AP SET cheat sheet

Teaching aptitude levels: memory level (recall, rote), understanding level (explanation, relation-finding), reflective level (problem-solving, critical evaluation); higher levels presuppose the lower ones.

Bloom's revised taxonomy order: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyse, Evaluate, Create - verbs like 'compare' sit at Analyse, 'design' at Create.

Learner-centred vs teacher-centred: formative assessment, scaffolding and feedback belong to learner-centred design; mass lecture-and-test models are teacher-centred.

Piaget's stages in order: sensorimotor (0–2), preoperational (2–7), concrete operational (7–11), formal operational (11+); conservation is mastered at concrete operational.

Vygotsky: Zone of Proximal Development lies between unaided ability and assisted ability; scaffolding is temporary support withdrawn as competence grows.

Kohlberg's moral stages run pre-conventional (punishment/obedience, self-interest), conventional (approval, law-and-order), post-conventional (social contract, universal ethics).

Erikson's school-relevant crises: industry vs inferiority (roughly 6–12) and identity vs role confusion (adolescence); mismatched stage terms are common distractors.

Individual differences: reliability = consistency of a test; validity = whether it measures the intended construct; a test can be reliable without being valid, not the reverse.

Subject Paper is chosen by the candidate at registration (commonly one of ~25–30 listed subjects); confirm the syllabus document for the chosen subject before planning revision.

Marking pattern typically differs from General Paper: Subject Paper questions usually carry more marks per item, so accuracy per question outweighs attempt count.

Negative marking rules, if any, are stated in the information bulletin; when unsure, treat unattempted and wrong answers as having different expected value and decide per rule.

Elimination rule for objective items: discard options containing absolutes ('always', 'never') unless the subject matter genuinely admits an absolute.

Terminology traps: in science subjects, distinguish definitions (e.g., speed vs velocity, mass vs weight); in humanities, distinguish schools and authors.

For assertion–reason items: verify the assertion independently, then verify the reason, then test whether the reason explains the assertion.

Numeric items: check units and order of magnitude first; a unit mismatch or absurd magnitude eliminates an option without full computation.

Revision prioritisation: weight topics by (syllabus emphasis × your error rate), not by personal interest or by topic length alone.