Advanced Placement (AP) Environmental Science, also called APES, AP Enviro, AP Environmental, AP Environment, or AP EnviroSci, is a course and exam provided by the American College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program for high school students who are interested in environmental and natural sciences. This course was first offered during the 1997–1998 school year.
Course
This course teaches students important science ideas, rules, and ways to understand how things in nature are connected. It helps students find and study environmental problems, compare the dangers of these problems, and look at different ways to solve or stop similar issues around the world. Classes happen in classrooms and outside areas like parks, trips, and volunteer work.
According to the College Board, topics in AP Environmental Science since Fall 2019 include:
Topics in AP Environmental Science before Fall 2019 include:
These subjects help students learn about many areas to prepare them for jobs and studies in environmental science and other related fields.
Exam
The AP Environmental Science exam has two parts: multiple choice and free response.
The older version of the exam took 3 hours and had two sections:
• Section I: Multiple Choice (100 questions, 90 minutes).
• Section II: Free-Response (one data-set question, one document-based question, and two synthesis and evaluation questions, 90 minutes).
Starting in fall 2019, changes were made to the exam. These changes include: allowing calculators, reducing the number of multiple-choice questions, adding materials to multiple-choice questions, and updating free-response questions. According to the College Board, the new exam lasts 2 hours and 40 minutes and includes 80 multiple-choice questions and 3 free-response questions. A four-function, scientific, or graphing calculator is allowed for both sections. The exam is taken online using the Bluebook testing app. All answers are submitted when the exam ends. The new exam has two sections with small changes:
• Section I: Multiple Choice (80 questions, 90 minutes).
• Section II: Free-Response (one investigation design question, one solution to an environmental problem proposal question, and one solution to an environmental problem proposal question with calculations, 70 minutes).
In the 2021 exam, only 7.0% of students scored a 5. This remains one of the lowest 5-scoring AP exams, along with AP Art History, AP English Literature & Composition, AP English Language & Composition, and AP World History. The AP Environmental Science exam was first given in 1998.
Grade distributions since 2009 are: