Advanced Placement (AP) Chinese Language and Culture (commonly known as AP Chinese) is a course and exam offered by the College Board as a part of the Advanced Placement Program in the United States.[1] It requires proficiencies throughout the Intermediate range as described in the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines. The course interweaves language and culture learning and is conducted mostly in Mandarin Chinese. The first AP Chinese courses were offered worldwide in the fall of 2006, followed by the exam in May 2007.[2]
The course covers six units. Students should know these topics to succeed in the course and on the exam.
| Units | |
|---|---|
| Families in Different Societies | |
| The Influence of Language and Culture on Identity | |
| Influences of Beauty and Art | |
| How Science and Technology Affect Our Lives | |
| Factors That Impact the Quality of Life | |
| Environmental, Political, and Societal Challenges |
The AP Chinese Language and Culture Exam is approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes in length. It assesses Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational communication skills in Mandarin Chinese, along with knowledge of Chinese culture.[3]
Section I consists of multiple-choice questions.
Section II, the free-response section, requires one to produce written and spoken responses.
The AP Chinese Language and Culture exam consistently has the highest percentage of 5 scores out of all AP tests, likely attributed to fluent Chinese speakers taking the exam for credit.[4] The exception is in 2022, when the AP Japanese Language and Culture exam narrowly had a higher 5-rate by 0.5 percentage points. It is worth noting that the 5-rate for the Chinese exam, on average, steadily declined as the years passed. The grade distributions since the exam's debut in 2007 were:
| 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[21] | 2024[22] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 81.0% | 82.2% | 81.5% | 76.7% | 72.3% | 71.1% | 69.7% | 68.5% | 65.3% | 62.8% | 68.4% | 66.1% | 60.1% | 55.4% | 57.2% | 49.3% | 50.0% | 50% | |
| 4 | 11.8% | 10.3% | 9.8% | 13.2% | 13.9% | 13.2% | 14.6% | 14.4% | 16.0% | 16.4% | 11.3% | 12.2% | 14.9% | 15.5% | 15.5% | 19.6% | 17.0% | 20% | |
| 3 | 4.5% | 4.9% | 6.0% | 6.6% | 9.2% | 10.9% | 10.7% | 11.6% | 11.8% | 14.4% | 12.5% | 13.0% | 14.8% | 17.9% | 15.5% | 18.0% | 18.0% | 17% | |
| 2 | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.5% | 2.1% | 2.3% | 2.3% | 2.8% | 3.1% | 2.7% | 3.3% | 3.7% | 4.0% | 5.1% | 4.6% | 5.3% | 6.0% | 6% | |
| 1 | 1.5% | 1.6% | 1.7% | 2.0% | 2.5% | 2.5% | 2.8% | 2.7% | 3.9% | 3.7% | 4.5% | 5.0% | 6.2% | 6.1% | 7.1% | 7.8% | 9.0% | 7% | |
| % of Scores 3 or Higher | 97.3% | 97.4% | 97.4% | 96.5% | 95.4% | 95.2% | 95.0% | 94.5% | 93.0% | 93.7% | 92.2% | 91.3% | 89.8% | 88.7% | 88.2% | 86.9% | 85.0% | 87% | |
| Mean | 4.70 | 4.71 | 4.69 | 4.61 | 4.51 | 4.48 | 4.46 | 4.43 | 4.36 | 4.32 | 4.36 | 4.31 | 4.19 | 4.09 | 4.11 | 3.97 | 3.93 | 4.00 | |
| Standard Deviation | 0.74 | 0.75 | 0.77 | 0.84 | 0.93 | 0.95 | 0.97 | 0.98 | 1.06 | 1.05 | 1.10 | 1.14 | 1.20 | 1.22 | 1.24 | 1.26 | 1.31 | 1.24 | |
| Number of Students | 3,261 | 1,992 | 5,100 | 6,388 | 7,970 | 9,357 | 10,121 | 10,728 | 11,633 | 12,524 | 13,091 | 13,825 | 13,853 | 14,663 | 13,122 | 15,277 | 17,000 |