AP United States Government and Politics Exam Score Calculator
(out of 55)
(out of 100)
Understanding the AP U.S. Government and Politics Exam Score
The AP U.S. Government and Politics exam is designed to assess your understanding of the foundational principles, institutions, and processes of U.S. government. The exam is divided into two main sections: the Multiple Choice Section and the Free Response Section. Each section contributes to your overall scaled score, which is then converted into a College Board AP score ranging from 1 (No Recommendation) to 5 (Extremely Qualified).
Exam Structure and Scoring:
Multiple Choice Section: This section consists of 55 questions and accounts for 50% of your total exam score. It tests your knowledge of concepts, facts, and theories related to U.S. government. The raw score from this section is crucial for determining your final AP score.
Free Response Section: This section comprises 4 questions and makes up the other 50% of your total exam score. These questions require you to analyze documents, construct arguments, and apply your knowledge to various scenarios. The free response section is typically graded on a scale of 0-100 raw points.
How the AP Score is Calculated:
The College Board uses a complex conversion process to translate your raw scores from both sections into a final AP score (1-5). While the exact conversion formulas can vary slightly year to year and are proprietary, this calculator provides an estimation based on typical scoring models. It combines your raw scores from the multiple-choice and free-response sections, applying approximate weights to give you an idea of where you might fall on the 1-5 scale.
Important Note: This calculator is for educational and estimation purposes only. The official AP score is determined by the College Board and may differ from the calculated result.
function calculateAPGovScore() {
var mcScore = document.getElementById("multipleChoiceScore").value;
var frScore = document.getElementById("freeResponseScore").value;
var resultDiv = document.getElementById("result");
// Clear previous results
resultDiv.innerHTML = "";
// Validate inputs
if (isNaN(mcScore) || mcScore 55) {
resultDiv.innerHTML = "Please enter a valid Multiple Choice Raw Score between 0 and 55.";
return;
}
if (isNaN(frScore) || frScore 100) {
resultDiv.innerHTML = "Please enter a valid Free Response Raw Score between 0 and 100.";
return;
}
// Approximate weighting and conversion
// These are simplified estimations and not the official College Board formula.
// The raw score from MC is out of 55, FR out of 100.
// A common approach is to normalize these to a common scale (e.g., out of 100 total).
// MC weight is 50%, FR weight is 50%.
var scaledMCS = (parseFloat(mcScore) / 55) * 50; // Scale MC to contribute 50 points to a 100-point total
var scaledFRS = (parseFloat(frScore) / 100) * 50; // Scale FR to contribute 50 points to a 100-point total
var totalRawScoreOutOf100 = scaledMCS + scaledFRS;
// Approximate conversion to AP 1-5 scale (this is a simplified lookup)
var apScore = 1;
if (totalRawScoreOutOf100 >= 70) { // Thresholds are approximate and can vary
apScore = 5;
} else if (totalRawScoreOutOf100 >= 60) {
apScore = 4;
} else if (totalRawScoreOutOf100 >= 50) {
apScore = 3;
} else if (totalRawScoreOutOf100 >= 40) {
apScore = 2;
} else {
apScore = 1;
}
resultDiv.innerHTML = "Estimated Total Score (out of 100): " + totalRawScoreOutOf100.toFixed(2) + "";
resultDiv.innerHTML += "Estimated AP Score (1-5): " + apScore;
}