This work is supported in part by NSF DRL 20-10188

In 2018 5.2% of students earned a 5 on the AP Physics 1 Exam

6.8% vs 2.5%

“Typical” gaps in

APPC and AB Calc

What if… we remove the multiple choice?

Multiple Choice Expectations vs Reality

Previous experiences expect that students automatically know the answer

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Students taught to read everything carefully, including all answer choices before selecting an answer

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It’s not the free response, so no reason to write!

Physics problems are rarely questions where the answer is automatically known, obvious or intuitive.

Reading all of the answer choices can lead to more confusion

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Physics problems often require diagramming and mathematical reasoning to obtain a valid solution with evidence.

Intervention Process

I know what you’re thinking…

“Doesn’t this inflate everyone’s scores?”

No.

Results Kinematics Exam �Pretest vs Kinematics Test

Results - Intervention Removed

Pretest vs Momentum Exam (Jan)

Thank You! Questions?

1. Goalless problems from the multiple choice are used 1-5 days prior to exam for student discussion
2. Exam has same items
3. Intervention seems to improve scores of students who generally perform well in class, but poorly on exams
4. Intervention closes some of the gap between male and female students