AP® Calculus AB Score Guide

AP Calculus AB Raw Score Conversion

Your final score is determined by the number of correct points earned out of a possible 108. This composite score is then converted into a number on the AP score scale, which ranges from 1 to 5. Please note that the College Board® keeps the conversion process confidential. Therefore, your composite score on the AP Exam will not be publicly disclosed.

Considering these AP Calculus AB scoring guidelines, let's examine how your AP scores can impact your college applications. We will determine which AP scores can get you recommendations, placements, and college credits.

AP Calculus AB Scoring Table

After your Calculus AB exam scores have been recorded on the AP grading scale, they will be sent to the respective colleges that you’ve selected. If you want to learn how to request that the College Board send your AP scores to your college, check out our page on AP Exam Scores.

Below is the AP score table showing the conversion of AP scores into equivalent college grades for the Calc AB exam:

The rule of thumb would be to aim for a score of 3 or higher if you’re considering getting college credits and Advanced Placement® for your AP Calc AB exam score. Always remember to check with the colleges you intend to apply to on their minimum requirements.

“Recent research from the College Board found that students who achieve a score of 2 in AP Calculus AB earn higher grades when taking the course in college than students who did not take AP Calculus AB.”

AP Calculus AB Score Distributions

Taking the AP exam for Calculus AB has many other benefits. Check out our AP Calculus AB exam guide to discover why it could benefit your career.

In 2023, a total of 273,987 students took the AP Calculus AB exam, and 58% of test-takers scored a 3, 4, or a 5. Over the past four years (2020-2023), this percentage has averaged around 56.4%. That's an encouraging success rate, considering how challenging AP Calc AB can be.

Let's crunch some numbers below to get an idea about the AP Calculus AB score distributions:

As you can see from the table above, the scores on the Calculus AB exam were higher in 2021 compared to previous years. Across the board, more than 50% of students scored with a 3 or higher. AP Calculus AB is a challenging subject, but with the right study tools, course instruction, and dedication, you can achieve a score of 5.

UWorld’s online AP Calculus AB practice exams will help you get there. By taking practice tests, you can track your progress and address any areas that may be confusing, allowing you to build a solid foundation of core calculus concepts. Additionally, you can make quick notes and use UWorld's flashcards to review concepts and theorems efficiently when preparing for the exam.

Scoring pattern for the 2023 and 2022 AP Calculus AB exams

To secure a good AP Calc AB score, you need to understand the scoring pattern of the exam. This will help you identify where you can excel and which concepts you should give more attention to. So, let's dive into the 2023 AP Calculus AB scoring pattern and see how the scores were distributed across the multiple-choice and free-response sections:

In the multiple-choice section, the following trends emerged:

• The most challenging unit for AP Calculus AB students was Unit 5: Analytical Applications of Differentiation, where only 47% of students correctly answered all of the questions.
• The highest-scoring units were Unit 7: Differential Equations (26% of students answered every question right) and Unit 4: Contextual Applications of Differentiation (19% of students answered every question right).

The Free-Response Section showed the following patterns:

• Students scored higher on FRQ 2 (particle motion). 25% of students earned 8-9 of the 9 possible points.

Overall, students performed better on the “no calculator” questions compared to the ones that required a calculator.

For the 2022 pencil-and-paper exam, students scored significantly higher on multiple-choice questions than on the free-response questions.

• The strongest student performance was on Unit 4: Contextual Applications of Differentiation, in which 32% correctly answered 5-6 questions out of the 6 total questions.
• The most challenging unit in the MCQ section was Unit 3: Composite, Implicit, and Inverse Functions. 11% of students earned 0 points on those questions.

FRQ 3 on graphical analysis was the toughest question on the exam.

For the 2021 pen-and-paper exam, students scored significantly higher on the Multiple-Choice section than the Free-Response questions.

In the multiple-choice section, the following trends emerged:

• Students demonstrated the strongest proficiency in Unit 4: Contextual Applications of Differentiation, with 11% of students earning a perfect score across the questions in this unit.
• On average, students scored the lowest on Unit 7: Differential Equations, in which 4% of students answered all questions correctly, and 9% answered none correctly.

The Free-Response Section showed the following patterns:

• The most challenging question for the 2021 exam was Question 3 on the area-volume; disc method. 3% of students earned 7 to 9 points out of a possible 9.
• The highest results were seen in Question 4 on graphical analysis. 14% of students earned 7 to 9 points out of a possible 9.