AP United States Government and Politics

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AP United States Government and Politics

About the Exam

The AP U.S. Government and Politics Exam will test your understanding of the political concepts covered in the course units, including your ability to analyze the foundational documents and to apply Supreme Court decisions you studied in the course to real-life scenarios.

Update: Roe v. Wade

Although the Supreme Court recently overturned Roe v. Wade, it remains required course content and is part of Topic 3.9, “Amendments: Due Process and the Right to Privacy” along with two additional cases, Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) and Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022). Any of these cases can be the focus of AP Exam questions related to this topic, but none of them will be the focus of Free Response Question 3.

Exam Date

AP U.S. Government and Politics Exam

This is the regularly scheduled date for the AP United States Government and Politics Exam.

Exam Components

Section I: Multiple Choice

55 questions 1hr 20mins 50% of Score

The multiple-choice section includes individual, single questions as well as sets of questions. You’ll be asked to:

• Describe, explain, and compare political concepts and processes
• Apply Supreme Court decisions in real-life scenarios
• Analyze data in graphs, charts, tables, maps, or infographics
• Read and analyze foundational documents and other text-based and visual sources

Section II: Free Response

4 questions 1hr 40mins 50% of Score

In the free-response section, you’ll respond to four questions with written answers. The section includes:

• 1 concept application question: You’ll describe and explain the effects of a political institution, behavior, or process, and apply concepts in a new situation.
• 1 quantitative analysis question: You’ll analyze data in the form of a table, graph, map, or infographic to find patterns and trends and reach a conclusion.
• 1 SCOTUS comparison question: You’ll compare a nonrequired Supreme Court case with a required one, explaining how information from the required case is relevant to the nonrequired one.
  • The prompt specifies 1 required SCOTUS case, and you are asked to identify how that required case is related to the case given in the scenario.

  Exam Essentials

  Exam Preparation

  AP Classroom Resources

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  Free-Response Questions and Scoring Information

  Go to the Exam Questions and Scoring Information section on the AP United States Government and Politics Exam page at AP Central to review the latest released free-response questions and scoring information.

  Past Exam Free-Response Questions and Scoring Information

  Go to AP Central to review free-response questions and scoring information from past AP United States Government and Politics exams.

  AP United States Government and Politics Course and Exam Description

  This is the core document for the course. It clearly lays out the course content and describes the exam and the AP Program in general.

  Services for Students with Disabilities

  Students with documented disabilities may be eligible for accommodations for the through-course assessment and the end-of-course exam. If you’re using assistive technology and need help accessing the PDFs in this section in another format, contact Services for Students with Disabilities at 212-713-8333 or by email at [email protected]. For information about taking AP Exams, or other College Board assessments, with accommodations, visit the Services for Students with Disabilities website.