04 | 3.04 | 3.08 | 3.02 | 3.01 | 3.09 | 3.13 | 3.07 | 3.15 | 3.11 | 3.26 | 3.17 | 3.28 | 3.28 | 2.96 | 2.93 | 3.25 | 3.10 |
| Standard deviation | 1.38 | 1.41 | 1.39 | 1.39 | 1.38 | 1.36 | 1.37 | 1.35 | 1.39 | 1.37 | 1.42 | 1.36 | 1.42 | 1.40 | 1.45 | 1.44 | 1.32 | 1.30 |
| Number of Students | 37,383 | 41,915 | 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 | 103,809 |
See also
- AP Macroeconomics
- Microeconomics
- Economics
- Economics education § Curriculum
- Glossary of economics
References
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ↑ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ↑ "AP Microeconomics Student Grade Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ↑ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ↑ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ↑ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ↑ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ↑ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ↑ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ↑ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ↑ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ↑ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ↑ "Student Score Distributions, AP Exams - May 2018". https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/research/2018/Student-Score-Distributions-2018.pdf.
- ↑ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "2024 AP Score Distributions". Retrieved July 8, 2024.
- ↑ "Student Score Distributions" (PDF). Retrieved May 4, 2025.
External links
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
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