AP Psychology Exam Revisions
Highlights of the Revised AP Psychology Exam
- The exam will have fewer multiple-choice questions, and multiple-choice questions will have 4 answer choices instead of 5.
- The exam will include 2 new free-response questions (FRQs) that more authentically assess a diverse set of skills.
- The exam will be administered digitally.
Updated Multiple-Choice Section
The updated multiple-choice section (Section I of the exam) features 75 questions (reduced from 100). Additionally, all multiple-choice questions (MCQs) now have 4 answer choices (reduced from 5).
The revised exam gives students 90 minutes to complete Section I–adding 40 minutes to the previous time limits. This extra time allows students to engage with more robust questions that assess content application, research methods and design, and data interpretation and feature more graphs, charts, tables, and figures.
Multiple-choice questions assess the first three science practices: Concept Application, Research Methods and Design, and Data Interpretation.
Science Practice 4: Argumentation is not assessed in Section I. This practice is only assessed in Section II, along with the other three practices.
New Free-Response Questions
Two new free-response questions debut with the 2025 AP Psychology Exam, both featuring research studies from the field, that more authentically assess a diverse set of skills.
Article Analysis Question (AAQ)
The Article Analysis Question (AAQ) is the first of two FRQs in Section II. It presents students with one summarized, peer-reviewed source.
- Students will identify research design elements (methodology, variables, and ethical guidelines) and interpret basic statistics used in the source.
- Students will explain how well the findings can be generalized and how the article supports or refutes the psychological concept being explored in the study.
- Students will have 25 minutes, including 10 minutes of reading time, to complete this task.
Evidence-Based Question (EBQ)
The Evidence-Based Question (EBQ) is the second of two FRQs in Section II. It presents students with three summarized, peer-reviewed studies on a common topic.
- Students will make a claim about the topic and use evidence from the sources to support their claim.
- Students will also explain why the evidence supports the claim and apply related content from AP Psychology to help justify their response.
- Students will have 45 minutes, including 15 minutes of reading time, to complete this task.
Digital Format
AP Psychology will be delivered digitally in May 2025. Paper exams cannot be ordered unless students have approved accommodations requiring paper testing.
Learn more about digital AP Exams.
Learn More
View the updated exam design, sample questions, and scoring information in the AP Psychology Course and Exam Description (.pdf) and Student Responses and Scoring Commentary (.pdf).
FAQ
How and when will the revised cut scores for the AP Psychology Exam be established, and when will they be revisited?
The revised cut scores will be established during the standard setting activity in summer 2025.
Will there be new AP Classroom resources for the revised course and exam?
Yes. We’re updating AP Classroom resources, including AP Daily videos, progress checks, topic questions, and an updated question bank.
Most of the updated resources became available in July 2024. We’ll add more throughout the school year.
How will AP Classroom align the existing question bank items with the revised content?
We’ve evaluated and revised question bank items as needed to align them to the revised course and exam. We’ve also developed new question bank items to give students opportunities for formative assessment and retrieval practice for each topic in the course and the types of questions that will appear on the AP Psychology Exam.
What will happen to the questions and quizzes that teachers created in AP Classroom?
Questions and quizzes created by teachers will stay in AP Classroom. We’ll contact teachers with more information about how to retag their questions and quizzes to the new course framework.