

This chart shows just a few of the hundreds of colleges that typically accept the AP® Calculus AB exam for college credit, along with the number of credit hours they award for a passing grade and the potential tuition savings from using the AP® course for credit. Coming into college with credits allows some students to graduate early, while others choose to explore classes outside their major that might not have been possible without AP® courses. Each AP® course that you substitute for credit translates into fewer credit hours of fees. According to a New York Times magazine story, “Existing research offers strong evidence that scoring a 3 or more on the AP® exam predicts greater academic success in college.”įinancially, AP® courses can have a real impact on your college tuition costs. They signal to admissions counselors that you are both serious about your academics and that you are prepared for the rigors of college-level classes. They also provide you with the confidence and skills needed to succeed in college.ĪP® courses also look good in your college admissions packet. AP® courses allow you to leave high school with college credits. The AP® Calculus AB exam is worth your time and effort for both academic and financial reasons. Return to the Table of Contents Is AP® Calculus AB worth it? Albert’s AP® Calculus AB score calculator shows that you would need to answer at least 23 of the multiple-choice questions correctly and receive at least 27 points in the free-response portion of the exam in order to achieve a score of 3 or better. Knowing how many questions you need to answer correctly to pass can help ease your anxiety as you sit for the exam. Passing the AP® Calculus AB exam can be challenging for those who do not intend to major in math in college.

You can see Unit 5 and Unit 6 are the highest weighted on the exam. Unit 6: Integration and Accumulation of Change Unit 5: Analytical Applications of Differentiation

Unit 4: Contextual Applications of Differentiation Unit 3: Differentiation: Composite, Implicit, and Inverse Functions

Unit 2: Differentiation: Definition and Fundamental Properties The chart below outlines how the units are weighed on the multiple-choice portion. In order to maximize your study time, you should understand which units carry more weight so you can focus your time on those areas. The AP® Calculus AB exam covers eight different units, some of which carry more weight on the exam than others. Thus, the lower passing rate for AP® Calculus AB can mostly be attributed to a larger and more varied group of students taking the exam who may not have as much strength or interest in advanced math. This smaller testing pool for the BC exam indicates that only students who showed an aptitude for and interest in Calculus went on to take the AP® Calculus BC exam. The 2022 AP® Calculus BC exam has a passing rate of 76.9% and a mean score of 3.68, both of which are significantly higher than the passing rate and average score of AP® Calculus AB. However, typically about twice as many students take the AP® Calculus AB exam each year than take the AP® Calculus BC exam. We can use another AP® Calculus exam, AP® Calculus BC, for comparison. The mean score was 2.91.įor the 2021 testing year, 51.0% of the students who took the AP® Calculus AB exam passed it with a score of 3 or higher. Regarding other AP® courses, the passing rate for AP® Calculus AB is considered relatively average compared to the entire AP® course catalog.įor the 2022 testing year, 55.7% of the students who took the AP® Calculus AB exam passed it with a score of 3 or higher. This higher level of difficulty is because AP® courses are meant to teach at an introductory college level while high school courses teach at the high school level. Is AP® Calculus AB easy? What can make it hard?ĪP® Calculus AB is considered to be more difficult than non-AP® Calculus. Need help preparing for your AP® Calculus AB exam?.How do students typically score on AP® Calculus AB? What’s the score distribution?.Who should take AP® Calculus AB? What sort of students may like it more than others?.Where can I find past AP® Calculus AB exams?.When do students typically take AP® Calculus AB? When is best?.What happens if you fail AP® Calculus AB?.How is AP® Calculus AB scored? What’s the weighting of different questions?.When do AP® Calculus scores typically come out?.Is AP® Calculus AB easy? What can make it hard?.
