How the AP World exam is scored
The 2027 AP World History: Modern exam is on Thursday, May 6, 2027 (Session 1, usually morning), and AP scores come out in July.[5][6] AP World History: Modern shares its format with AP US History and AP European History: the same section lengths, the same weights and the same rubric points. What differs is the content and how students tend to do on each part.[1]
| Part | Questions / points | Time | Share of score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple choice | 55 questions | 55 min | 40% |
| Short answer (SAQ) | 3 questions, 3 points each | 40 min | 20% |
| DBQ | 1 essay, 7 points | 60 min incl. 15-min reading | 25% |
| LEQ | 1 essay, 6 points | 40 min | 15% |
In 2025, students averaged 3.61 of 7 on the DBQ and 2.97 of 6 on the LEQ, and between 1.79 and 2.31 of 3 on the three short-answer questions. The short-answer section is worth 20% in total, so each of its three questions carries about 6.7% of the exam.[4]
AP World score distribution
In 2026, 66% of AP World students scored 3 or higher and 14% earned a 5.[2] In 2025 the figures were 64.3% and 13.9%, from 411,547 students with a mean score of 3.16.[3]
| AP score | 2026 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 14% | 13.9% |
| 4 | 36% | 33.4% |
| 3 | 16% | 17% |
| 2 | 26% | 26.5% |
| 1 | 8% | 9.2% |
How this AP World score estimate works
The 1–5 uses the share of the composite each score needed on College Board’s 2007 AP World chart, the last one released.[7] See where the cut points come from.
| AP score | At least |
|---|---|
| 5 | 64.2% |
| 4 | 53.3% |
| 3 | 40% |
| 2 | 28.3% |
Example
65% of the multiple choice plus the 2025 average free-response scores gives 61.3%: an estimated 4.
AP World’s 2026 results show a split middle: 16% earned a 3 while 26% earned a 2. A few extra rubric points on the essays are often what moves a score across that line, since each DBQ point is worth about 3.6% of the total.
Other AP score calculators
Taking more than one exam? Try the APUSH score calculator, AP Human Geography score calculator or AP Gov score calculator. Every calculator uses that exam’s own section weights.
Frequently asked questions
Is the AP World History exam the same as APUSH?
The format is the same: 55 multiple-choice questions (40%), three short answers (20%), a DBQ (25%) and an LEQ (15%). The content is different.
What percent get a 5 on AP World History?
14% in 2026; 66% scored 3 or higher.
How many points is the AP World DBQ worth?
7 rubric points, which carry 25% of the exam score.
Sources
- AP World History: Modern: Assessment
- 2026 AP Score Distributions
- Student Score Distributions, AP Exams, May 2025
- AP Scoring Statistics, 2025 Free-Response Questions (one file per exam)
- 2027 AP Exam Dates
- AP Calendar (score release and deadlines)
- AP World scoring worksheet for the 2007 Released Exam (composite → AP score chart)