AP Comparative Government and Politics

Advanced Placement (AP) Comparative Government and Politics (also known as AP CoGo or AP CompGov) is an Advanced Placement comparative politics course and exam offered by the College Board. It was first administered in 1987.

Course

To better match a typical introductory college course, changes were made to the course and the exam in the fall of 2005. These changes include the following:

• Greater emphasis on analysis of concepts and themes
• Shifting focus to coverage of six core countries: China, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, and the United Kingdom (France and India were eliminated)
• Emphasis on themes such as citizen-state relations, democratization, globalization, political change, and public policy

Nations examined

The countries whose politics, political institutions, policy making, and political cultures are examined are the following:

•  Federal Republic of Nigeria (Nigeria)
•  Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran)
•  People's Republic of China (China)
•  Russian Federation (Russia)
•  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (United Kingdom)
•  United Mexican States (Mexico)

Former countries on the AP exam are the following:

•  French Republic (France)
•  Republic of India (India)

Note: For testing purposes, the College Board uses the names in parentheses when making reference to these sovereign entities.

Exam

(Changed for the 2020 exam)^[1]

• 55 multiple choice questions in 60 minutes
  • 50% of score
    • Each question will have 4 options.
    • There will be 2 text-based sources, each one accompanied by 2–2 questions.
    • There will be 3 quantitative sources, each one accompanied by 2–2 questions.
• 4 free response questions in 90 minutes
  • 50% of score
    • 1 conceptual analysis question
    • 1 quantitative analysis question
    • 1 comparative analysis question
    • 1 argument essay requiring students to write an argument-based essay utilizing recalled evidence

Topics

• Political Systems, Regimes, and Governments (18–27%)
• Political Institutions (22–23%)
• Political Culture and Participation (11–28%)
• Party and Electoral Systems and Citizen Organizations (13–28%)
• Political and Economic Changes and Development (16–24%)^[2]

Grade distribution

Score	2011[3]	2012[4]	2013[5]	2014[6]	2015[7]	2016[8]	2017[9]	2018[10]	2019[11]	2020[12]	2021[13]	2022[14]	2023[15]	2024[16]
5	17.4%	19.3%	18.9%	19.7%	15.1%	20.5%	23.2%	20.6%	22.4%	24.4%	16.6%	15.9%	16.4%	16%
4	21.9%	23.9%	21.2%	23.7%	19.9%	21.2%	24.5%	22.5%	24.4%	27.4%	24.5%	24.3%	23.2%	24%
3	20.4%	18.6%	19.7%	18.7%	21.7%	20.4%	20.4%	19.8%	19.2%	18.4%	30.7%	30.3%	31.2%	33%
2	21.4%	20.7%	22.8%	21.9%	22.8%	21.5%	17.8%	20.9%	18.7%	17.3%	14.9%	16.7%	16.2%	15%
1	18.9%	17.5%	17.4%	16.1%	20.5%	16.4%	14.1%	16.2%	15.3%	12.5%	13.3%	12.9%	13.0%	12%
% of Scores 3 or Higher	59.7%	61.8%	59.8%	62.1%	56.7%	62.1%	68.1%	62.9%	66.0%	70.2%	71.8%	70.5%	70.8%	73%
Mean Score	2.97	3.07	3.01	3.09	2.86	3.08	3.25	3.10	3.20	3.34	3.16	3.14	3.14	3.17
Standard Deviation	1.37	1.38	1.38	1.37	1.35	1.38	1.36	1.38	1.38	1.34	1.25	1.24	1.25	1.22
Number of students	17,111	18,402	20,317	20,361	21,367	22,001	22,404	24,675	23,522	22,051	19,292	20,949	23,611	25,436