Advanced Placement (AP) Exams provide students with the opportunity to earn college credit, advanced placement, or both. AP Exams consist of multiple-choice and free-response sections which are combined to form a composite score of 1 – 5.

Students who earn AP Exam scores of 3 or above are generally considered to be qualified to receive college credit and/or placement into advanced courses due to the fact that their AP Exam scores are equivalent to a college course score of “middle C” or higher. However, the awarding of credit and placement is determined by each college or university and students should check with the institution to verify its AP credit and placement policies.

The AP Examinations are administered each year in May.

Beginning in the 2020-2021 school year, CDE no longer collects Advanced Placement Course enrollment data. Data on AP test participation is available through the college board.