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PART I
INTRODUCTION
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Chapter 1
Keys for Success
on the AP® Macroeconomics Exam
Macroeconomics is vast in content. In fact, at the university level it may be taught over the span of several years. Indeed, one could even major in a macroeconomics topic and pursue advanced degrees within the field. You, on the other hand, are probably taking AP® Macroeconomics as a one- or possibly two-semester high school course in the 11th or 12th grade.
So how can a high school student be expected to learn all the AP® course content and be sufficiently prepared to earn a credit-granting score on the AP® exam? Rest assured, with a few important pieces of information and some helpful hints and tips, you can focus your studies in and out of the classroom on the important concepts you are most likely to see on the exam.
This Crash Course, along with your course textbook, your teacher, and the College Board’s online resources, is one of your greatest keys to success on the AP® Macro exam.
AP® MACRO BIG IDEAS
The Big Ideas form the foundation of the course and allow students to make connections across the different units. These four foundational areas represent the “threads” that run throughout the course. More information on the Big Ideas and how they relate to the various units in AP® Macro can be found in the AP® Macroeconomics Course and Exam Description (CED) available at the College Board’s AP® Central website.
These Big Ideas represent a boiled-down view of what you must know and be able to demonstrate on the exam.
BIG IDEA 1: ECONOMIC MEASUREMENTS (MEA)
Economists construct measurements to monitor the state of an economy and evaluate its performance over time. Governments, firms, and citizens often use these measurements to help inform policy, business, and personal decisions.
BIG IDEA 2: MARKETS (MKT)
Competitive markets bring together buyers and sellers to exchange goods and services for mutual gain. The simple model of supply– demand can be applied in different market contexts.
BIG IDEA 3: MACROECONOMIC MODELS (MOD)
Macroeconomic models are simplified representations that depict basic economic relationships and can be used to predict and explain how those relationships are affected by economic shocks.
BIG IDEA 4: MACROECONOMIC POLICIES (POL)
Government taxation and spending policies and central bank monetary policy can affect an economy’s output, price level, and level of employment, both in the short run and in the long run.
CONTENT AND STRUCTURE OF THE EXAM
AP® Macro students should understand the relative importance of each of the units in the course. There are two sections in the AP® Macro exam. The first is the multiple-choice section, which is comprised of 60 multiple-choice questions. The 60 questions come from the six units of the AP® Macro course. Thankfully, the College Board publishes the approximate percentage of multiple-choice questions that will come from each of the six units. The breakdown is as follows:
Unit 1 | Basic Economic Concepts: 5%–10%
Unit 2 | Economic Indicators and the Business Cycle: 12%–17%
Unit 3 | National Income and Price Determination: 17%–27%
Unit 4 | Financial Sector: 18%–23%
Unit 5 | Long-run Consequences of Stabilization Policies: 20%–30%
Unit 6 | Open Economy—International Trade and Finance: 10%–13%
Knowing the percentages of each unit’s representation on the multiple-choice section will help you focus your studies appropriately. For example, the most commonly tested units are 3 through 5. These three units together could make up as much as 80% (that’s 48) of the 60 questions on the multiple-choice section!
Note that the most heavily assessed units are given the most attention in this Crash Course book. Units 3, 4, and 5, for example, are covered at a level proportional to their importance in the AP® course and exam. Likewise, when you complete the practice questions in Chapter 10 or when you take REA’s online practice exam, the number of questions provided is proportional to the weight given to each unit.
The free-response question (FRQ) section of the exam includes three questions.
The first question is always a long FRQ, on which you are expected to spend about 25 minutes.
The second and third questions are short FRQs, on which you are expected to spend about 12.5 minutes each.
The topics the FRQs cover could come from any section of the syllabus, although there are certain topics that are more commonly tested than others, giving the FRQ section some degree of predictability.
Chapters 9 and
11 of this
Crash Course provide more information about how to best prepare for both the multiple-choice and free-response sections of the AP® Macro exam.
AP® MACRO GRADE SCALE
You may think with all the units in this course and only one or two semesters to learn them all, you’ll never be able to get a 5 on the AP® Macroeconomics exam. However, getting a 4 or 5 on the AP® Macro exam may not be as difficult as you think. The table below shows the approximate range of scores needed to earn each of the possible AP® scores, from the top mark of 5 to the lowest score of 1.
Remember that the exam includes a 60-question multiple-choice section (two-thirds of your grade) and a 3-question free-response section (one-third of your grade). The number of points on the free-response section usually varies between 20 and 24, so the total points in any given year’s exam will be between 80 and 84. In addition, the exact range of each of the five possible grades will vary depending on how well the test-takers perform. But, a typical range of scores is as follows:
| AP® Grade | Minimum Percentage Correct on MC and FRQ Sections Combined |
| 5 | 81% |
| 4 | 62% |
| 3 | 48% |
| 2 | 33% |
| 1 | 0% |
The preceding score ranges are only an approximation. The precise score range is adjusted annually based on the yearly performance of students worldwide.
WHEN TO GUESS IN THE MULTIPLE-CHOICE SECTION
There is no additional penalty for wrong answers. Therefore, guessing is always advised if, of course, you have no idea what the correct answer is. Before resorting to a blind guess, you should use all of your knowledge and understanding of economics to eliminate the possible incorrect answers, so that any guess you are forced to make is an educated guess.
THE IMPORTANCE OF DIAGR...
