The Advanced Placement (AP) US History exam is a challenging test that assesses your understanding of American history from pre-Columbian societies to the present. Scoring well can earn you college credit and demonstrate your academic prowess. This calculator helps you estimate your final AP score (on the 1-5 scale) based on your performance in each section of the exam.
How is the APUSH Exam Scored?
The APUSH exam is divided into two main sections, each with multiple parts. Your raw score from each part is weighted and combined to create a composite score, which is then converted to the final 1-5 AP score.
Section I, Part A: Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQ) – 55 questions, worth 40% of the total score.
Section I, Part B: Short Answer Questions (SAQ) – 3 questions, worth 20% of the total score. Each SAQ is scored from 0-3 points.
Section II, Part A: Document-Based Question (DBQ) – 1 essay, worth 25% of the total score. The DBQ is scored from 0-7 points.
Section II, Part B: Long Essay Question (LEQ) – 1 essay, worth 15% of the total score. The LEQ is scored from 0-6 points.
Our calculator uses the official weighting to convert your raw scores into an estimated final score.
Estimate Your APUSH Score
This is the sum of your scores from the three SAQs (each scored 0-3).
Example Calculation
Let's see how a hypothetical student's score is calculated. Suppose the student achieved the following raw scores:
MCQ: 45 correct out of 55
SAQ: 6 total points out of 9
DBQ: 5 points out of 7
LEQ: 4 points out of 6
Using the standard weighting formulas, the composite score would be calculated as follows:
MCQ Weighted: 45 * 1.0909 = 49.09
SAQ Weighted: 6 * 3.3333 = 20.00
DBQ Weighted: 5 * 5.3571 = 26.79
LEQ Weighted: 4 * 3.75 = 15.00
Total Composite Score: 49.09 + 20.00 + 26.79 + 15.00 = 110.88, which rounds to 111. Based on typical scoring curves, a composite score of 111 would likely result in an AP Score of 5.
What is a Good APUSH Score?
AP scores are reported on a 5-point scale, which indicates how qualified you are to receive college credit for the course.
5 (Extremely well qualified): The highest score. Most colleges and universities will offer credit and/or advanced placement for this score.
4 (Well qualified): Most institutions will offer credit for this score.
3 (Qualified): Many colleges will offer credit, but policies vary widely. This is generally considered a "passing" score.
2 (Possibly qualified): Rarely qualifies for college credit.
1 (No recommendation): Does not qualify for college credit.
Aiming for a score of 3 or higher is a great goal. A 4 or 5 can significantly strengthen your college applications and potentially save you tuition money by allowing you to skip introductory history courses.
Disclaimer
This calculator provides an estimate based on historical scoring data. The College Board determines the exact composite score ranges for each AP score (1-5) after all exams are graded each year. These ranges can fluctuate slightly, so your official score may differ from this estimate.
function calculateAPUSHScore() {
var mcqScore = parseFloat(document.getElementById("mcqScore").value);
var saqScore = parseFloat(document.getElementById("saqScore").value);
var dbqScore = parseFloat(document.getElementById("dbqScore").value);
var leqScore = parseFloat(document.getElementById("leqScore").value);
var resultDiv = document.getElementById("result");
if (isNaN(mcqScore) || isNaN(saqScore) || isNaN(dbqScore) || isNaN(leqScore)) {
resultDiv.innerHTML = "Please enter a valid number in all fields.";
return;
}
if (mcqScore 55 || saqScore 9 || dbqScore 7 || leqScore 6) {
resultDiv.innerHTML = "One or more scores are outside the valid range. Please check your inputs.";
return;
}
// Weighting multipliers to scale raw scores to a total composite score of 150
var mcqMultiplier = 1.0909; // (40% of 150) / 55
var saqMultiplier = 3.3333; // (20% of 150) / 9
var dbqMultiplier = 5.3571; // (25% of 150) / 7
var leqMultiplier = 3.7500; // (15% of 150) / 6
var mcqWeighted = mcqScore * mcqMultiplier;
var saqWeighted = saqScore * saqMultiplier;
var dbqWeighted = dbqScore * dbqMultiplier;
var leqWeighted = leqScore * leqMultiplier;
var compositeScore = Math.round(mcqWeighted + saqWeighted + dbqWeighted + leqWeighted);
var finalAPScore = 0;
// These are approximate ranges and can vary slightly year to year.
if (compositeScore >= 108) {
finalAPScore = 5;
} else if (compositeScore >= 94) {
finalAPScore = 4;
} else if (compositeScore >= 80) {
finalAPScore = 3;
} else if (compositeScore >= 65) {
finalAPScore = 2;
} else {
finalAPScore = 1;
}
var resultHTML = "
Your Estimated APUSH Score
";
resultHTML += "
" + finalAPScore + "
";
resultHTML += "Estimated Composite Score: " + compositeScore + " / 150″;
resultHTML += "This is an estimate. Official score ranges are set by the College Board each year.";
resultDiv.innerHTML = resultHTML;
}