Best AP Statistics Books – May 2023

Acing the AP Statistics exam is not easy.

With a name like "Advanced Placement Statistics," it's no wonder that the questions are challenging and the statistical concepts are difficult to grasp. But you can always hone your analytical thinking abilities by choosing the right content review guide. 

These guides discuss every major statistical concept and include the rationale and explanation behind each of them.

Over the next few sections, we’ve listed some of the best AP Statistics books. We’ve also included details about the exam pattern and study guidelines. So, keep reading to find out more. We'll help you prepare better for your upcoming AP Statistics exam and sail through the college admissions process.

The Ultimate AP Statistics Prep List

AP exams can be difficult. So, before we dive into the best AP Statistics review books, keep in mind that just one of the books below might not be enough. Students preparing for this AP exam may need to combine more than one to get all the information they need and reach their desired score.

We can't guarantee you'll get a 5 with any of the test prep books below - you still have to put in the work. But if you make time to study, start taking practice tests, familiarise yourself with practice problems, and work on your strengths and weaknesses, you're sure to get a good score.

Whether you're looking for a quick crash course to jog your memory, course material that covers a course summary and key concepts, or prep books to highlight proven strategies, we've rounded up the best AP books on the market.

barrons ap statistics premium

If you’re looking to grasp challenging AP stats concepts, Barron’s AP Statistics should be your first choice. As with other prep and review books from Barron, this guide includes a set of questions that are more difficult than actual AP statistics tests.

Unlike other AP Statistics books, Barron’s AP Statistics offers comprehensive coverage of statistical concepts. This way, you thoroughly understand difficult topics with almost no room for doubt.

Barron's test prep book includes a 14-chapter subject review that covers every important test topic. It also comes with a set of important questions, answers, and explanations, and five full-length practice tests.

Other major highlights of Barron's AP Statistics include a diagnostic test and several multiple-choice and free-response questions. While the diagnostic test helps assess your problem areas, the multiple-choice and free-response questions will help prepare for your AP exam better.

To make things easier for the students, Barron's AP Statistics include two additional chapters. The first one is a review chapter that highlights major statistical insights and social issues, and the next one is dedicated to the Investigative Task, which covers almost one-eighth of the exam.

You'll also find 25 useful hints and a detailed guide about using the TI, Casio, and other graphing calculators.

Special bonus: if you buy the Barron's AP Statistics book, you'll enjoy free access to one full-length, digital AP statistics test. As with the paper practice tests, the online test includes the questions and good answer explanations.

If you're looking for the ultimate AP Statistics practice book, Barron's review books never fail. 

Pros

  • It offers a comprehensive review of the 14 important chapters of AP statistics
  • Includes a review chapter that highlights the major statistical insights
  • It comes with a special chapter on the Investigative task
  • Features diagnostic tests, five full-length tests, multiple-choice questions, free-response questions, and plenty of useful practice exams
  • Offers 35 top hints for your AP statistics exams
  • Lets you access a full-length online test with questions, answers, and explanations 

Cons

  • The concepts might be difficult for people who are just getting started with AP Statistics
5 steps to a 5 ap statistics

Looking for ultimate AP Statistics practice guide? Like most 5 Steps to a 5 review books, this AP Statistics Book comes with a simple and approachable study plan to help you develop the required skills, expertise, and confidence for your upcoming AP Stats test. 

The topics are completely in line with the syllabus of AP Statistics and the practice tests included in the book match the format of the latest exam. 

This AP Statistics prep book is available in a cross-platform format, meaning you aren't just restricted to offline tests - you can also access three online practice tests. Note that both the offline and online tests are full-length (in accordance with the format of AP Statistics exam). To make things easier for students, this review book includes answers, explanations, useful study tips, details about the scoring pattern of the actual exam, and more to help you prepare for test day.

When you buy this AP Statistics  book, you also receive free access to the interactive AP planner app. Thanks to this application, you can now manage your time amid the nerve-wracking AP exam schedule. Other features include AP Statistics flashcards, engaging games, and a powerful analytics tool to boost your preparation.

This book has been highly recommended by students and teachers for its format and simplicity. Going by the rave reviews, it certainly seems like a worth purchase. If you you're looking for a well-rounded study guide with lots of extras, this is the best AP Statistics review book for you.

However, you may need to pair it with another prep book to get a more in-depth review of the course content. Why not try Barron's AP Statistics, as mentioned above?

Pros

  • Includes two offline and three online full-length practice tests
  • Answers, explanations and study tips are included with the questions
  • It comes with an excellent AP planner app that is tailored to help you manage your time
  • The review materials are detailed and comprehensive
  • The format and tone of this book are approachable and simple

Cons

  • This AP Statistics practice book doesn’t cover all the important topics for your AP Statistics exam. You might need additional resources

Barron’s AP Q&A Statistics is not a review material, but a question and answer guide. The book includes 600 questions and answers along with detailed explanations and arguments for every answer. 

This way, students won't just get to know the correct answers, but they'll also grasp the accurate rationale behind it. This book includes every type of AP Statistics question, so students can effectively apply the concepts they've learned in class. The answers and explanations further help them assess this content.

Barron's practice questions and the explanations adhere to the curriculum of AP statistics. Some of the topics covered in the questions include exploratory analysis, the collection and production of data, probability, inference from statistics and more.

The book is tailored to assist students in honing their critical thinking abilities. Since the book covers multiple types of questions such as MCQs, numeric responses, short responses, and free-responses, students get complete clarity regarding the way they should frame their answers. By the time you complete the 600 questions, you'll be fully prepared for your upcoming AP Statistics exam. 

Both the questions and the practice set are highly realistic, and many students have lauded the writers for the complexity of the questions and the accurateness of the answers and explanations.

So if you're familiar with the course content and want something that will ensure a high score, this is one of the best AP Statistics review books for you.

Pros

  • Includes 600 questions, covering every major concept of AP statistics
  • Every question has a detailed answer and additional explanations
  • The book explains the key rationale behind the answer
  • Includes every type of AP statistics question including multiple-choice, free response, short response, and numeric response
  • Since the questions are more challenging than the ones asked in the AP statistics exam, students get to better prepare for their tests
  • The questions and the practice set are realistic and accurate

Cons

  • Since the questions are more complex than the actual questions of AP statistics, some students might find it difficult to grasp the content
the princeton review ap statistics exam

If you’re looking to ace your AP Statistics exam with a full score, the AP Statistics Exam by Princeton Review is just what you need. Much like the Cracking the AP Statistics textbook, this comprehensive guide is ideal for anyone who has recently started familiarizing themselves with AP Statistics concepts. 

This Princeton Review book covers every important concept you'll need to know. The five full-length practice tests will further help with your preparation, ensuring you get the exam score you need. You'll receive four practice exams as well as one online.

Since the tests include answers and explanations, you get to completely understand why a certain answer is right or wrong. 

The underlining feature of this book is that it includes techniques that have been tried and tested by real students. The strategies help avoid confusion, the tips help you to pace yourself, and the additional tactics assist in honing your logical thinking abilities. As you start preparing with this book, you end up working smarter.

The content review of this book is fully aligned with the recent exam.

This way, you have full access to updated information. Additionally, you are also well-informed about the major course changes. The book includes a set of interactive abilities that help in critically assessing your progress.

What’s more, you also get free access to the online study plans, useful pre-college advice, a full list of important formulas, vital reference details and more.

In addition to the two full-length practice tests, the book also comes with practice drills at the concluding section of every content review chapter. The final and the biggest highlight is the detailed walkthroughs about setting up the box and dot plots and a set of other essential statistical graphs.

Pros

  • Offers a comprehensive content review of the required statistical concepts
  • It doesn't include any extraneous detail that is not as important for your exam
  • Includes two full-length practice tests with answers and explanations
  • Features practice-drills at the end of every content review chapters
  • Offers assistance about setting up statistical graphs
  • Includes a set of useful techniques about preparing for the exam and answering the questions
  • Informs you about the latest changes in the AP Statistics curriculum
  • Guides you with study plans and pre-college advice

Cons

  • For some students, the content review lacks the needed depth

REA’s AP Statistics Crash Course is an ideal study material for the last-minute student who’s in the middle of a time crunch. You can also use this guide if you’re looking for a quick refresher on the concepts of AP Statistics. 

Unlike other review guides, this prep book offers targeted and fully focused reviews. By skimming through the unnecessary concepts, this AP Statistics practice book only targets the areas that require your attention. The concepts are in sync with the description outline of your course and, since it only includes the information required for your exam, you end up saving valuable time.

The format is straightforward, and the course explores relevant data, offers a study plan, anticipates the question patterns, and helps you understand statistical inferences.

The AP Statistics Crash Course includes preparation strategies to help you focus on important concepts, even when you’re in a time crunch. To make things easier, the author also introduces you to the right format while answering the questions. The expert guidance will certainly help boost your AP test score.

Once you're done studying the Crash Course, you can check the online study center and try out a AP Statistics practice test. This way, you can evaluate how much you've learned. The practice exam is time-tested and includes detailed answers and explanations. Automatic scoring helps you track your progress better. Unlike other mock tests, the free AP Statistics exam included in this book follows a balanced approach to covering every relevant topic.

So, whether you need some last-minute guidance or want an additional review, this is the best AP Statistics review book for you. Most students have been highly satisfied with the contents of this course.

Pros

  • Ideal for anyone who's looking for last-minute advice for their AP statistics exam
  • The course materials are easy to approach
  • Since it skips the unnecessary details, you only learn what you’ll need for the exam
  • Helps hone your ability in making statistical inferences
  • Includes a set of useful test-taking strategies
  • It helps you create the right format while answering questions
  • Includes an online practice test with answers and explanations
  • The test scoring model is quick and automatic

Cons

  • Since this AP Statistics textbook is tailored to help students last minute, some of the concepts lack proper depth

AP Stats Test Structure

The AP Statistics exam includes two sections where each carries a 50% score. Let's take a closer look at the pattern.

Section 1

Type: Multiple choice

Time: 90 minutes

Score: 50%

Note that every correct answer will be awarded points. This section doesn’t involve negative marking for incorrect answers or unanswered questions.

Section 2

Type: Free Response

Time: 90 minutes

Score: 50%

The section includes five open-ended questions covering multiple themes. Each of these questions is designed to be completed in 12 minutes. After answering these five questions, students are required to perform an investigative task. This task should be answered within 30 minutes.

The free-response section is tailored to evaluate the communication skills of the students. It also assesses their knowledge of statistical techniques.

Course Themes

The following are the themes represented in your AP Statistics exam.

Exploratory analysis: covers 20% to 30%

Planning and conducting statistical studies: cover 10% to 15%

Probability: covers 20% to 30%

Statistical Inference: Covers 30% to 40%

Additional Tips & Resources For Studying

The following are some important study tips for your upcoming AP statistics exam.

Create a study plan and stick to it every day

We may have recommended some great AP Statistics review books but to get the most out of them, you need a good study plan in place.

If you find self-studying difficult, consider taking AP classes along side reading from exam prep books. Or, you may even want to consider attending an entire Statistics course.

Whatever you decide to do, designing the ultimate AP Statistics practice plan will help you achieve your dream score.

Study to suit your learning style

Everyone has their own learning style, and different study materials will work better for different students. For example, if you're a visual learner, you may not benefit from an in depth content review that's presented as a block of text. Instead, you'll need an AP Statistics test prep book that breaks it up with charts, graphs and illustrations. Or, you may find video learning more helpful. In which case, you may be able to find some helpful YouTube videos on the test topics you're struggling with. 

Some books may even offer a free AP Statistics class, video explanations, or additional online resources.

Supplement your content review with practice tests

Taking full-length practice exams and solving practice problems are the best ways for high school students to improve test scores.

Focus on your weak areas and take practice tests in those specific areas

We have to mention those practice tests again - they're just so important! The best way to find your weak areas is to take a diagnostic exam. A good diagnostic test assesses multiple skill categories, so you can work out what to improve on. A lot of AP Statistics prep books will include at least one diagnostic exam, but always make sure to check the book's description - this will tell you whether that's the case.

From then on, you can tackle the areas that need the most improvement. Full length tests are the best way to get a clear indication of what parts of the AP Stats exam you're struggling with.

Avoid using the official 1997 AP practice tests 

This is because most of the content featured on the test is outdated. If you want up-to-date tests, check out our AP Statistics prep books.