Overview of the AP Program
Since 1955, the AP Program has enabled millions of students to take college-level courses and exams, and to earn college credit or placement while still in high school.
- The AP Program offers more than 30 courses and exams.
- Nearly 18,000 schools worldwide participate in the AP Program.
- 28.3 percent of U.S. public high school students in the class of 2010 took an AP Exam at some point in high school. In 2010, more than 1.8 million students worldwide took more than 3.2 million AP Exams.
- More than 90 percent of the nation's four-year colleges and universities have an AP policy that grants incoming students credit, placement or both for qualifying AP Exam scores. Universities in more than 60 countries recognize AP scores in the admission process and/or award credit and placement for qualifying scores. In 2010, more than 3,800 colleges and universities accepted qualifying AP Exam scores for credit and/or placement.
- Each AP Exam, with the exception of AP Studio Art, consists of dozens of multiple-choice questions that are scored by machine, as well as free-response questions (essays, translations, problems, oral responses) that are scored at the annual AP Reading by more than 10,000 college faculty and AP teachers using scoring standards and rubrics developed by college and university faculty who teach the corresponding college courses.
- The composite score for each AP Exam is converted to a score of 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1. An AP Exam score of 5 is equivalent to an A in the corresponding college course; a score of 4 is equivalent to grades of A-, B+ and B; and a score of 3 is equivalent to grades of B-, C+ and C.