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4 Best AP Statistics Review Books (2024 Update)

William Cohen
Published by William Cohen
Last Updated On: December 8, 2021

An AP Statistics class is not something for the faint of heart. In fact, most of the students we've talked to rate it as a fairly average to difficult course. While many may not find it smooth-sailing, there are things you can do to keep up with the discussion and the exam at the end of the school year.

For starters, learn the concepts and build a solid foundation through a good review book. Here's our list of the best AP Statistics review books that you can use throughout the year.

4 Best AP Statistics Review Books in 2022

1 - Cracking the AP Statistics Exam, 2020 Edition: Practice Tests & Proven Techniques to Help You Score a 5 – Best for College Test Preparation (Editor's Choice)

Cracking the AP Statistics Exam

The Princeton Review offers Cracking the AP Statistics Exam study guide that may help you get a better score on the test.

Much like other Princeton Review AP books,  the AP Statistics book has two full-length practice tests with answers and explanations of each solution. This prep book also includes a content review for all topics and strategies for every question type.

As per our research, you may find the practice drills at the end of each chapter helpful. There's also a step-by-step walk-through to set up box plots, dot plots, and other statistics graphics. With these features, it's no wonder this Princeton Review book made it to our list of the best AP Statistics review books.

Pros
  • Comprehensive AP Statistics textbook
  • Good practice tests
  • Has an online help portal
  • Includes 2 full-length practice tests
  • Contains helpful AP Stats drills
Cons
  • Not for late-minute studying

2 - Stats Modeling the World – AP Statistics Textbook 4th Edition

Stats Modeling the World

The Stats Modeling the World prep book is a clear, accessible, and teachable AP Statistics textbook.

The prep book has practical data analytics and graphics that allow students to think methodically right from the beginning. It provides the process of how to take data, how to explain the same, and how it may be reported to others.

Based on our research and content review, the 4th edition of this AP Statistics book is more compact and more engaging than its previous versions. Hence, this recommendation.

The latest guide is built from the previous three AP Statistics books, offering innovative features and revisions designed to make it easier for students to combine theoretical data and statistic application.

Pros
  • Clear and easy-to-follow examples
  • Provides helpful features
  • Contains full-length tests
  • Compact and more engaging
Cons
  • No answer key

3 - Ultimate AP Statistics Practice Book: 100 Essential Problems Completely Explained on YouTube

Ultimate AP Statistics Practice Book

The AP Statistics Practice Book by Kendall Roberg offers 100 practice problems explained in YouTube videos.  The videos cover all the concepts and explain in detail how to use a graphical calculator.

Here are some of the topics and concepts covered in the 100 study problems offered with this coursebook:

  • Distribution of the data that includes shapes, outliers, spread
  • A normal distribution like z- score, percentiles
  • Graphical data like Histogram, Box Plots, Ogives, Pie chart
  • Chi-square, one square, and two square tests
  • Understanding residual plots
  • Scatter plots and least square regression
  • Constructing the confidence intervals
  • Applying transformation for achieving linearity
Pros
  • Affordable price
  • Includes practice exams
  • Detailed explanation for every problem
  • YouTube video explanations
Cons
  • No multiple-choice practices

4 - Barron's AP Statistics textbook - 9th Edition

Barron's AP Statistics textbook

Based on our in-depth research, Barron’s AP Statistics is among the best AP Statistics books today.

Barron's book offers an additional full-length AP Statistics online practice test with all of the questions answered and briefly explained with the paperback book.

Barron’s AP Statistics also features 35 best AP Statistics exam hints, which you may find useful.

It also includes five full-length practice tests, a diagnostic test, and an essential AP Stats guide on using TI, Casio, and graphics calculators.

Pros
  • Easy-to-understand AP Stats book
  • Includes 5 full-length practice tests
  • Includes a diagnostic test
Cons
  • Some areas may be hard to read

Things to Know - AP Exam

AP Statistics exam information dates and time:

The College Board AP Statistics exam is three hours long and partitioned into two parts: multiple-choice and free-response.

Section 1: There are 40 multiple-choice questions in this section. You have an hour and a half to finish the section.

Section 2: There are six questions in the free-response section. You have an hour and a half to finish the section.

You need to bring a graphing calculator with statistics capabilities to the exam. If you are interested to learn how much does an AP exam cost, read this post.

Course Summary For AP Statistics

The AP Statistics course is similar to an introductory-level college statistics course offered to high school students. Once they pass the AP Statistics exam, they are eligible to receive college credit for the course. The Advanced Placement Statistics course curriculum is determined by the college and high school faculty members.

In an AP Statistics course, students will learn topics from four different areas, including exploring data, planning and conducting a study, probability, and statistical inference. Some areas which might be taught when exploring data include one and two-variable data sets.

During the planning and conducting of a study module, students might learn about experimental design, investigative task, and sampling. The probability section will include topics like non-random patterns and mutually exclusive events. In the statistical inference module, students will learn about the chi-square, means, and proportions.

What Is Covered On The AP Statistics Exam?

Now that you understand how long and what types of questions will be on your AP Statistics exam, let’s take a look at what topics are covered.

There are about nine general topics covered on the AP Stats test. Each of the nine categories falls under a larger topic area we discussed earlier. In the multiple-choice section of the exam, you will find most questions will come from these areas; exploring one-variable data, collecting data, probability, proportions, and means.

Topic Exam Weight on the Multiple Choice Section
One-variable data 15-23%
Two-variable data 5-7%
Data collection 12-15%
Probability 10-20%
Sampling distributions 7-12%
Inference for proportions 12-15%
Inference for means 10-18%
Inference for chi-square 2-5%
Inference for slopes 2-5%

AP Statistics Prep Books: What To Look For

Tips and Strategies

You should make sure the AP Stats textbook you choose comes with plenty of tips and strategies for tackling the format of the test and getting a high score. It is one thing to learn the subject matter, but it is a completely different thing to understand how the test is formatted and how the test-makers were expecting you to take the exam. It is a computer-based exam, so the prep book you buy should guide you on using the system.

The College Board AP exam is timed, so you should only spend a certain amount of time on each question before moving on to another one. You should plan on spending no more than 2 minutes on each multiple-choice question. You should spend about 12 minutes on the first five and 30 minutes on the last one for the free-response questions.

Practice Questions

One of the best ways to study for the AP Statistics exam is to complete actual practice questions. That way, you can get a feel for the question types and hone in on skills in which you need improvement. You should complete practice questions in each subject area and gauge your performance based on responses. If you have a lower score in one section, you should practice additional questions in your weak sections before the test day.

Full-Length Practice Tests

We recommend taking one full-length practice test before you start on your study plan. This will give you a baseline for improving your score. You might want to take a practice test at least at the beginning of each week before diving into your study plan for the week. This will keep you updated on your progress.

The AP Statistics prep book you buy should come with access to at least 2 practice questions with answer keys. At the minimum, we recommend taking full-length tests at the beginning and right before your test day.

Answer Explanations

It is crucial for you to understand why you get certain questions right and wrong while you study. If you do not understand what you did wrong, you will have a hard time correcting those mistakes on future questions. The AP Statistics book you purchase should come with thorough explanations of each question type and topic. You should review the explanations and apply the tactics to future questions to see if you grasp the material.

Related AP Books:

FAQs

How is the AP Statistics test scored?

The AP Statistics test is scored on a scale of 1-5. The percentage of students scoring each level is pretty even. Approximately 23.1% of students score a 3 on the AP Statistics test.

How much do AP Statistics prep books typically cost?

AP Statistics prep books cost anywhere from $20 to $150. Prep books will cost more if they contain more prep content and practice tests.

Do I need to buy AP Stats prep books?

It depends on how well you know the exam material before you take the test. We think it is wise to use some practice tests that included in Statistics books at least to gauge your baseline. If you find you need additional practice to raise your AP statistics score, then you should invest in a prep book.

How long should I study for the exam?

We recommend studying for at least 2 months before you take the AP Statistics exam. If you already know the course material well, then you might not need to study for as many hours per day. You should spend at least a couple of hours per day to prepare thoroughly. We encourage you to prepare a study plan before starting your review.

Are there AP Statistics prep courses?

There are not any commercial third-party companies offering AP Statistics prep courses. Kaplan offers a few AP prep courses, but not for statistics. You can find free content review courses on websites such as Khan Academy and other YouTube mini-series. We recommend reviewing some of the material in these free courses but not relying on them entirely to pass the exam. They are best used as an overview of the general topics on the test.

Is the AP Statistics exam difficult?

Most students agree the AP Satstistcs test is above average difficulty compared to other AP course exams. They did not rate it as hard as biology, but it might be more difficult than AP History. If you put in the time to learn the concepts throughout the year, it should not be too hard for you to pass.

And the #1 AP Statistics Textbook is...

Based on our comprehensive research and interview with previous test-takers, the latest Princeton Review Edition may be the best bang for your buck if you want to score 5 in the AP Statistics test. Aside from its impressive content structure and practice tests, the book is also affordable and provides plenty of practice materials.

Additionally, the Barron's AP Statistics textbook may be another alternative for your AP exam preparation as well as for teachers who want to use it as a reference.

Cracking the AP Statistics Exam

Our #1 Recommendation

Cracking the AP Statistics Exam, 2020 Edition: Practice Tests & Proven Techniques to Help You Score a 5 – Best for College Test Preparation

  • Comprehensive AP Statistics textbook
  • Good practice tests
  • Has an online help portal
  • Includes 2 full-length practice tests
  • Contains helpful AP Stats drills
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