2026 score reports

AP score distributions, 2026

Every AP exam with a published 2026 distribution, sorted by the share of students scoring 3 or higher. The mean column is ours — the College Board publishes the bands but not the average — and it is a straight weighted mean of the five published percentages.

72.9%
average 3 or higher
across 35 exams
18.9%
average earning a 5
unweighted by cohort size
3.30
average mean score
out of 5
A high pass rate is not the same as an easy exam. AP Calculus BC and the language exams score well largely because of who sits them. Read these as descriptions of past cohorts, not predictions — cut scores are set fresh each year.
Exam543213+Mean
🔬AP Research17%31%42%8%2%90%3.53
🗣️AP Seminar10%21%57%10%2%88%3.27
🇨🇳AP Chinese Language & Culture48%19%18%6%9%85%3.91
🖌️AP 2-D Art and Design12%30%43%12%3%85%3.36
✏️AP Drawing16%31%36%14%3%83%3.43
∮AP Calculus BC46%22%14%14%4%82%3.92
📈AP Precalculus29%29%24%11%7%82%3.62
✊🏾AP African American Studies20%30%27%17%6%77%3.41
⚖️AP US Government & Politics23%28%25%16%8%76%3.42
⚡AP Physics C: E & M24%24%27%17%8%75%3.39
⚗️AP Chemistry15%31%30%18%6%75%3.31
✍️AP English Language & Composition15%28%32%15%10%75%3.23
🗿AP 3-D Art and Design7%25%43%23%2%75%3.12
🦅AP United States History14%37%23%18%8%74%3.31
🏰AP European History16%33%25%18%8%74%3.31
🧠AP Psychology15%35%24%18%8%74%3.31
📚AP English Literature & Composition16%26%31%16%11%73%3.20
🌊AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based20%29%23%21%7%72%3.34
🚀AP Physics C: Mechanics20%25%27%17%11%72%3.26
🧬AP Biology15%25%31%21%8%71%3.18
🇫🇷AP French Language & Culture15%23%33%23%6%71%3.18
🏳️AP Comparative Government & Politics15%22%33%18%12%70%3.10
🌱AP Environmental Science13%29%27%15%16%69%3.08
🇩🇪AP German Language & Culture24%17%27%22%10%68%3.23
🪙AP Microeconomics19%26%23%20%12%68%3.20
🎢AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based19%24%25%15%17%68%3.13
🖼️AP Art History15%25%27%24%9%67%3.13
🌐AP World History: Modern14%36%16%26%8%66%3.22
🗺️AP Human Geography19%26%21%24%10%66%3.20
☕AP Computer Science A25%26%15%11%23%66%3.19
💹AP Macroeconomics19%22%25%20%14%66%3.12
∫AP Calculus AB20%28%17%24%11%65%3.22
💡AP Computer Science Principles10%23%30%21%16%63%2.90
📊AP Statistics17%23%22%17%21%62%2.98
🎼AP Music Theory18%17%24%26%15%59%2.97

Common questions

Which AP exam has the highest pass rate?

AP Research, at 90% scoring 3 or higher in 2026, followed by AP Seminar (88%) and AP Chinese Language & Culture (85%). High rates usually reflect a small, self-selected cohort rather than an easy exam.

Which AP exam is hardest to pass?

AP Music Theory had the lowest percent scoring 3 or higher in 2026 at 59%, with AP Statistics at 62% and AP Computer Science Principles at 63%.

What percent of AP students get a 5?

Across the 35 exams with published 2026 distributions, an average of 18.9% of students earned a 5. The spread is wide: Chinese Lang at 48% against exams in single digits.

What is the average AP score?

The mean score across these 35 exams is 3.3 out of 5, and 72.9% of students on the average exam score 3 or higher. Each exam's own mean is in the table below.

Distributions transcribed from the College Board’s published 2026 score distributions (source). Courses without a published 2026 distribution are omitted rather than estimated. AP® is a trademark registered by the College Board, which does not endorse this site.