The Foundations of AP Statistics is not your typical test preparation book. It's better.

True, inside you'll find many of the standard features of such prep books: thorough reviews of the topics recommended by the AP Development Committee, dozens and dozens of questions designed to reinforce the concepts (with detailed explanations accompanying the answers), AP Exam tips and shortcuts, and a full-length practice exam.

But this book addresses a critical, and often ignored, need by offering a mathematically rigorous and intellectually expansive approach to all of the AP Statistics topics. It is not enough to merely direct you to make use of particular statistical tools without offering detailed justification of when and why you need to use them. It is not enough to offer you a "Just the facts, ma'am"-style of presentation and yet still expect you to retain mass amounts of information for the AP Exam. In short: it is not enough to explore the forest without closely examining the trees. Yes, that means proofs are oftentimes necessary, some of which will require a bit of calculus. It also means real-world examples, taken from a variety of disciplines, are of paramount importance.

The theory behind The Foundations of AP Statistics is simple: by being exposed to and working through complex material a significant cut above that which is required for an AP Statistics course, the AP Exam will be relatively easy to ace. Think of this book's approach as "Honors" AP Statistics: gaining exposure to the practice of statistics, coupled with a deep mathematical understanding of the nature of the statistical tools themselves, will better prepare you for both the routine sorts of AP questions as well as the more esoteric, non-routine ones. It's advanced preparation for the Advanced Placement Statistics Exam.

So, if you are an AP Statistics (or college statistics) student looking for a more challenging, more mathematically rigorous, more comprehensive, more grounded, and more holistically integrated approach to the material than is typically offered by other popular preparation books, textbooks, or online resources--or even by your teacher (or professor)--then this book is for you. If you are a high school (or college) student especially interested in math and statistics, but never got around to taking a statistics course, then this book is for you. If you're a teacher (or professor) looking for ways to insert more mathematically meaningful and contextually relevant content into your AP Statistics (or introductory statistics) class, rather than simply glossing over the mathematics and the major historical players, then this book is for you. Or if you are simply among the intellectually curious looking for a cogent gateway toward an understanding of probability and statistics, ready to put on firmer intellectual footing your ability to think statistically--which novelist H. G. Wells once identified "as necessary for efficient citizenship as the ability to read and write"--then this book is most definitely for you.

Take a chance on statistical enlightenment--and earn yourself a 5 in the process.

* AP and Advanced Placement Program are registered trademarks of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.