ABOUT THE EXAM

AP® U.S. Government and Politics is a college-level year-long course that not only seeks to prepare students for success on the AP Exam in May, but also provide students with the political knowledge and reasoning processes to participate meaningfully and thoughtfully in discussions and debates that are currently shaping American politics and society. It is important to note that this course is not a history course; it is a political science course that studies the interconnectedness of the different parts of the American political system as well as the behaviors and attitudes that shape this system and are the byproduct of this system.

AP® U.S. Government and Politics accomplishes these goals by framing the acquisition of political knowledge around enduring understandings and big ideas about American government and politics that can be applied to a set of disciplinary practices by using a set of reasoning processes. Through the development of this set of political knowledge, disciplinary practices, and reasoning processes, students will be able to analyze current and historical political events like a political scientist and develop factually accurate, well-reasoned, thoughtful arguments and opinions that acknowledge and grapple with alternative political perspectives.

EXAM STRUCTURE

The AP® U.S. Government and Politics Exam will be comprised of the following two sections:

SECTION 1

55 Multiple Choice Questions (80 minutes)

The questions on the multiple-choice section will ask students to:

• Analyze and compare political concepts

• Analyze and interpret quantitative, text-based, and visual sources

• Apply course concepts, foundational documents, and Supreme Court decisions in a variety of contexts and to real-world scenarios.

No points are deducted for incorrect answers. Therefore, you should fill in a bubble for each question even if you have to guess; don't leave any questions blank.

SECTION 2

4 Free-Response Questions (100 minutes)

The questions on the free-response section will ask students to:

Q1: Concept Application: Respond to a political scenario, explaining how it relates to a political principle, institution, process, policy, or behavior. Scored between 0-3.

Q2: Quantitative Analysis: Analyze quantitative data, identify a trend or pattern, draw a conclusion from the visual representation, and explain how the data relates to a political principle, institution, process, policy, or behavior. Scored between 0-4.

Q3: SCOTUS Comparison: Compare a nonrequired Supreme Court case with a required Supreme Court case, explaining how information from the required case is relevant to that in the nonrequired one.  Scored between 0-4.

Q4: Argumentative Essay: Develop an argument in the form of an essay, using evidence from one or more required foundational documents. Scored between 0-6.

• Claim/Thesis: 1 point

• Evidence: 3 points

• Reasoning: 1 point

• Responds to Alternate Perspectives: 1 point

Each of the four questions is weighted equally, with each accounting for 12.5% of your total score. The College Board recommends that you allot 20 minutes for each of the first three questions and 40 minutes for the argument essay.

2025/26

Score Distribution: U.S. Government and Politics

Source: https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/about-ap-scores/score-distributions

AP® Exams are scored on a scale of 1-5. Scores are reported during the first week of July (on or around July 5th). Below is a list of possible scores and their implications:

5: Extremely well qualified for college credit and earned the equivalent of an A in the college course.

4: Well qualified for college credit and earned the equivalent of an A-, B+, or B in the college course.

3: Qualified for college credit and earned the equivalent of an B-, C+, or C in the college course. A "passing" score.

2: Possibly qualified for college credit and earned the equivalent of a C- or lower in the college course.

1: Not qualified to receive college credit.