What do 1,761,116 current and former high-school students have in common? Answer: They have taken an Advanced Placement (AP) Statistics exam sometime during the past 19 years. And on the afternoon of May 12, an estimated 204,000 students will take the 20th annual offering, bringing the total to almost 2 million students. The accompanying figure shows the growth over the 20 years the AP Statistics exam has been offered. I've been involved with the writing and grading of die exam since I joined the committee that develops the exam (appropriately named the Test Development Committee, or TDC) in 1997. I currently serve as the chief reader and, in addition to working with the TDC, I'm responsible for oversight of the grading of the free-response portion of the exam. In honor of the exam's 20th anniversary, I provide a behind-the-scenes look at its features, including who writes it, who grades it, and why people keep coming back to grade exams for a full week!
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