𝕄𝕤. 𝕃𝕒𝕞𝕓𝕠

The 2025 AP US Government and Politics Exam scores: 5: 24%; 4: 25%; 3: 23%; 2: 18%; 1: 10% Multiple-Choice Questions Students are learning the SCOTUS cases exceptionally well; 42% earned every one of those possible points. Students performed well across all units, but especially “Civil Rights and Civil Liberties” (Unit 3); an impressive 32% answered every such question correctly. “Interactions among Branches of Government” (Unit 2) was most challenging; 5% of students answered each of these questions right. Free-Response Questions spr.ly/60194w2eJ This commentary will focus on the Set 1 questions, the version taken by most students. The mean scores were highest on Q4, the argumentative essay in which students utilized foundational documents like the First Amendment, Federalist No. 10, and/or “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” to develop and support their argument about participatory democracy. Students who earned all 6/6 points possible on their essays are typically receiving AP 5s this year. The SCOTUS question, Q3, on Wickard V. Filburn (1942) and United States v. Lopez (1995) was the single best question on this year’s exam, psychometrically speaking, because it contained an effective mix of difficulty across parts A, B, and C for measuring a range of knowledge and skill levels among the hundreds of thousands of students who took this version. Generally, if a student is able to answer all parts of this question well, they’re on track for a 5. All subjects’ AP score distributions for 2025 will be posted here when available: spr.ly/60174TpA3