ðə tʃˈiːf ɹˈiːdɚz dᵻsˈɪʒən ɪz bˈeɪst əpˌɑːn wʌt pɚsˈɛntɪdʒ ʌv stˈuːdənts ˈɜːnd ˈiːtʃ ˌeɪpˈiː ɡɹˈeɪd ˌoʊvɚ ðə pɹˈiːviəs θɹˈiː jˈɪɹz, hˌaʊ stˈuːdənts dˈɪd ˌɔn mˌʌltɪpəltʃˈɔɪs kwˈɛstʃənz ðæt ɑːɹ jˈuːzd ɔnðə tˈɛst fɹʌm jˈɪɹ tə jˈɪɹ, hˌaʊ hiː ɔːɹ ʃiː vjˈuːd ðɪ ˌoʊvɚɹˈɔːl kwˈɔlᵻɾi ʌvðɪ ˈænsɚz tə ðə fɹˈiː ɹᵻspˈɑːns kwˈɛstʃənz, hˌaʊ jˌuːnɪvˈɜːsᵻɾi stˈuːdənts hˌuː tˈʊk ðɪ ɛɡzˈæm æz pˈɑːɹt ɐ ɛkspˌɛɹɪmˈɛntəl stˈʌdiz dˈɪd, ænd hˌaʊ stˈuːdənts pɚfˈɔːɹmd ˌɔn dˈɪfɹənt pˈɑːɹts ʌvðɪ ɛɡzˈæm.
The Chief Reader's decision is based upon what percentage of students earned each AP Grade over the previous three years, how students did on multiple-choice questions that are used on the test from year to year, how he or she viewed the overall quality of the answers to the free response questions, how university students who took the exam as PART A experimental studies did, and how students performed on different parts of the exam.