AP Exam scores: what your 1 to 5 means

What each score means

College Board says scores of 3 and above often earn college credit or placement. A 2 has no matching college grade, so don’t count on credit for it.

Is a 3 a passing AP Exam score?

AP has no official pass mark, but a 3 is the usual answer. Whether it gets you anything is up to the college. One might give credit for a 3 in Psychology, while another wants a 4 or 5, or gives no credit for that subject at all. Rules can differ between subjects at the same college, too.

Look up each college on your list with the AP Credit Policy Search, then check the college’s own website, since that’s the final word.

How the score is worked out, and who grades it

1. Multiple choice is scored by computer, one point for each right answer. There’s no penalty for a wrong answer, so never leave one blank.
2. In early June, college professors and experienced AP teachers score the written answers at the AP Reading, using the scoring guidelines.
3. Each section is weighted. On AP Biology each section is 50%. On AP Psychology, multiple choice is 67% and free response is 33%.
4. The weighted scores are added into a composite score.
5. College Board converts the composite to 1 to 5 using statistical methods, so a 3 means the same thing from year to year.

Are AP Exams curved?

Not in the way a teacher curves a class test. College Board doesn’t publish a curve or a fixed number of points for each score. It sets the conversion for each exam so that scores keep the same meaning over the years, which is why you won’t find one official “points needed for a 3.”

What it does publish is the score distribution for each exam, the share of students who got each score, on that subject’s past exam questions page on AP Central. The numbers vary a lot by subject, so look up yours.

About AP score calculators

Online score calculators turn your raw points into a 1 to 5 score using old scoring worksheets or guesses. They can give you a rough idea, but they aren’t official, and the real conversion can shift from year to year.

A better check: score real free-response questions with the official guidelines, and aim to get most multiple-choice practice right. We use 60% as the target on our own practice test.

When and how you see your scores

Scores come out in July. In 2026 they came out on July 6. Sign in to AP Scores with the same College Board account you used in My AP, and don’t make a new one, because a duplicate account can hold your scores up. College Board emails you when each score is added.

Your report shows every AP score you’ve earned, plus any AP awards. If your scores haven’t shown up by August 15, contact AP Services for Students. Your free score send goes to the college you chose by June 20.

Courses scored on work from the year, not just the exam

AP Seminar, AP Research, AP Computer Science Principles, AP African American Studies and the Art and Design courses include work done during the year, or are scored only on a portfolio. Their course pages explain how each part counts.