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An Advanced Placement (AP) course is a college-level course offered at the high school level, designed to prepare students for college-level coursework and potentially earn college credit or placement. Developed by the College Board, AP courses cover the same material as introductory college courses and are often followed by a standardized AP exam.
Passing AP Exam scores can be transferred to colleges and universities for credit. Please reach out to the institutions you are interested in attending for more specific information on which scores they accept and what courses they are equivalent to.
Benefits of AP Courses and AP Exams:
Gain an understanding of and experience with college courses.
Prepare for college course pacing and time management.
Develop higher level critical thinking and scholarly writing skills.
Learn in-depth content about a field you are interested in pursuing as a career.
Most colleges or universities accept AP Exam scores of a 3 or higher for college credit, but please check with the specific institutions you are interested in for more information. You can save money and start your college journey with many general education courses and prerequisites out of the way; giving you potential to double major, add minors, or even graduate early!
Boost your GPA! Many high schools have a more favorable grading scale for AP classes. At Dunlap High School, AP courses follow the honors grade scale.
AP Psychology Exam Overview
AP Psychology Exam Overview
AP Psychology Exam Format
Section I:
75 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
90 Minutes
Exam Weighting: 66.7%
Section II:
2 Free Response Questions (FRQs): The Article Analysis Question (AAQ) and the Evidence Based Question (EBQ)
70 Minutes for both of them (25 minutes recommended for the AAQ, 45 minutes recommended for the EBQ)
Exam Weighting: 33.3% (16.65% each)
Exams are scored on a scale from 1 to 5. Exam scores are typically published in July.
While many colleges and universities grant credit for scores of 3 or higher, it's essential to check the specific requirements of the institutions you're interested in as some may only accept 4s or 5s.
Psychology-PE3-scoring-worksheet.pdfAP Psychology Exam Day Preparation
AP Exams are nationally proctored on the same day, no matter your school's individual schedule. Late-Testing Exam Dates are available with a valid reason (examples include a state athletic competitions, hospitalization, school evacuations, technology failures, or a personal emergency). Please contact your counselor if you have a conflict on the original exam date. Learn more here.
Starting with the 2024-2025 school year, the AP Psychology exam is fully digital. Students will use a platform called Bluebook on their school issued Chromebook to take the exam. Please reach out to your counselor in advance if you have accommodations.
In April, please log in to Bluebook in April to ensure your app works and to confirm that the exams you registered for are listed in your account. Additionally, you can go to the "Practice and Prepare" section on Bluebook and explore a test preview with some practice questions.
Visit the IT Department for any issues before the day of the test. Make sure you memorize your College Board login email address and password.
Here are the steps to log into Bluebook:
Open Chromebook
Fully sign out of your account (it may take a few moments to complete)
Click the apps button at the bottom left of the screen
Select Bluebook
Log in using your College Board email address and password
On test day, students should bring:
Fully charged Chromebook
Your device should be able to hold a charge for 4 hours.
Chromebook charger
You might not have access to an outlet during testing.
Pens/pencils
An external mouse if you use one
College Board login email address and password
Students will need to accept these terms and conditions prior to taking each exam.
Items not allowed in the testing room include cell phones, calculators, smart watches, headphones/earbuds, and vocabulary or formula sheets.
Although the AP Psychology exam may include multiple-choice questions involving statistics, calculators are not permitted. College Board indicates that students should be able to calculate the statistic questions using their scratch paper and mental math.
During the Exam
Once you’re in your classroom on test day, you’ll connect to Wi-Fi, sign in to Bluebook, and complete a short check-in process in the app. Before the test, your proctor will read some short instructions, collect any prohibited items, and give you a start code. You’ll enter the code into Bluebook and the test will begin.
The app will let you know how much time remains in each section or part.
You can move back and forth between questions in a section or part until time expires.
Between sections, you’ll get a break. Follow all instructions on the Bluebook break page.
At the end of the test, Bluebook will submit your answers automatically. Do not close your device until the proctor dismisses you. If your submission fails, you’ll see instructions in the app to complete your submission. If your submission continues to fail, raise your hand to inform your proctor. Don’t worry! All your answers will be saved to your device during testing.
Multiple Choice Questions
Multiple Choice Questions
75 Questions, 90 Minutes - 1 minute 12 seconds or 72 seconds per question.
Worth 66.7% of your AP Exam score
General Guidelines and Tips
These focus concept application, scenarios, and research data in addition to vocabulary definitions.
Take your time and read the question thoroughly. Do not rush.
Go back and check your work if you finish early. You cannot do anything else once you finish until the time is up.
Answer every question.
Read through all of the answer options. Do not just stop after you find a correct one. Some questions will have multiple correct answers, you must select the best answer.
Do not assume information that is not explicitly stated in the question.
Pay attention to key terms or absolute language (words like always, never, only, entire. etc.). Answers usually do not fall in line with concrete or extreme statements.
Types of Graphs on the Exam.pdfTypes of Graphs on the Exam| Lauren Cook
Free Response Questions
Free Response Questions
Includes 2 questions (AAQ and EBQ) during a combined time of 70 minutes. It is recommended that you spend 25 minutes on the AAQ and 45 minutes on the EBQ. The FRQ section is worth 33.3% of your AP Exam score.
General Guidelines and Tips
You do not have to do the AAQ first. You can go in any order you wish. I recommend starting with the question you feel most confident in your ability to complete.
You cannot write your response in a large paragraph. You must organize your responses by their specific parts (A, B, C, etc.).
You must put your responses with the correct part (A, B, C, etc.). If you write a correct response to part B in the section for part A, you will not earn the point.
Read the prompts carefully and address them fully.
Use complete sentences.
Be as specific yet as concise as possible.
Use specific examples and terms from the articles provided.
Maintain consistent vocabulary.
Use the language used in the prompts to help with the clarity of your response.
Do not use direct quotes. Paraphrase!
Cite your sources in the EBQ -- yes, even because you are paraphrasing.
Do make assumptions, you NEED to find what you are going to claim in the sources College Board provides.
Do not use passive language. Be direct and clear with your response. Examples: “may be," "may not be," "it is a possibility that..," "I think..," etc.
Go back and reread your responses if you finish early.
In Class FRQ Score to Grade Conversion Guide:
You will receive additional point deductions if you do not write in full sentences or organize your responses by prompt letters (A, B, C, etc.).
The following task verbs are commonly used in the free-response questions (from College Board):
Describe: Provide the relevant characteristics of a specified topic.
Explain: Provide information about how or why a relationship, process, pattern, position, situation, or outcome occurs, using evidence and/or reasoning to support or qualify a claim.
Explain “how” typically requires analyzing the relationship, process, pattern, position, situation, or outcome;
Explain “why” typically requires analysis of motivations or reasons for the relationship, process, pattern, position, situation, or outcome.
Identify/State: Indicate or provide information about a specified topic, without elaboration or explanation.
Propose: Provide a claim for a specific topic using your own words.
Support or Refute: Provide reasoning that explains whether a claim or evidence should be upheld or rejected.
Use evidence: Provide information from a study (i.e., data, rationales, conclusions, hypotheses) that is specific and relevant to a given topic.
Task Verbs Used In AP Psychology FRQs| Daria Schaffeld
Article Analysis Question
Article Analysis Question
~25 Minutes Total (10 Minutes Reading Time)
Includes a synthesized article describing a peer-reviewed study
7 points possible
Worth 16.65% of AP Exam score
Quizizz AAQ Practice created by Joelie McCrary
Using the source provided, you will write a response in six parts (A-F)
A. Research Method (1 point)
Identify the research method used in the study
Only options: experiment, case study, naturalistic observation, correlational study, and meta-analysis.
Hint: if it is a single study and any variable is being manipulated, it is an experiment.
DO NOT SAY SURVEY!! Surveys are a research technique, not a research method!!!
Also do not say longitudinal study or cross-sectional study alone.
B. Research Variable (1 point)
State the operational definition of the research variable.
Students should understand that an operational definition explains exactly how a variable is measured or quantified, not just what it means in general.
In addition to explaining what the research variable is, you need to define how they are measuring the research variable.
C. Statistical Interpretation (1 point)
Describe the meaning of provided statistical findings. Use the specific numbers provided in the article!
Interpret the mean.
Students should present both the numerical values (means) reported in the study and interpret what those values mean in light of the overall findings. Students should also know that the mean is a measure of central tendency, summarizing the average for a group, and that it can be affected by extreme scores or outliers.
Stats Guide Created by Rebecca Kinsler Malloy
D. Ethical Guidelines (1 point)
Identify one ethical guideline described in the study and describe one way the researchers in the study applied this ethical guideline.
Only options: Informed consent, informed assent, agreed/voluntary participation, privacy/confidentiality, right to withdraw, freedom from long-term harm, debriefed, Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval & valid research, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
Never answer “the participants were paid/given a gift card”
Do not assume, you NEED to find it in the source
Can list more than one just to be safe
E. Generalizability (1 point)
Explain the extent to which the research findings may or may not be generalizable using specific and relevant evidence from the study.
Who conducted the study?
Do the characteristics of participants match the population? Gender, race, age, education, geographic area, langauge, etc.
Include how and why.
Students should cite a specific feature of the sample and then use it to justify whether the findings can or cannot be generalized. You should make the connection explicit: “since [sample feature], this means [generalizability claim].”
You need to go beyond sample size (if you only mention the sample size, you will not earn the point)
F. Argumentation (2 points)
Explain how at least one of the research findings supports or refutes the researchers’ hypothesis that ___________.
You need to include 2 parts: specific study result and hypothesis explanation/psychological concept(s)
Uses a specific result from the study to explain how the results support or refute the psychological concept or hypothesis presented in the question.
Students must explicitly state the hypothesis, pick one piece of evidence from the results, and then explain whether that evidence supports or refutes the hypothesis.
You should use specific numbers from the study (e.g., means, word counts, counts of encouragements/prohibitions) to back up their explanation.
Make sure the results are accurately interpreted.
AAQ Infographic | Angela JoAnne
AAQ Infographic | Hajra Saeed
Tackling the AAQ | Lilly Madison
Evidence Based Question
Evidence Based Question
~45 Minutes Total (15 Minutes Reading Time)
The EBQs are based on Claim, Evidence & Reasoning (CER)
Includes 3 synthesized peer-reviewed studies about a particular topic
7 points possible
Worth 16.65% of AP Exam score
Using the three sources provided, you will write a response in three parts (A-C). Note: parts B and C have two parts (i-ii).
A. Claim (1 point)
Propose a specific and defensible claim based in psychological science that responds to the question.
B. Evidence (3 points)
i. Support your claim using at least one piece of specific, relevant, and accurate evidence from one of the sources (1 point)
ii. Explain how the evidence from Part B i supports your claim using a psychological perspective, theory, concept, or research finding learned in AP Psychology. (2 points)
C. Evidence (3 points) - Using a different source than used in Part B.
i. Support your claim using an additional piece of specific, relevant, and accurate evidence from a different source than the one that was used in part B i. (1 point)
ii. Explain how the evidence from Part C i supports your claim using a different psychological perspective, theory, concept, or research finding learned in AP Psychology than the one that was used in Part B ii. (2 points)
You must appropriately cite your sources in parts B and C. You can do this in two different ways:
Parenthetical Citation - example: “. . . (Source #)”
Embedded Citation - example: “According to Source #, . . .”
Other Important Notes
In parts B and C, you must organize your response by parts i and ii. It cannot be one large paragraph.
You must use a different source for parts B and C.
You must apply and explain a psychological concept in both parts B and C (they cannot be the same concept, too).
Here is a list of potential concepts you can use of the EBQ.
The concept doesn't necessarily have to be one explicitly stated in the Course and Exam Description, but the application of the concept must prove psychological understanding, not just popular understanding alone.
Concepts used in the sources that are not eligible to be used for the application point are “academic performance/achievement,” “sleep,” “mean,” “standard deviation,” “variable,” “statistically significant,” “sleep deprivation,” “convenience sample,” “survey,” “percentage,” “adolescents,” “quality of life,” “physical/mental health,” “sleep-wake cycle,” “anxiety disorders,” “mood disorders,” “stimulants,” “caffeine,”and “chronic sleepiness.”
Some of these concepts are vague, so do ensure that you are specific and fully explain what you mean. Feel free to make comments/suggestions on ones to add!
EBQ Infographic | Angela JoAnne
EBQ Infographic | Christy Koenig
EBQ CERA-ERA Infographic | Melissa Rogers
Tackling the EBQ | Lilly Madison
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