AP World History

Guide Note:The College Board’s AP World History exam provides high school students the opportunity to earn college credit and advanced course standing upon enrollment in an accredited college or university. Most students prepare for the exam by taking AP World History social sciences courses during the academic year at their respective schools. The AP World History exam is offered in May of every year.

As is with all AP Exams, the AP World History exam is graded on a scale of one to five. A grade of three is considered a passing score, however each individual college determine the scored required before that institution will grant credit. Generally a majority of colleges require a score of four or five for full course credit. The exam consists of two sections. The first section is 70 multiple-choice questions, with 55 minutes to complete them. The second section is two hours and ten minutes in length and consists of three free response questions, one of which is a Document Based Question(DBQ]. The DBQ presents the test taker with ten documents; these documents may include the text of speeches, news articles, book excerpts, graphs, political cartoons, maps as well as a variety materials from sources. As an example, if a student’s DBQ essay was about Adolf Hitler's effect on society, documents given could include: a speech given by Hitler, an excerpt from Mein Kampf (Hitler's autobiography), a map showing the areas Germany attacked during World War II, a graph showing the numbers of each group of "undesirables" that he had killed, a personal essay written about Hitler by Rudolf Hess, and several other pieces of history pertaining to Hitler. The examinees are free to use any of the documents they may choose in writing the essay, but the key to success is to demonstrate knowledge outside of the information provided by the documents. Fast Facts:

1. This year's exam date is: May 15th, 2008 at 8:00 a.m.
2. Exam Fee: $84
3. Contact email: apexams@info.collegeboard.org
4. In 2007, 54.2% of students that took the exam received a passing score.
5. Consists of two sections, multiple choice & free response
6. Multiple choice section has 70 questions & is 55 minutes long

DBQ Facts

1. There is only one DBQ question on the exam
2. The DBQ question presents 10 documents for examinee use in formulating an answer
3. The DBQ is Part A of the free response section of the exam