Introduction to AP® Macroeconomics

Macroeconomics is one of the dreaded courses in a high school career. When hearing anything relating to economics, a student automatically associates the subject with daunting long form formulas that require specialized knowledge and years of research. However, the average macroeconomics course does not require that level of complexity, but rather more practical knowledge and study into the theory of economics, rather than the practice. The AP® Macroeconomics test is not necessarily a walk in the park, but it is an exam with concepts that you can grasp without prior knowledge of economics.

By the Numbers

First of all, we should take a look at the actual statistics associated with the exam itself to determine its complexity. Compared to other exams, AP® Macro is in the middle of the road – it is neither difficult nor easy. This could lead us to speculate that macroeconomics depends on studied skills rather than previous knowledge. Let’s go into more detail.

According to the CollegeBoard’s official Twitter page, the 2016 AP® Macroeconomics breakdown is as follows:

As can be seen in the chart, the exam has a pass rate of about 55.7% when taking scores of 3,4, and 5 into account, or 73.2% if the passing grade of 2 is added in, although most universities do not accept a score of 2 for college credit. This pass rate is higher than the comparatively difficult Physics 1 exam, which had a rate of 39.2%, and lower than the 89% of the relatively easy Spanish Language exam. As previously mentioned, this puts macroeconomics at a medium difficulty.

Surprisingly, this year’s scores had a lower rate of 3’s than 4’s. A score of 3 is the most commonly accepted AP® Macro score for granting college credit. The high rate of 4’s might point to the exam being easy for those who put in a moderate amount of self-study in addition to attending classes, whereas a score of 3 could be those who only took the exam based on what they learned in class, providing they did the right amount of coursework.

Finally, the amount of 5’s is a little less than 30% of all those who passed the exam, and 16.1% of overall test takers. This rate of perfect scores is high when taking the relative difficulty of the exam into account. You can conclude that extra studying outside of coursework can lead to a great score on your exam.

Exam Structure

The AP® Macro exam is straightforward in its structure and purpose. The exam itself is separated into two test sections. These sections are further separated by the overall themes of the exam, which cover seven broad categories of macroeconomics. These categories are based on what should be learned in a typical high school macroeconomics course.

The first section is multiple choice, which consists of 60 questions on the various topics. The number of questions on any given topic reflects the percentage set up in the outline. 70 minutes is allocated to this section and it is worth two-thirds of the final grade. The questions are not organized by difficulty or theme.

The second section is made up of three free response questions. The free response questions are often considered the most difficult portion of the exam, due to their free-form nature and their complexity. The first question is generally the longest and needs the most dedicated time; the other two usually have to do with drawing a graph and answering a simpler question than the first.

All free response questions are divided into parts that are indicated by letters such as (a), (b), (c), and so on. These parts are independently graded. This means that each part of a question acts as its own question. For example, if you answer parts (a) and (b), but don’t answer part (c), you still get credit to your final score from parts (a) and (b).

The free response question part of the exam is 60 minutes long and worth one-third of the final score. Usually the first question will take about 30 minutes and the last two about 15 minutes each.

Content

The content of the exam can be difficult due to its wide range of subjects and their varying complexity. The good news about these topics is their propensity to build on other topics. One topic might be related to the other where studying the first will help answer a question regarding the second.

The following is an outline of the topics covered by the exam as well as their percent share of the exam as a whole:

1. Basic Economics: 8-12%

2. Measurement of Economic Performance: 12%-16%

3. National Income and Price Determination: 10%-15%

4. The Financial Sector: 15%-20%

5. Inflation, Unemployment, Stabilization, and Related Economic Policy: 20%-30%

6. Economic Growth and Productivity: 5%-10%

7. International Economics, Trade, and Finance: 10%-15%

The largest portion that is covered by the exam has to do with economic policy and the determinant factors of economic policy. This section mainly has to do with the Federal Reserve and its interactions with the economy, as well as other fiscal policies enacted by the government. It also looks over the effects of inflation and unemployment on these policies and their relation to the economy.

The financial sector section and the international economics section are closely related overall. These sections will more than likely be studied together in class due to the effects one has one the other. The general topics of these sections mainly have to do with monetary policy and foreign exchange, which determines the amount of money the government prints and overall money supply.

Apart from the relation between those two sections, the majority of the topics that are covered depend heavily on the knowledge of the other topics. For example, all subjects will depend on your knowledge of basic economics. The order of these sections can help in identifying what topics need more concentration. This can help structure your study around certain topics more than others.

For example, given that all topics depend on basic economics, you should concentrate a large amount of your study time on this concept, despite the fact that a small part of the exam deals with basic economics directly. On the other hand, despite having a larger share of the exam, the international economics section will only need coverage of specific topics outside of class, given that it relies on other concepts that have already been studied.

Skills Required

Passing the AP® econ exam is only partly based on how much you pay attention in class. When you have acquired the necessary knowledge to be able to answer questions on the exam, you have to hone your test taking skills to be able to answer to your best ability. Some of these may seem like common knowledge while others will be quite specific to economics.

Organization

The first key skill to take the test well is organization. While organization is basically a requirement for any test, the macroeconomics exam is especially important given the reliance on graphs and the extensive list of topics related to the test’s content. The free response questions will more than likely ask you to draw multiple graphs. You will also have a suggested ten minutes before answering to develop coherent answers. These answers should be in the order of the parts of the questions, and answers to separate parts should be labeled as such.

Graphs for the exam should be neat and able to be read. Even when a graph is not required, it might be helpful to draw a graph anyway to be able to grasp the answer to a question. Graphs should not stand alone when answering a question; rather they should be logically explained in order to fully give a response.

Time Management

In addition to organization, you should have a grasp. Time management is key for the multiple choice questions, where you have about a minute to answer each question. Instead of spending a long time trying to answer a question, you should skip it and move on so that you can come back to it later once you have answered all the questions that you can in under a minute. This way, you can appropriately use every minute allocated to the multiple choice exam.

There is a ten minutes planning time that is suggested before answering a free response question as well. This time should be used wisely to properly organize your answer. This planning time will help you fully utilize the limited answering time you have, as you will have already planned out your answer.

Practice, Practice, Practice

The key to passing any AP® econ exam obviously requires an aspect of self-study. This means studying for the exam outside of class to develop knowledge that may not have been properly covered by your teacher. There are tons of practice tests online that you can utilize to formulate responses and perfect your skills.

This is especially helpful for practicing drawing graphs and gaining the proper terminology. As previously stated, drawing a legible graph makes the difference between receiving credit for a question or none at all. Taking practice tests will also help you develop the economics jargon that is used in answering a question. Money and income are two different things, for example. Each label on a graph has its own fixed symbol, such as “D” for demand and “Q” for quantity. Practicing will help you get a grasp on the language of macroeconomics.

Asking Questions

This skill is as relevant online as it is in class. When in class, make sure you settle any doubts with your teacher. Your teacher is your access to a real-time knowledge base. Your teacher created the curriculum of the class according to CollegeBoard standards that was subject to CollegeBoard review before approval. This means that if anyone is an expert on the AP, it is your teacher.

If you have a question and your teacher is not available, the internet is the next obvious resource of your questions being answered. You should participate in forums with other students that are taking the exam. In return, you can answer questions that you may know but your peers will not. It’s like a dynamic study group set up all over the country!

All of these skills should be practiced and utilized when studying for and taking the macroeconomics exam. These skills are not just useful for this exam, but also any other exam you take along with macro.

Benefits

Macroeconomics is probably one of the few AP® exams that are directly applicable to real life. You can also see its effects in real time. For example, if the unemployment rate is high and the president is trying to enact policies based on that rate, you can draw your conclusions of those policies based on what you learn in AP® Macro. The following are some real world applications and benefits from taking AP® Macroeconomics.

College Credit

If we’re being honest, this is probably the prime reason anyone takes an AP® exam. The macroeconomics exam is no different. In general, most schools require a score of 4 in order to gain college credit in class. The reason for this higher required score is most likely because macroeconomics is such a wide reaching area of study. This means some level of expertise is necessary to pass the exam and gain credit to get out of the college-level economics course.

Political Participation

If you’re a senior taking this exam, you are probably moving into your first election in which you can vote. Regardless of voter eligibility, macroeconomics rules the world and the government’s economic policy. Developing a clear understanding of economics will help you determine who you want to support politically, based on what benefits are reaped from whatever policies are being considered. Macroeconomics can also be used to discuss the various economic crises throughout the world. The Great Recession of 2008, for example, is the direct effect from mismanaged fiscal policy that is learned in a macroeconomics course.

These are just three practical applications of learning macroeconomics. The AP® macro test may seem daunting, but learning the subject can bring about real results that will affect your day to day life. This is something unique within the list of AP® exams.

Next Steps

After taking the above into consideration, you may be wondering how to move on and take the exam. While studying and going to class are important, there are a few steps you have to take outside of that in order to be able to take the AP® exam.

Create a CollegeBoard Account

If you haven’t already, it is absolutely necessary to go to the CollegeBoard website and create an account. You will use this website to create your username that you will use for the test as well as view your scores after the tests have been graded.

Look for a Study Guide

Study guides are essential to getting the knowledge and practice for getting a passing grade on the AP® exam. An AP® Macroeconomics review is especially important for those who are taking the test late. There is a huge range of study guides on the internet, some of which are ineffectual while others are probably as good as taking a class. If you have the means it can be helpful to purchase multiple study guides to practice regularly.

Take Past Exam Questions

The CollegeBoard and other websites usually posts previous responses to free response questions online. While questions never repeat, these will help you time yourself when organizing your answer as well as develop a grasp of what might be asked on the exam and the overall format of the questions. The questions usually follow the same formats.

Here is a shortened version of a typical free response question:

1. Consider that the United States economy is currently in a long-run equilibrium with the actual unemployment rate above the natural rate of unemployment.

(a) Draw a graph that is correctly labeled with both the long-run Phillips curve and short-run Phillips curve and label the correct long-run equilibrium as P.

(b) If policy actions are taken to improve employment levels, will the short-run Phillips curve shift to the right (upward), shift to the left (downward), or remain the same in the short-run? Explain.

(c) If the Federal Reserve Bank wants to lower unemployment, what monetary policy should it use to exact those changes?

Note that this question should be answered in the format it was given, meaning you should answer each part as listed in the question.

AP® Macroeconomics sounds like a dreaded exam that is complex and requires years of study in order to have the correct knowledge. However, you should always realize the difference between theory and practice. Studying the theory of Macroeconomics is a lot easier than actually implementing those theories in practice. These theories are easy to understand, and have actual benefits in the long run. You should consider taking the AP® Macro exam not only for college credit, but also the added benefit of personal knowledge.

Looking for AP® Macroeconomics practice?

Kickstart your AP® Macroeconomics prep with Albert. Start your AP® exam prep today.