Important Updates for 2019-20
AP Biology Updates and New Resources for 2019-20
To help more students prepare for—and succeed on—the AP Biology Exam, we’ve clarified the course’s focus starting with the 2019-20 school year and are introducing new resources for your classroom. We’ve also moved exam registration to the fall, a best practice that improves students’ chances of earning college credit and placement.
Download the new course and exam description (CED)
New AP Resources
AP Classroom is now available. Designed with AP educators, it helps you provide students daily practice and personalized feedback throughout the year. Sign in to access AP unit guides with aligned resources, topic questions, personal progress checks, the progress dashboard, and your question bank.
Course Overview
AP Biology is an introductory college-level biology course. Students cultivate their understanding of biology through inquiry-based investigations as they explore topics like evolution, energetics, information storage and transfer, and system interactions.
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AP Biology Course at a Glance
Excerpted from the AP Biology Course and Exam Description, the Course at a Glance document outlines the topics and skills covered in the AP Biology course, along with suggestions for sequencing.
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AP Biology Course and Exam Description—Fall 2019
This is the core document for this course and is updated for the 2019-20 school year. New unit guides clearly lay out the course content and skills and recommend sequencing and pacing for them throughout the year. The CED also more clearly outlines how material will be assessed on the exam, provides instructional strategies, and gives information on the AP Program in general.
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AP Biology CED Scoring Guidelines
This document details how each of the sample free-response questions in the 2019-20 CED would be scored.
Course Content
Based on the Understanding by Design® (Wiggins and McTighe) model, this course framework provides a clear and detailed description of the course requirements necessary for student success. The framework specifies what students must know, be able to do, and understand, with a focus on the big ideas that encompass core principles, theories, and processes of the discipline. The framework also encourages instruction that prepares students for advanced work in STEM majors.
The AP Biology framework is organized into eight commonly taught units of study that provide one
possible sequence for the course. As always, you have the flexibility to organize the course content as you like.
Unit |
Exam Weighting (Multiple-Choice Section) |
| Unit 1: Chemistry of Life | 8%–11% |
| Unit 2: Cell Structure and Function | 10%–13% |
| Unit 3: Cellular Energetics | 12%–16% |
| Unit 4: Cell Communication and Cell Cycle | 10%–15% |
| Unit 5: Heredity | 8%–11% |
| Unit 6: Gene Expression and Regulation | 12%–16% |
| Unit 7: Natural Selection | 13%–20% |
| Unit 8: Ecology | 10%–15% |
Science Practices
The updated AP Biology framework included in the course and exam description outlines distinct skills, called science practices, that students should practice throughout the year—skills that will help them learn to think and act like biologists.
| Skill | Description | Exam Weighting (Multiple-Choice Section) |
| 1. Concept Explanation | Explain biological concepts, processes, and models presented in written format | 25%–33% |
| 2. Visual Representations | Analyze visual representations of biological concepts and processes | 16%–24% |
| 3. Question andMethod | Determine scientific question and method | 8%–14% |
| 4. Representing and Describing Data | Represent and describe data | 8%–14% |
| 5. Statistical Tests and Data Analysis | Perform statistical tests and mathematical calculations to analyze and interpret data | 8%–14% |
| 6. Argumentation | Develop and justify scientific arguments using evidence | 20%–26% |
AP and Higher Education
Higher education professionals play a key role developing AP courses and exams, setting credit and placement policies, and scoring student work. The Higher Education site features information on recruitment and admission, advising and placement, and more.
This chart shows recommended scores for granting credit, and how much credit should be awarded, for each AP course. Your students can look up credit and placement policies for colleges and universities on the Credit Policy Search.
Meet the Development Committee for AP Biology.