AP Precalculus score calculator 2027

How the Precalc exam is built

Section I, Part A: Multiple choice, no calculator29 questions · 43.75 %

Polynomial, rational, exponential, logarithmic and trigonometric functions. (65 minutes)

Section I, Part B: Multiple choice, graphing calculator required13 questions · 18.75 %

Modelling and numerical work. (40 minutes)

Section II, Part A: Free response, graphing calculator required2 questions · 18.75 % (12 points)

Question 1: function concepts. Question 2: modelling a non-periodic context. (35 minutes)

Section II, Part B: Free response, no calculator2 questions · 18.75 % (12 points)

Question 3: modelling a periodic context. Question 4: symbolic manipulations. (35 minutes)

The College Board page for May 2027 lists 42 multiple-choice questions (29 without a calculator, 13 with) and four free-response questions of fixed type, with the unusual 62.5-37.5 split. The page gives Part A of the multiple choice 43.75 % and Part B 18.75 %, which means a calculator-free question is worth slightly more (1.51 composite) than a calculator question (1.44); the sheet treats all 42 as equal at 1.49, a difference of at most a point.

The 2025 scoring statistics confirm 6 points per free-response question. Only units 1 to 3 of the course (polynomial and rational, exponential and logarithmic, trigonometric and polar functions) are examined; unit 4 is not.

Source: College Board, AP exam page, read 10 Oct 2026.

Worked Precalc examples

30/42 multiple choice, 16/24 free response

44.6 + 25.0 = 69.6, an estimated 4, 0.4 points short of a 5 at 70. One more answer of any kind would cross.

36/42, 20/24

53.6 + 31.3 = 84.8, a clear 5.

20/42, 10/24

29.8 + 15.6 = 45.4, an estimated 3 with 3.4 points of margin. Just under half marks passes on this curve.

How Precalc scores were distributed

Precalculus improved in its second year: the 5 share rose from 25.9 % to 28.1 %, the 3-or-higher rate from 75.6 % to 80.8 %, and the 1 band shrank from 9.8 % to 8.0 %. The College Board's July 2025 table, in the post explaining its evidence-based standard setting, lists Precalculus at 76 % and 81 %.

At 28.1 % the Precalculus 5 rate is higher than Calculus AB's (20.3 %), which says more about the standard than the material: an 80 % pass rate on a 42-question exam leaves a lot of room at the top.

Sources: College Board, Student Score Distributions, AP Exams May 2025, read 10 Oct 2026; College Board, Student Score Distributions, AP Exams May 2024, read 10 Oct 2026; University of California, AP credits (systemwide), read 10 Oct 2026.

What a Precalc score is worth for credit

Precalculus credit is real but limited: it is the course before calculus, and the University of California's systemwide table says plainly that no credit is awarded for the Precalculus exam. Florida and Texas both add a second course or a better one at a 4. Students bound for calculus-based majors will usually take the calculus course anyway.

Read from each university's own credit page on 10 Oct 2026: University of Florida, Exam Credit (undergraduate catalog); University of Texas at Austin, Student Testing Services, credit by exam; University of Washington, Advanced Placement exams for credit. Policies change; check the page linked in the table before you plan a schedule around a score.

How the Precalc curve on this sheet is estimated

The cutoffs under the sheet, 70 % for a 5, 56 % for a 4, 42 % for a 3 and 30 % for a 2, are estimates. With 80.8 % of students at 3 or higher and 28.1 % at 5, the 3 line has to sit low and the 5 line cannot sit high; the lines here reproduce that shape on the 100-point composite. The College Board does not publish cut scores and the exam is only three years old, so the real boundaries may still be settling.

A multiple-choice answer is worth 1.49 composite and a free-response point 1.56. Within three points of a line, read the result as either score.

Questions about the Precalc exam

Why is Precalculus weighted 62.5-37.5 instead of 50-50?

That is how the College Board set it: 42 multiple-choice questions at 62.5 % and four free-response questions at 37.5 %, each free-response question worth 6 points. The sheet uses those weights.

Does AP Precalculus earn college credit?

At Florida, Texas and Washington, yes: one precalculus course for a 3, a second course or a better one at Florida and Texas for a 4. The University of California awards no credit for the Precalculus exam.

What is on the four free-response questions?

Function concepts, modelling a non-periodic context (both with a calculator), modelling a periodic context and symbolic manipulations (both without), per the College Board page. 6 points each.

Is unit 4 on the exam?

No. The College Board examines units 1 to 3; unit 4 (functions involving parameters, vectors and matrices) is optional course content.

Is the 80.8 % pass rate going to stay?

No one can say. The exam is in its third year, the pass rate rose five points between the first two years. The 2026 distribution will be the first test of stability.