The Advanced Placement Psychology (AP Psychology or AP Psych) course and corresponding exam is part of the College Board's Advanced Placement Program. This course is tailored for students interested in the field of psychology and as an opportunity to earn placement credit or exemption from a college-level psychology course. It was the shortest AP exam until AP Physics C exam was split into two separate exams in 2006.
Topics covered
The College Board provides a course of study to help educators prepare their students for the AP Psychology exam. The exam covers the following areas. The percentage indicates the portion of the multiple-choice section of the exam focused on each content area:
History and Approaches (2-4%)
Research methods Testing and Individual Differences (8-10%)
Biology (8-10%)
Sensation and Perception (6-8%)
Learning (7-9%)
Cognition (8-10%)
States of Consciousness (2-4%)
Motivation and Emotion (6-8%)
Developmental Psychology (7-9%)
Personality (5-7%)
Abnormal Psychology (7-9%)
Treatment of Psychological Disorders (5-7%)
Social Psychology (8-10%)
Exam
The exam includes two sections: a 70 minute multiple choice section (about 100 questions) and a 50 minute free response section (2 prompts). The multiple choice forms two-thirds of the grade and the free-response provides the remaining third.
Beginning with the May 2011 AP Exam administration, total scores on the multiple-choice section will be based only on the number of questions answered correctly. Points will no longer be deducted for incorrect answers and, as always, no points will be awarded for unanswered questions.
Grade Distribution
In the 2009 administration, 151,006 students took the exam. The mean score was 3.22, with 68.7% of test takers obtaining a passing grade.
The grade distribution for 2009 was:
| 5 | 22.8% |
| 4 | 26.9% |
| 3 | 19.0% |
| 2 | 11.9% |
| 1 | 19.4% |