All percentages  are the 2021 National passing rate for these AP exams. Next issue we compare the National Stats to the Magnet AP Scores.

Easiest: 

AP Psychology: This class is completely basic memorization. Even though I have yet to take this class myself, from social media, peer reviews, and many google searches, this class has continuously come up as one of the easiest AP’s with a national passing rate of 55%. Taking this class seems very promising if you want a GPA booster or an optimistic AP credit on your college application.   

APCSP (Computer Science): With a 67%national passing rate. This computer class comes out as the 2nd easiest app. Many AMHS students would also say this class is a pretty good GPA Booster, which who doesn’t love. 

APES (Environmental Science): As someone who has taken this class, I can attest to its more simplistic knowledge. The pro to this curriculum is that a majority of it can be logic-based. As well as that, you probably already know some of the main topics and the rationale behind the concepts. This exam allows roughly 48% of students to pass nationally. 

AP Human Geography: As an AP recently introduced to Magnet, I, myself, have not heard too much about it from an AMHS standpoint. Ergo, other students at other schools most commonly take it freshman year and  have informed me of the more straightforward curriculum and the easiest AP history class with a strong 54% national passing rate. 

AP Seminar: As someone currently taking this class and a requirement for all AMHS juniors to take, many would describe it as an easy GPA booster. It’s mostly all completion grades with a few graded assignments. However, this class is continuously you- based, which ultimately means you are responsible for your grade and AP exam score. You start working on the portfolio for your exam as early as October with groups and continue to do so throughout the year. The low percentage of 5’s on this exam 11% nationally, seems off. Many current seniors that I have discussed with received a 5 on this exam. Maybe Magnet’s changing curriculum finally pays off in this AP. 

AP Physics C Mech: This one might also surprise you, as it came as a shock to me. However, the stats do not lie. The exam has an 73% national passing rate, and 23% of students receive a perfect score (5), maybe because most people who take this class are classified as geniuses or even the lack of people who take this class, to begin with.  

AP Research: Even though I have already heard numerous complaints about this course this year, it still holds a place on the list of easiest APs. As a class that revolves around all your work and is another required Magnet AP, the national passing rate on this exam stands extremely high, 82%. Furthermore, passing both this and AP Seminar lead you on the road to getting the Capstone diploma which is another fancy box you can mark off on your common apps when applying for colleges.  

AP Stats: As one of the only accurate, more manageable math APs it is the only one that does not expect you to take some form of Calculus. Many students take it their senior year to avoid the horridness that the word Calculus brings to mind (even though it’s not the worst). Even though I have heard the exam itself is more challenging? you might want to consider taking this course your final year at AMHS. 58% national passing rate

Hardest AP classes: 

AP Physics 1: this class comes in clutch as the hardest AP out of them all. Not only from the meager pass rate of only 42% of students scoring a 3 or higher nationally,m but only 7% of students receive the prized 5 on this exam. From the constant complaints that I have heard. I can attest that taking honors can save you from the hours of homework and stress this class causes many fellow AMHS students. 

AP Chemistry: As someone who dropped out of this class, I am now very grateful for doing so. For AMHS students, it might not sound like such a terrible choice as the great Mr. Devino is the only teacher who administers the course; the exam itself does not seem so promising with only 11% of students nationally receiving a 5% and 16% receiving 4’s.  Out of the 134,316 students who trench out the test, only about 14,776 make a perfect score making this class almost impossible to get college credit as most colleges only accept 4’s and 5’s.  

APUSH (U.S History): One of the most talked-about AP history courses. I would steer away from signing up for this one. Considering the ease of honors, I would recommend taking another AP history credit and staying with honors if you are taking other more challenging courses. At AMHS, you would have Mr. Crye (a new teacher this year and already has the students’ support), making honors an easy recommendation. The AP exam for this course only has a 48% national passing rate giving you below a 50-50 chance with this one.  

AP European History: As a student who signed up for this class my sophomore year, I will attest that Mrs. Orr is a fantastic teacher, and I loved the class itself. However, coming to exam time is the point at which this course killed me. The memorization of several countries’ history and the fact that all the peoples’ names are too similar and blur together makes this a more challenging course. I will say my grade in the class was good at an A+, and I enjoyed the material very much. But, if you are looking to have an easy exam, you are most certainly mistaken as even some of the most intelligent people I know did not get the results they would have wanted. The exam only has a 59% national passing rate.

AP English Literature: I don’t understand why this senior AP English class stands on this list. However, I can conclude that this exam is not very frequently passed with only a 44%  national passing rate. Therefore, many sources have forced me to add this course to the one you might consider not taking.

AP Calculus AB: As someone who decided to stay on the honors track for this one, I can confirm that I am satisfied with my decision. As Calculus is not a walk in the park. This class takes a more in-depth understanding of the content. You can no longer memorize how to do specific problems as you must apply overall concepts to particular questions, which is unquestionably for anyone who would not consider themselves a math person (including me) would undeniably want to avoid this one. It can also be highlighted that it only has a 51% national passing rate.  

AP Music Theory: For this course, you must be musically proficient before even thinking about signing up for it. It would help if you had several years of extensive experience to pass the class, let alone the exam remotely. Therefore, many students tend to turn away; however, if you have a burning passion for music/ singing, this might be one you want to consider as it contains a favorable 61% national passing rate.  

APES (Environmental Science): Yes, this one is on the list twice on both ends (easiest and hardest). I felt obligated to express the concern of other students when composing this extensive list. As my research has revealed, this course has shown up one too many times to ignore its difficulty. Even though I did not find this a burden, many other scholars would disagree. With only 6% of students capable of receiving the golden 5 and the mean score beginning a 2 it’s problematic to ignore the likelihood of failure on this one, especially considering the demand for a 4 or 5 to consider receiving college credit for this class.

All data and results can be founded at: https://www.totalregistration.net/AP-Exam-Registration-Service/AP-Exam-Score-Distributions.php