INCLUDES Course framework Instructional section Sample exam questions Classroom poster AP ® Microeconomics COURSE AND EXAM DESCRIPTION Effective Fall 2022 ® AP Microeconomics COURSE AND EXAM DESCRIPTION Effective Fall 2022 AP COURSE AND EXAM DESCRIPTIONS ARE UPDATED PERIODICALLY Please visit AP Central (apcentral.org) to determine whether a more recent course and exam description is available. About College Board College Board is a mission-driven not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, College Board was created to expand access to higher education. Today, the membership association is made up of over 6,000 of the world’s leading educational institutions and is dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in education.
Each year, College Board helps more than seven million students prepare for a successful transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and college success—including the SAT® and the Advanced Placement® Program. The organization also serves the education community through research and advocacy on behalf of students, educators, and schools. For further information, visit collegeboard. AP Equity and Access Policy College Board strongly encourages educators to make equitable access a guiding principle for their AP programs by giving all willing and academically prepared students the opportunity to participate in AP.
We encourage the elimination of barriers that restrict access to AP for students from ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups that have been traditionally underrepresented. Schools should make every effort to ensure their AP classes reflect the diversity of their student population. College Board also believes that all students should have access to academically challenging coursework before they enroll in AP classes, which can prepare them for AP success. It is only through a commitment to equitable preparation and access that true equity and excellence can be achieved.
Designers: Sonny Mui and Bill Tully © 2022 College Board. College Board, Advanced Placement, AP, AP Central, and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of College Board. All other products and services may be trademarks of their respective owners. Visit College Board on the web: collegeboard.
Contents v Acknowledgments 1 About AP 4 AP Resources and Supports 6 Instructional Model 7 About the AP Microeconomics Course 7 College Course Equivalent 7 Prerequisites COURSE FRAMEWORK 11 Introduction 13 Course Framework Components 15 Course Skills 17 Course Content 20 Course at a Glance 23 Unit Guides 25 Using the Unit Guides 29 UNIT 1: Basic Economic Concepts 41 UNIT 2: Supply and Demand 57 UNIT 3: Production, Cost, and the Perfect Competition Model 71 UNIT 4: Imperfect Competition 83 UNIT 5: Factor Markets 93 UNIT 6: Market Failure and the Role of Government INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACHES 107 Selecting and Using Course Materials 108 Teaching the AP Economics Courses 109 Instructional Strategies 113 Developing Course Skills EXAM INFORMATION 121 Exam Overview 126 Sample Exam Questions SCORING GUIDELINES 137 Question 1: Long 141 Question 2: Short APPENDIX 145 AP Microeconomics Conceptual Framework 165 AP Microeconomics Graphs and Visuals THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK. Acknowledgments College Board would like to acknowledge the following committee members, consultants, and reviewers for their assistance with and commitment to the development of this course. All individuals and their affiliations were current at the time of contribution. Nicholas Anello, Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Flossmoor, IL David Burgin, Science Hill High School, Johnson City, TN Peter Duffer, Buffalo Grove High School, Buffalo Grove, IL Joshua Hayes, St.
George’s High School, Spokane, WA Thomas Kinnaman, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA Mary Kohelis, Weirton Madonna High School, Weirton, WV Dee Mecham, The Bishop’s School, La Jolla, CA Lynda Motiram, Dulaney High School, Lutherville-Timonium, MD Matthew Pedlow, Chelsea High School, Chelsea, MI Esther Redmount, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO Martha Rush, Mounds View High School, Arden Hills, MN Pamela Schmitt, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD Patrick Scholten, Bentley University, Waltham, MA Please note that the course framework included in this document was inspired by work originally undertaken by the AP Microeconomics Curriculum Development and Assessment Committee. College Board Staff Elizabeth Healy, Director, AP Economics Content and Instructional Development Dana Kopelman, Executive Director, AP Content Integration and Change Management Daniel McDonough, Senior Director, AP Content Integration Allison Milverton, Director, AP Curricular Publications Allison Thurber, Executive Director, AP Curriculum and Assessment SPECIAL THANKS Christopher Budano and John R. Williamson AP Microeconomics Course and Exam Description V.1 | v Return to Table of Contents © 2022 College Board THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK. About AP College Board’s Advanced Placement® Program (AP®) to provide teachers and students with formative enables willing and academically prepared students assessments—Personal Progress Checks—that to pursue college-level studies—with the opportunity teachers can assign throughout the year to measure to earn college credit, advanced placement, or student progress as they acquire content knowledge both—while still in high school.
Through AP courses and develop skills. in 38 subjects, each culminating in a challenging exam, students learn to think critically, construct solid Enrolling Students: arguments, and see many sides of an issue—skills that prepare them for college and beyond. Taking Equity and Access AP courses demonstrates to college admission officers College Board strongly encourages educators to that students have sought the most challenging make equitable access a guiding principle for their curriculum available to them, and research indicates AP programs by giving all willing and academically that students who score a 3 or higher on an AP Exam prepared students the opportunity to participate typically experience greater academic success in in AP. We encourage the elimination of barriers college and are more likely to earn a college degree that restrict access to AP for students from ethnic, than non-AP students.
Each AP teacher’s syllabus racial, and socioeconomic groups that have been is evaluated and approved by faculty from some of traditionally underserved. College Board also believes the nation’s leading colleges and universities, and that all students should have access to academically AP Exams are developed and scored by college faculty challenging coursework before they enroll in AP classes, and experienced AP teachers. Most four-year colleges which can prepare them for AP success. It is only and universities in the United States grant credit, through a commitment to equitable preparation and advanced placement, or both on the basis of successful access that true equity and excellence can be achieved.
AP Exam scores; more than 3,300 institutions worldwide annually receive AP scores. Offering AP Courses: The AP Course Audit AP Course Development The AP Program unequivocally supports the principle In an ongoing effort to maintain alignment with best that each school implements its own curriculum that will practices in college-level learning, AP courses and enable students to develop the content understandings exams emphasize challenging, research-based and skills described in the course framework. curricula aligned with higher education expectations. While the unit sequence represented in this publication Individual teachers are responsible for designing their is optional, the AP Program does have a short list of own curriculum for AP courses, selecting appropriate curricular and resource requirements that must be college-level readings, assignments, and resources.
fulfilled before a school can label a course “Advanced This course and exam description presents the content Placement” or “AP.” Schools wishing to offer AP courses and skills that are the focus of the corresponding must participate in the AP Course Audit, a process college course and that appear on the AP Exam. It also through which AP teachers’ course materials are organizes the content and skills into a series of units reviewed by college faculty. The AP Course Audit that represent a sequence found in widely adopted was created to provide teachers and administrators college textbooks and that many AP teachers have with clear guidelines on curricular and resource told us they follow in order to focus their instruction. requirements for AP courses and to help colleges and The intention of this publication is to respect teachers’ universities validate courses marked “AP” on students’ time and expertise by providing a roadmap that they transcripts.
This process ensures that AP teachers’ can modify and adapt to their local priorities and courses meet or exceed the curricular and resource preferences. Moreover, by organizing the AP course expectations that college and secondary school faculty content and skills into units, the AP Program is able have established for college-level courses. AP Microeconomics Course and Exam Description V.1 | 1 Return to Table of Contents © 2022 College Board The AP Course Audit form is submitted by the questions and through-course performance AP teacher and the school principal (or designated assessments, as applicable, are scored by thousands administrator) to confirm awareness and understanding of college faculty and expert AP teachers. Most are of the curricular and resource requirements.
A syllabus scored at the annual AP Reading, while a small portion or course outline, detailing how course requirements is scored online. All AP Readers are thoroughly trained, are met, is submitted by the AP teacher for review by and their work is monitored throughout the Reading college faculty. for fairness and consistency. In each subject, a highly respected college faculty member serves as Chief Please visit collegeboard.org/apcourseaudit for more Faculty Consultant and, with the help of AP Readers information to support the preparation and submission in leadership positions, maintains the accuracy of of materials for the AP Course Audit.
the scoring standards. Scores on the free-response questions and performance assessments are weighted How the AP Program and combined with the results of the computer-scored Is Developed multiple-choice questions, and this raw score is converted into a composite AP score on a 1–5 scale. The scope of content for an AP course and exam is derived from an analysis of hundreds of syllabi and AP Exams are not norm-referenced or graded on a curve. course offerings of colleges and universities.
Using Instead, they are criterion-referenced, which means that this research and data, a committee of college faculty every student who meets the criteria for an AP score of and expert AP teachers work within the scope of 2, 3, 4, or 5 will receive that score, no matter how many the corresponding college course to articulate what students that is. The criteria for the number of points students should know and be able to do upon the students must earn on the AP Exam to receive scores completion of the AP course. The resulting course of 3, 4, or 5—the scores that research consistently framework is the heart of this course and exam validates for credit and placement purposes—include: description and serves as a blueprint of the content and § The number of points successful college students skills that can appear on an AP Exam. earn when their professors administer AP Exam The AP Test Development Committees are responsible questions to them.
for developing each AP Exam, ensuring the exam § The number of points researchers have found questions are aligned to the course framework. The to be predictive that an AP student will succeed AP Exam development process is a multiyear endeavor; when placed into a subsequent higher-level all AP Exams undergo extensive review, revision, college course. piloting, and analysis to ensure that questions are § Achievement-level descriptions formulated by accurate, fair, and valid, and that there is an appropriate college faculty who review each AP Exam question. spread of difficulty across the questions.
Committee members are selected to represent a variety Using and Interpreting AP Scores of perspectives and institutions (public and private, The extensive work done by college faculty and small and large schools and colleges), and a range of AP teachers in the development of the course and gender, racial/ethnic, and regional groups. A list of each exam and throughout the scoring process ensures subject’s current AP Test Development Committee that AP Exam scores accurately represent students’ members is available on apcentral. achievement in the equivalent college course. Frequent Throughout AP course and exam development, and regular research studies establish the validity of College Board gathers feedback from various AP scores as follows: stakeholders in both secondary schools and higher education institutions.