AP Italian Language and Culture: 2021 Exam Results
The following data reflect all 2,098 students worldwide who took the AP Italian Language and Culture Exam this year on any exam date prior to June 12.
AP Italian Language and Culture score distributions, 2021 vs. 2019
The following table enables comparisons of student performance in 2021 to student performance prior to the covid-19 pandemic:
| AP Score | 2019 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 14% | 21% |
| 4 | 18% | 23% |
| 3 | 34% | 29% |
| 2 | 25% | 18% |
| 1 | 9% | 9% |
The May 14 Exam Questions
The largest exam date for AP Italian was May 14, so the following information is specific to the exam version administered on that date, and does not include heritage speakers’ exam data:
Multiple-choice section: Students performed slightly better on reading questions than listening ones.
- Course Themes: Students scored best on questions about science/technology and contemporary life, and least well on questions about families/communities and beauty/aesthetics.
- Skill Categories: Students scored highest on questions related to Skill Category 1 (Comprehend Text), and least well on questions related to Skill Category 4 (Make Meanings).
- Task Models: Many students did an amazing job with the promotional material task; more than 15% earned all 5 points possible. The next highest scoring task model was the interview; on such questions 11% of students earned all 5 points possible. The most challenging task model was the presentation; very few students earned all of those points.
Free-response section: AP Italian students generally scored highest on the email task (free-response question 1); more than 15% of the students earned all 5 points possible on it. The most challenging task for students was the conversation related to the theme of sfide globali: ~45% of students were unable to earn more than 1 point out of the 5 possible for this conversation.