With each passing year, more students are sitting for the AP (Advanced Placement) exam. 34.7% of high school graduates in the United States took at least 1 AP exam in 2023. This is higher than the 31.5% of students who took the exam in 2013.
Once you pass an AP test, you are eligible to receive college credit for your chosen subject. A good AP score can help you to take more lessons on other subjects apart from your chosen ones.
You can get an AP score between 1 and 5. Getting a score of four or higher helps you with college credit without having to pay any tuition fees. Learn the details of the AP score on this page.
How is the AP Score Calculated
After you complete the AP registration, the next step is finding out the AP exam dates. You take your exam and wait for the results. Having an idea of how the scores are calculated can help you plan your next steps, like choosing a college.
Your AP score is a weighted combination of your section scores. These sections include free-response and multiple-choice. While this applies to most AP exams, some courses might have exams with other scored sections.
Steps to Receive Scores
There are several steps to receive your AP scores:
- Log in to the College Board website.
- Verify the data that you used during the AP exam.
- The scores are generally available in early July. View your score.
- The website includes AP score reporting services. You can withhold the score, cancel the score, or send the score report to any college you want to.
What Does Each AP Score Mean?
You can get an AP score between 1 and 5. These scores indicate how capable you are to receive credit for a subject in college. The meaning of each score, along with its grade-equivalent score for college, is given below:
| AP Exam Score | Recommendation | College Grade Equivalent |
| 5 | Extremely well qualified | A+ or A |
| 4 | Very well qualified | A-, B+ or B |
| 3 | Qualified | B-, C+ or C |
| 2 | Possibly qualified | N/A |
| 1 | No recommendation | N/A |
Recommended Scores
Getting a score of 4 or 5 will surely earn you college credit. Most colleges also accept a 3 as a passing score, but you should check the policies for confirmation. Before you apply for AP registration, find out what AP score your college requires.
Some AP exams are more difficult than others. The average score varies accordingly. Find out what the average score is for the previous year. You will get a fair idea of the score you should aim for.
Look at the AP score distribution table to find out how students performed in 2024.
| AP Test | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3+ |
| AP 2D Art & Design | 11.2% | 28.8% | 42.8% | 14.0% | 3.2% | 82.8% |
| AP Art History | 13.9% | 21.5% | 27.2% | 24.8% | 12.5% | 62.7% |
| AP Seminar | 9.4% | 19.8% | 56.5% | 10.3% | 4.0% | 85.7% |
| AP Research | 12.6% | 26.0% | 47.5% | 11.5% | 2.4% | 86.1% |
| AP Music theory | 19.0% | 17.5% | 23.6% | 25.3% | 14.5% | 60.2% |
| AP Drawing | 15.1% | 31.1% | 37.6% | 13.5% | 2.7% | 83.8% |
| AP English Literature & Composition | 13.7% | 26.9% | 31.8% | 16.5% | 11.1% | 72.4% |
| AP English language & Composition | 9.8% | 21.4% | 23.5% | 28.8% | 16.6% | 54.6% |
| AP Calculus BC | 47.7% | 21.1% | 12.1% | 13.9% | 5.2% | 80.9% |
| AP Calculus AB | 21.4% | 27.8% | 15.3% | 22.7% | 12.9% | 64.4% |
| AP Biology | 16.8% | 23.1% | 28.4% | 21.7% | 10.0% | 68.3% |
| AP Physics 1 | 10.2% | 17.9% | 19.2% | 26.1% | 26.6% | 47.3% |
| AP Physics 2 | 19.1% | 18.0% | 33.4% | 22.9% | 6.6% | 70.5% |
| AP Chemistry | 17.9% | 27.4% | 30.3% | 16.9% | 7.5% | 75.6% |
| AP French Language and Culture | 14.5% | 24.9% | 32.9% | 21.7% | 6.0% | 72.3% |
| AP Latin | 11.9% | 16.6% | 28.0% | 23.0% | 20.5% | 56.5% |
| AP Psychology | 19.2% | 23.1% | 19.5% | 11.8% | 26.5% | 61.7% |
| AP Computer Science Principles | 10.9% | 20.0% | 33.1% | 20.3% | 15.7% | 64.0% |
| AP Statistics | 17.5% | 21.8% | 22.5% | 15.9% | 22.3% | 61.8% |
| AP World History | 11.9% | 32.3% | 19.6% | 27.4% | 8.8% | 63.7% |
| AP European History | 13.1% | 33.3% | 25.2% | 20.7% | 7.7% | 71.6% |
| AP United States History | 12.8% | 33.3% | 26.0% | 19.4% | 8.4% | 72.2% |
| AP Spanish Language and Culture | 21.2% | 31.4% | 30.4% | 14.0% | 3.0% | 82.9% |
Special Score Structure
There are special score structures when it comes to AP exams.
Calculus BC
If you sit for the Calculus BC exam will receive a Calculus AB subscore along with the regular score. A part of the exam is devoted to Calculus AB topics, which comprises about 60% of the test. The subscore indicates how well you performed on this section.
This information indicates to the colleges about your abilities. Every college has its own policy for granting credit and you should check them before applying.
Music Theory
There are two subscores for the AP music theory exam. The first is an aural subscore, while the latter is a nonaural component subscore.
The aural component subscore consists of multiple-choice questions based on recorded musical examples, two harmonic dictation questions, two sight-singing questions, and two melodic dictation questions.
The nonaural component subscore consists of multiple-choice questions that require score analysis. It also consists of MCQs which are not based on recorded musical examples. There are also three response questions that require the realization of a chord progression from Roman numerals, the composition of a bass line to fit a given melody, and the realization of a figured bass.
The music department can use the subscore to make decisions about placement and credit when it provides distinct courses for aural skills and written theory.
Each college has its own policy for granting credits, and you must check it before applying for the music theory exam.
AP Score Sending
Once you receive the scores, you can access them by logging into your College Board account. Download the PDF report, which consists of the scores of all your AP exams and any retakes you have given. If you wish to send only your recent AP school scores, the College Board website gives you an option to delete the older scores.
You can send your AP score to any one college of your choice without any cost. If you want to send additional reports, the College Board charges a nominal fee per submission. You have two delivery options.
| Delivery type | Estimated arrival time | Cost |
| Standard delivery | 7 to 14 business days | $15 |
| Rush delivery | 5 to 9 business days | $25 |
Benefits of AP Exam Scores
AP exam scores are beneficial for several reasons:
- Getting a high AP score can grant you credit in college. This will help you save time by graduating earlier.
- High scores can make you an applicant for scholarship opportunities in some colleges.
- If you have high AP scores, you can save on tuition fees. As you earn more credits from the score, you need fewer credits to graduate college.
- A good score can make your application stand out from others when you apply to a college.
