2026 AP score distributions by subject
How students scored on each of the 40 AP Exams in May 2026, from the College Board’s published figures. Use it to put your own score in context, not to predict it.
Preliminary data. The College Board says it updates its 2026 page on a rolling basis as scores are announced, so a figure here can change. Check the College Board’s 2026 score distributions for the current numbers. GradeKite copied them on 23 October 2026.
Highlights
- The median subject had 72% of students scoring 3 or higher.
- Highest share of 3+ scores: AP Research (90%). Lowest: AP Music Theory (59%).
- Largest share of 5s: AP Chinese Language and Culture (48%).
- AP Calculus BC had 82% scoring 3+ against 65% for Calculus AB; BC students are a smaller, more selected group, so the gap says little about which exam is easier.
- Biggest rise in the 3+ rate from 2025: AP Latin (58.6% → 73%). Biggest fall: AP Italian Language and Culture (75.2% → 69%).
Score distributions, 2026
| Subject | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3+ | 3+ in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP Capstone | |||||||
| AP Research | 17% | 31% | 42% | 8% | 2% | 90% | 88.5% |
| AP Seminar | 10% | 21% | 57% | 10% | 2% | 88% | 83.4% |
| AP Arts | |||||||
| AP Art History | 15% | 25% | 27% | 24% | 9% | 67% | 65.6% |
| AP Drawing | 16% | 31% | 36% | 14% | 3% | 83% | 84.2% |
| AP Music Theory | 18% | 17% | 24% | 26% | 15% | 59% | 60.5% |
| AP English | |||||||
| AP English Language & Composition | 15% | 28% | 32% | 15% | 10% | 75% | 74.3% |
| AP English Literature & Composition | 16% | 26% | 31% | 16% | 11% | 73% | 74.2% |
| History & Social Sciences | |||||||
| AP African American Studies | 20% | 30% | 27% | 17% | 6% | 77% | 79.2% |
| AP Comparative Government & Politics | 15% | 22% | 33% | 18% | 12% | 70% | 71.8% |
| AP European History | 16% | 33% | 25% | 18% | 8% | 74% | 72.6% |
| AP Human Geography | 19% | 26% | 21% | 24% | 10% | 66% | 64.7% |
| AP Macroeconomics | 19% | 22% | 25% | 20% | 14% | 66% | 67.3% |
| AP Microeconomics | 19% | 26% | 23% | 20% | 12% | 68% | 68.2% |
| AP Psychology | 15% | 35% | 24% | 18% | 8% | 74% | 70.5% |
| AP United States Government & Politics | 23% | 28% | 25% | 16% | 8% | 76% | 71.7% |
| AP United States History | 14% | 37% | 23% | 18% | 8% | 74% | 73.7% |
| AP World History: Modern | 14% | 36% | 16% | 26% | 8% | 66% | 64.3% |
| Math & Computer Sciences | |||||||
| AP Calculus AB | 20% | 28% | 17% | 24% | 11% | 65% | 64.2% |
| AP Calculus BC | 46% | 22% | 14% | 14% | 4% | 82% | 78.6% |
| AP Computer Science A | 25% | 26% | 15% | 11% | 23% | 66% | 67.2% |
| AP Computer Science Principles | 10% | 23% | 30% | 21% | 16% | 63% | 61.9% |
| AP Precalculus | 29% | 29% | 24% | 11% | 7% | 82% | 80.8% |
| AP Statistics | 17% | 23% | 22% | 17% | 21% | 62% | 60.3% |
| Sciences | |||||||
| AP Biology | 15% | 25% | 31% | 21% | 8% | 71% | 70.4% |
| AP Chemistry* | 15% | 31% | 30% | 18% | 6% | 75% | 77.9% |
| AP Environmental Science | 13% | 29% | 27% | 15% | 16% | 69% | 69.2% |
| AP Physics 1 | 19% | 24% | 25% | 15% | 17% | 68% | 67.3% |
| AP Physics 2 | 20% | 29% | 23% | 21% | 7% | 72% | 72.6% |
| AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism | 24% | 24% | 27% | 17% | 8% | 75% | 72.9% |
| AP Physics C: Mechanics | 20% | 25% | 27% | 17% | 11% | 72% | 73.2% |
| World Languages & Cultures | |||||||
| AP Chinese Language and Culture | 48% | 19% | 18% | 6% | 9% | 85% | 89.2% |
| AP French Language and Culture | 15% | 23% | 33% | 23% | 6% | 71% | 73.5% |
| AP German Language and Culture | 24% | 17% | 27% | 22% | 10% | 68% | 71.5% |
| AP Italian Language and Culture | 19% | 22% | 28% | 20% | 11% | 69% | 75.2% |
| AP Japanese Language and Culture | 47% | 10% | 15% | 7% | 21% | 72% | 74.7% |
| AP Latin | 20% | 29% | 24% | 17% | 10% | 73% | 58.6% |
| AP Spanish Language and Culture | 21% | 31% | 31% | 14% | 3% | 83% | 85.0% |
| AP Spanish Literature and Culture | 20% | 23% | 28% | 20% | 9% | 71% | 70.3% |
| Arts | |||||||
| AP 2-D Art and Design | 12% | 30% | 43% | 12% | 3% | 85% | 83.0% |
| AP 3-D Art and Design | 7% | 25% | 43% | 23% | 2% | 75% | 71.6% |
* AP Chemistry: the College Board’s main 2026 table lists 75% scoring 3+, while its 5, 4 and 3 shares (15 + 31 + 30) add to 76% and the Chemistry subject page shows 76%. The difference is rounding; the table keeps the main-page figure. AP 2-D and 3-D Art and Design come from their College Board subject pages. The 2025 column uses the 2025 figures printed on each subject page.
What the scores mean
AP Exams are scored from 1 to 5. The College Board describes a 5 as extremely well qualified, a 4 as well qualified, a 3 as qualified, a 2 as possibly qualified and a 1 as no recommendation. A 3 is usually called a passing score, but colleges set their own rules: many give credit or placement for a 3, some only for a 4 or 5, and some give none in certain subjects. Look up the policy of each college you are considering.
Reading the table carefully
A high pass rate does not make an exam easy. Students choose which AP courses to take, so subjects taken mostly by strong or specialised students (world languages for heritage speakers, Calculus BC, the Capstone courses) tend to show high pass rates, while large introductory subjects taken by a wide range of students show lower ones. Year-to-year moves of a few points can also reflect changes to an exam’s format or scoring.
Percentages are rounded to whole numbers, so a row may not add to exactly 100%.
Using your AP results
AP courses often carry extra weight in a high school GPA. The high school weighted GPA calculator shows the effect of an AP bump, and the GPA calculator handles college grades once you get there. Studying abroad? The international grade converters translate twelve national systems to the 4.0 scale.
Source
- College Board, AP Students: 2026 AP Score Distributions
- College Board, AP Students: subject score distribution pages (AP 2-D Art and Design, AP 3-D Art and Design, 2025 comparison figures), linked from the page above