Who creates the AP Examinations, and how are the exams graded?
AP Examinations are created by a committee of experienced AP secondary school teachers and university professors specializing in each of the disciplines for which an examination is offered. The multiple-choice portion of AP Exams is scored by computer. The free-response sections of AP Exams are scored by AP teachers and university professors in a weeklong June scoring session. Detailed scoring rubrics are established for each examination by Chief Faculty Consultants for each discipline, who oversees the scoring of the free-response questions. Great care is taken by the Chief Faculty Consultants to ensure accuracy and consistency in scoring to result in a fair assessment of student free-response performances. Total composite scores for the combined multiple-choice and free-response portions of the exams are converted into AP grades of 1 (no recommendation) to 5 (extremely well qualified), which are released in mid-July to the students and the colleges and universities of their choice.
