5 Steps to a 5 AP Chemistry

30  STEP 2. Determine Your Test Readiness

Scoring and Interpretation

Now that you have finished and scored the diagnostic exam, it is time for you to learn

what it all means. First, note any area where you had difficulty. This should not be limited

to unfamiliar material. You should do this even if you got the correct answer. Determine

where this material is covered in the book. Plan to spend additional time on the chapter in

question. There is material you may not recognize because you have not gotten that far

in class.

The following relation determines the baseline score. N represents the number of

answers. Ignore those you left blank.

(Ncorrect− 1/4 Nincorrect= raw score for the multiple-choice section)

There are no free-response questions on this diagnostic exam; such questions are not

useful at this point. There will be examples of free-response questions later in this book. We

will use the multiple-choice questions to provide an estimate of your preparation. This is a

simplified approach based on these questions. Do not try to do more than use these results

as a guide.

Raw Score Approximate AP Score

50–86 5

37–49 4

27–36 3

16–26 2

0–15 1

If you did better than you expected—great! Be careful not to become overconfident.

Much more will need to be done before you take the AP Chemistry exam.

If you did not do as well as you liked, don’t panic. There is plenty of time for you to

prepare for the exam. This is a guide to allow you to know which path you need to follow.

No matter what your results were, you are about to begin your 5 steps to a 5.

Good Luck!