As colleges and universities put greater scrutiny on high school transcripts, students want to look for ways to stand out. Success in AP classes and on AP exams demonstrates the rigor of a student’s high school career and projects an ability to succeed at the college level.
Whether or not a student opts to submit an SAT or ACT score, strong marks in well-recognized advanced courses will make an impression on college admission readers. The University of California system, for example, considers how many AP courses a student has taken, their grades in those classes, and their AP exam scores.
Compass has developed a checklist to keep you on track throughout the school year to ensure that the effort you put into your AP classes pays off for you during the admissions process.
Give us a call at 800-685-6986 for more information or to set up a tutoring program that fits your needs.
Compass AP Checklist
- Attend our AP Roadmap Webinar: October 25, 2022 at 5PM Pacific | 8PM Eastern
Learn everything you need to know about the 2023 AP Exams from Senior Director Dulcie Head, Managing Director of Product and Curriculum Ash Kramer, and several Compass tutors, who are experts in AP subjects.
WATCH THE RECORDING - Take a Winter Checkpoint Assessment: January 2023
This 70-minute assessment includes material covered in the first FOUR months of school and includes a free-response portion. If older topics now appear to be rusty or if it seems you are behind pace, there is still time to get help.
REGISTER - Set up a Tutoring Program if you haven’t already
Some of our students have weekly AP tutoring sessions throughout the school year to reinforce and retain concepts as they stack up; others wait to work with a private tutor until it’s time to prepare for the exams. We are ready to help whenever and however you need us. - Take a Full Practice Test: March 2023
Identify and close the knowledge gaps during spring preparation for AP exams. Practice writing answers to free-response questions and receive feedback on how to improve your writing. Use the Compass score reports to predict your official scores.
REGISTER - Finish your Classes and Take the Exams!
Congratulations, you’ve put in the effort and taken advantage of our AP support. You can now take the AP exams with full confidence!
AP Class and AP Exam Tutoring Subjects
- AP English Literature and Composition
- AP English Language and Composition
- AP U.S. History
- AP European History
- AP World History: Modern
- AP Human Geography
- AP Calculus AB
- AP Biology
- AP Chemistry
- AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based
- AP Environmental Science
- AP Psychology
- AP Art History
- AP Music Theory
- AP Macroeconomics
- AP Microeconomics
- AP Comparative Government and Politics
- AP Calculus BC
- AP Computer Science A
- AP Computer Science Principles
- AP Statistics
- AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based
- AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism
- AP Physics C: Mechanics
- AP U.S. Government and Politics
- AP World Languages and Cultures: Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Spanish Language and Literature
Our Tutors
Over half of our tutors have completed post-graduate work in fields of study built on the concepts taught in AP courses. From Biology to Music Theory, we have a tutor for that.
Christen O.
AP Biology and AP Chemistry
“I have a Masters in Biomedical Science and a BS in Biochemistry. Campbell Biology Textbook? I’ve nearly read through it 15 times! Okay, maybe not every page, but I’m an expert when it comes to the AP Biology material. And AP Chemistry is my favorite class to teach! I’ve been tutoring chemistry for over 10 years and have probably completed every single released AP Chem College Board FRQ.”
Muffy M.
AP U.S. History
“I love American history. (Heck, I’m called The Historian on a nationally-televised game show, but I digress.) I have a cardboard cutout of Abe Lincoln in my living room. I had a student ask me one time about the Gettysburg Address, and I pulled a copy out of my wallet. Thus, obviously, I love teaching the APUSH test. I absolutely enjoy getting to review the material and help students learn or remember obscure facts. But more than that, I enjoy pushing them to analyze rigorously and make connections in order to write effective essays. Even if the details of the history never come up again, my students leave the lessons with critical thinking skills and an appreciation for factual accuracy.”
Alex K.
AP Spanish
“My Spanish tutoring programs have yielded thoughtful and engaging discussions of everything from film/TV to sports to social justice, introducing lots of new vocabulary while getting to learn from my students about topics they are passionate about. I love tutoring AP Spanish because my students leave our lessons feeling more confident about their tests or excited about their classes.“
Zach F.
AP Music Theory
“When writing in figured bass and voice leading, after putting in the bass line as required, don’t get fancy with the other parts! College Board is primarily grading for errors, not flair. There are some points given for creativity, but very few. Start by spreading your parts as evenly as possible across the staffs. Pick a part, and stick as closely as possible to stepwise motion. When writing in your next part, again stick to stepwise motion, but avoiding voice leading errors. Fill in the final part. Finally, check carefully for voice leading errors. 9 times out of 10, this method will produce almost flawless results (if a bit boring).“
2023 AP Exam Schedule
| Date | Morning (8 a.m. Local Time) | Afternoon (12 p.m. Local Time) |
|---|---|---|
| Monday, May 1, 2023 | United States Government and Politics | Chemistry Spanish Literature and Culture |
| Tuesday, May 2, 2023 | Chinese Language and Culture Environmental Science | Psychology |
| Wednesday, May 3, 2023 | English Literature and Composition | Comparative Government and Politics Computer Science A |
| Thursday, May 4, 2023 | Human Geography Macroeconomics | Seminar Statistics |
| Friday, May 5, 2023 | European History United States History | Art History Microeconomics |
| Monday, May 8, 2023 | Calculus AB Calculus BC | Computer Science Principles Italian Language and Culture |
| Tuesday, May 9, 2023 | English Language and Composition Japanese Language and Culture | Physics C: Mechanics Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism (starts at 2 p.m. Local Time) |
| Wednesday, May 10, 2023 | Spanish Language and Culture | Biology |
| Thursday, May 11, 2023 | French Language and Culture World History: Modern | Physics 1: Algebra-Based |
| Friday, May 12, 2023 | German Language and Culture Music Theory | Latin Physics 2: Algebra Based |
What Do AP Scores Mean?
What do AP scores mean? The College Board defines 3 as “qualified” to receive college credit, 4 as “well qualified,” and 5 as “extremely well qualified.” Ultimately, however, the answer varies from college to college. Some schools give credit for a 3, while others require a 5. Some of the most selective schools don’t give credit for any score. The one generalization we can make with confidence is that failing to post a 3 or better is likely to place a student in the bottom half to bottom third of his or her peers nationwide.
2021 AP Exams Score Distribution
| ALL EXAMS | 4,578,302 | 12.7 | 19.1 | 24 | 23.7 | 20.5 | 55.8 |
| ART: HISTORY | 20,633 | 12 | 19.6 | 23.8 | 30.1 | 14.6 | 55.3 |
| BIOLOGY | 230,527 | 7.4 | 19.4 | 32.4 | 30 | 10.8 | 59.2 |
| CALCULUS AB | 251,639 | 17.6 | 14.1 | 19.3 | 25.3 | 23.7 | 51 |
| CALCULUS BC | 124,599 | 38.3 | 16.5 | 20.4 | 18.2 | 6.6 | 75.2 |
| CHEMISTRY | 135,997 | 11.2 | 16.4 | 23.7 | 24.7 | 23.9 | 51.3 |
| CHINESE LANG. & CULTURE | 13,122 | 57.2 | 15.5 | 15.5 | 4.6 | 7.1 | 88.2 |
| COMPUTER SCIENCE A | 74,676 | 23.9 | 21.9 | 19.3 | 12.1 | 22.8 | 65.1 |
| COMPUTER SCIENCE PRINCIPLES | 116,466 | 12.4 | 21.7 | 32.5 | 19.9 | 13.6 | 66.5 |
| ECONOMICS: MACRO | 124,436 | 18 | 19.6 | 13.7 | 15.7 | 32.9 | 51.3 |
| ECONOMICS: MICRO | 80,199 | 18.5 | 24 | 16.6 | 17 | 23.9 | 59.1 |
| ENGLISH LANG. & COMP | 518,548 | 9.1 | 22.9 | 25.8 | 29.3 | 12.9 | 57.7 |
| ENGLISH LITERATURE | 321,029 | 4.9 | 12 | 26.9 | 37.3 | 18.8 | 43.9 |
| ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE | 160,771 | 7 | 24.9 | 18.5 | 27.6 | 22.1 | 50.3 |
| EUROPEAN HISTORY | 84,237 | 10.6 | 19.4 | 24.7 | 32.5 | 12.9 | 54.6 |
| FRENCH LANG. & CULTURE | 18,408 | 12.6 | 23.3 | 35.4 | 22.2 | 6.5 | 71.3 |
| GERMAN LANG. & CULTURE | 4,315 | 18 | 19.5 | 27.6 | 23.5 | 11.4 | 65.1 |
| GOVERNMENT & POLITICS COMP | 19,292 | 16.6 | 24.5 | 30.7 | 14.9 | 13.3 | 71.8 |
| GOVERNMENT & POLITICS U.S. | 283,353 | 12 | 11.6 | 26.9 | 25.8 | 23.8 | 50.4 |
| HUMAN GEOGRAPHY | 211,735 | 14.4 | 19.7 | 18.3 | 15.1 | 32.4 | 52.5 |
| ITALIAN LANG. & CULTURE | 2,102 | 20.6 | 22.6 | 29.2 | 18.6 | 9 | 72.4 |
| JAPANESE LANG. & CULTURE | 2,204 | 47.5 | 9.2 | 17.6 | 7.9 | 17.7 | 74.3 |
| LATIN | 4,889 | 10 | 16.9 | 29.9 | 25.3 | 17.9 | 56.8 |
| MUSIC THEORY | 16,271 | 19.9 | 18.1 | 23.2 | 23.2 | 15.6 | 61.2 |
| PHYSICS 1 | 137,229 | 6.9 | 16.3 | 18.9 | 26.4 | 31.4 | 42.1 |
| PHYSICS 2 | 18,736 | 15.4 | 17.9 | 32 | 27 | 7.6 | 65.3 |
| PHYSICS C: ELEC. & MAGNET. | 20,471 | 32.6 | 23.1 | 13.8 | 18 | 12.5 | 69.5 |
| PHYSICS C: MECHANICS | 48,803 | 23.5 | 28.6 | 21.3 | 14.9 | 11.6 | 73.5 |
| PSYCHOLOGY | 288,511 | 14.1 | 21.2 | 18 | 15.2 | 31.5 | 53.3 |
| RESEARCH | 24,021 | 13.7 | 25.4 | 42.4 | 14.2 | 4.3 | 81.5 |
| SEMINAR | 53,076 | 11.1 | 19.5 | 54.5 | 10.7 | 4.3 | 85 |
| SPANISH LANG. & CULTURE | 148,486 | 17.3 | 29.7 | 33 | 16.5 | 3.5 | 80 |
| SPANISH LITERATURE | 21,796 | 7.8 | 20.8 | 36.3 | 25.5 | 9.6 | 64.9 |
| STATISTICS | 184,111 | 16.2 | 19.9 | 21.8 | 17.2 | 24.9 | 57.9 |
| STUDIO ART: DRAWING | 18,096 | 14.2 | 37.7 | 34.3 | 12.4 | 1.4 | 86.2 |
| STUDIO ART: 2-D DESIGN | 34,509 | 10.2 | 34.7 | 42.3 | 12.5 | 0.4 | 87.1 |
| STUDIO ART: 3-D DESIGN | 4,573 | 6.5 | 28.6 | 36.3 | 24.9 | 3.7 | 55.3 |
| US HISTORY | 454,204 | 10.1 | 15.9 | 21.2 | 21.6 | 31.2 | 47.2 |
| WORLD HISTORY | 302,232 | 9.7 | 18.5 | 24 | 28.9 | 19 | 52.2 |
Learn more about schools’ credit and placement policies here.