View source for AP Comparative Government and Politics

{{Short description|Advanced Placement course and exam}}
{{Primary sources|date=March 2025}}
{{Advanced Placement}}
'''Advanced Placement''' ('''AP''') '''Comparative Government and Politics''' (also known as '''AP CoGo''' or '''AP CompGov''') is an [[Advanced Placement Program|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:

*{{flag|Nigeria|name=Federal Republic of Nigeria}} (Nigeria)
*{{flag|Islamic Republic of Iran}} (Iran)
*{{flag|People's Republic of China}} (China)
*{{flag|Russian Federation}} (Russia)
*{{flag|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland}} (United Kingdom)
*{{flag|United Mexican States}} (Mexico)

Former countries on the AP exam are the following:

*{{flag|French Republic}} (France)
*{{flag|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)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-comparative-government-and-politics/course/updates-2019-20?course=ap-comparative-government-and-politics|title=Updates for 2019-20 {{!}} AP Central — The College Board|date=2019-05-16|website=AP Central|language=en|access-date=2019-05-25}}</ref>

* 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 institution|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%)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-comparative-government-and-politics-course-and-exam-description.pdf?course=ap-comparative-government-and-politics|title=AP Comparative Government and Politics Course and Exam|website=collegeboard.org|access-date=4 September 2023}}</ref>

=== Grade distribution ===
{| class="wikitable"
!Score
!2011<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/2011_Comp_GoPo_Score_Dist.pdf|title=AP Comparative Government and Politics Student Score Distributions 2011|last=The College Board|access-date=7 May 2013}}</ref>
!2012<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap12_govn_pol_comp_ScoringDist.pdf|title=AP Comparative Government and Politics Student Score Distributions 2012|last=The College Board|access-date=7 May 2013}}</ref>
!2013<ref>{{cite web|url=https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/apcentral/ap13_govn_pol_comp_ScoringDist.pdf|title=AP Comparative Government and Politics Student Score Distributions 2013|last=The College Board|access-date=8 July 2015}}</ref>
!2014<ref>{{cite web|url=http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/research/2014/STUDENT-SCORE-DISTRIBUTIONS-2014.pdf|title=AP Comparative Government and Politics Student Score Distributions 2014|last=The College Board|access-date=8 July 2015}}</ref>
!2015<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap15-govn-pol-comp-score-dist.pdf|title=AP Comparative Government and Politics Student Score Distributions 2015|last=The College Board}}</ref>
!2016<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap16_govn_pol_comp_scoring_global.pdf|title=AP Comparative Government and Politics Student Score Distributions 2016|last=The College Board}}</ref>
!2017<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap17-comp-gopo-scoring-global.pdf|title=AP Comparative Government and Politics Student Score Distributions 2017|last=The College Board}}</ref>
!2018<ref>{{cite web|url=https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/research/2018/Student-Score-Distributions-2018.pdf | title=Student Score Distributions, AP Exams - May 2018 | website=The College Board | access-date=December 24, 2022}}</ref>
!2019<ref>{{Cite web |title=Student Score Distribution AP Exams – May 2019 |url=https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/research/2019/Student-Score-Distributions-2019.pdf |access-date=July 9, 2020}}</ref>
!2020<ref>{{Cite web |title=Student Score Distributions, AP Exams – May 2020 |url=https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/research/2020/Student-Score-Distributions-2020.pdf |access-date=June 9, 2021}}</ref>
!2021<ref>[https://reports.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/2021-ap-student-score-distributions_1.pdf Student Score Distributions, AP Exams - May 2021]" (PDF). Retrieved January 12, 2024.</ref>
!2022<ref>"[https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-score-distributions-by-subject-2022.pdf Student Score Distributions, AP Exams - May 2022]" (PDF). Retrieved October 1, 2023.</ref>
!2023<ref>"[https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-score-distributions-by-subject-2023.pdf Student Score Distributions, AP Exams - May 2023]" (PDF). Retrieved January 12, 2024.</ref>
!2024<ref>{{Cite web |last=Total Registration |date=2024-06-21 |title=2024 AP Exam Score Distributions |url=https://www.totalregistration.net/AP-Exam-Registration-Service/AP-Exam-Score-Distributions.php |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=www.totalregistration.net}}</ref>
|-
!|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
|}

==References==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060616215440/http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/sub_compgov.html?compgovpol AP Comparative Government and Politics at CollegeBoard.com]
{{Reflist}}

{{College Board}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Advanced Placement Comparative Government And Politics}}
[[Category:Academic transfer]]
[[Category:Political science education]]
[[Category:Advanced Placement]]