Any student in a school that offers advanced placement courses may seek to challenge themselves by taking an AP course. If you are in an AP psychology class to help prepare yourself for college, you may need the assistance of an AP psychology practice test before taking the exam.
The AP psychology exam may seem quite daunting, but we are certain that taking an AP psych practice test will help you greatly. In this article, we will outline study methods and explain how the test is arranged so you can feel most prepared for the exam.
Summary: Use a free AP psych practice test listed below to prepare for your exam.
AP Psychology Practice Tests
It can be difficult to find appropriate AP psychology practice tests online without knowing what you are looking for.
Our team has curated a list of practice tests that should help you grow more accustomed to the AP psych exam.
| Name of Test | Number of Questions |
| College Board 2015 AP Psychology Practice Exam | 94 multiple-choice, 2 free-response |
| College Board 2012 AP Psychology Practice Exam | 100 multiple-choice, 2 free-response |
| College Board 2008 AP Psychology Practice Exam | 100 multiple-choice, 2 free-response |
| Free Response AP Psychology Questions | 2 free-response questions |
| 2007 AP Psychology Test | 100 multiple-choice |
| 2004 AP Psychology Test | 100 multiple-choice |
| Marco 2020 AP Psychology Sample Questions | 2 free-response questions |
What is the AP Psychology Test?
If you are a student currently enrolled in an AP psychology course, you likely know that you can receive college credit if you pass the AP psych exam. Those wishing to not have to take a psych course in college will need to pass the exam.
AP Psychology Exam Description
There are a total of nine units covered throughout your AP psychology course. Your teacher may group them differently or choose to reorder the units in their teaching schedule, but you can expect to see these nine units in class and on the exam:
- Unit One: Scientific Foundations of Psychology – learn the key foundations of psychological theory as it relates to the study of human and animal behavior and mental processes and see how psychologists plan and conduct research (10-14%)
- Unit Two: Biological Bases of Behavior – study behavioral and mental patterns from the biological perspective and explore how the environment influences and affects behavior (8-10%)
- Unit Three: Sensation and Perception – examine how people perceive and process the world around them through their five senses and allow these observations to become perceptions that influence how they think and behave (6-8%)
- Unit Four: Learning – discover how the field of psychology studies human and animal learning patterns and how they change over time (7-9%)
- Unit Five: Cognitive Psychology – explore the complex nature of memory, intelligence, and other mental processes and how they affect human behavior (13-17%)
- Unit Six: Developmental Psychology – look at how physical and social skills change and grow over a lifetime and influence behavior and mental processing from various perspectives (7-9%)
- Unit Seven: Motivation, Emotion, and Personality – learn how behavior and mental processes interact to develop a personality and examine personality through a behavioral lens (11-15%)
- Unit Eight: Clinical Psychology – study how psychologists study, evaluate, and treat a range of psychological disorders (12-16%)
- Unit Nine: Social Psychology – examine how humans interact with other humans in social and group situations and how other humans affect the mental processes and behaviors of another (8-10%)
You will also be asked to analyze research cases, understand and interpret data, and connect the psychological theories to real-life scenarios.
Another area you will be asked to examine is analyzing graphs, tables, charts, and diagrams about mental health studies.
About AP Psychology Test Questions
Now that you know what will be covered on the exam, we can look at what the questions are like on the AP psychology exam.
There are a total of one hundred two questions on the AP psychology exam. You will be asked to answer one hundred multiple-choice questions in the given hour and ten minutes. This means you have less than one minute for each question on the exam, so it’s best to start studying early.
The AP psych exam also includes two free-response questions. Test takers are given fifty minutes to answer the two questions, so you have plenty of time to develop well-thought-out answers.
Unlike other AP tests, the two sections do not account for an equal part of your score on the AP psychology quiz. The first section (multiple-choice) will go towards sixty-seven percent of your final score while the second section (free-response) will make up thirty-three percent of the final score.
This means you should likely spend two-thirds of your time studying for the multiple-choice section and the last one-third reviewing for the free-response section.
Each of the sections will discuss different topics and formulate the questions differently. Here is how the sections breakdown for the AP psychology quiz:
| Answer Type | % of Score | Time Given | Questions | Topics | |
| Section 1 | Multiple-Choice | 67% | 1 hr 10 min | 100 |
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| Section 2 | Free-Response | 33% | 50 min | 2 |
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As you can see there are two topics covered in the free-response section of the exam. Therefore, you can expect to see both of the topics on the test.
How to Use AP Psychology Practice Tests
A good AP psychology practice test can help you feel most prepared to take the AP psychology exam. There are two main ways that AP psych practice tests can help you study for and get ready to pass the exam.
The first way that AP psych practice tests can help is that they typically use questions from previous years on practice tests. By viewing old questions, you can familiarize yourself with the verbiage used and how questions are formatted.
This helps you complete the test quicker by not having to figure out what the question is trying to ask. You need all the time you can get on this AP exam since you have less than a minute for each question.
The second advantage practice tests give you is that you can better understand how the units are broken up within the test. Though the percentages are given up above, seeing them and answering the questions can give you a better idea of what that looks like.
If you become familiar with topic distribution, you can become a more efficient studier by specifically digging into the topics that are more common on the AP psych exam.
You will likely grow and learn faster than if you just tried to study flashcards or review guides as well since AP psych practice tests often give you lengthy explanations as to why certain answers are correct.
How Do I Prepare for AP Psychology Test?
Though any AP test can seem daunting and anxiety-inducing when you are preparing to take one, there are ways that you can ease some of those nerves by properly preparing yourself.
The first way to set yourself up for success is to make or use flashcards to help you become familiar with the topics on the exam. If you decide to make your own, you want to make sure you are getting pertinent information on them and carry them with you to study in your free time.
If you want to look some up online, you should be able to find ones that have all the units covered or that break each unit into a different set of flashcards. Websites like Quizlet often have plenty of options to choose from, and you can download the app to take them on the go.
Another great study tool is to take AP psych practice tests. They expose you to various types of questions, all the topics you may see on the test, and give you detailed examples for the correct answers. They are one of the best ways to learn and study for any standardized test.
The final way to prepare for the AP psychology exam is something that you and your teacher will do together. They will likely review with you before the time comes for you to take the exam.
Your teacher may also give you a study guide on the topics you have covered all course long. If you don’t receive one from your teacher, there are plenty of online, comprehensive study guides that can prepare you for the AP psych exam.
AP Psychology Exam FAQs
Is AP psych a hard exam?
Over 53% of test-takers pass the AP psychology exam. However, only around 14% of test-takers get a five. You can attain the highest score or even a passing score if you prepare properly beforehand using the tips above.
What percent is a 5 on AP psychology?
You can still get a five on the Ap psych exam if you miss twenty to thirty multiple-choice questions, however, it is best to aim for missing only around ten.
How do you get a 5 in AP psychology?
Proper preparation is the best way to succeed on the AP psychology exam. Taking practice tests, studying flashcards, and reviewing what you’ve learned with your teacher or classmates are the best ways to prepare.
