AP classes are a staple of high school education, and millions of students have taken one or more of them. Of course, even as the College Board tries to standardize their materials, not all APs are created equal. Some classes have a reputation for being quite easy, while others are described as frightfully difficult.
We’ve written about AP classes before, and given you our recommendations on which you should take. In today’s article, however, we’re going to go through which AP classes and tests are hardest, and which are easiest. First though, we have to determine what that actually means. We’ll conclude with some brief suggestions on finding the best AP classes for you to take. Let’s get started!
What Makes an AP Class Hard?
AP classes are meant to mimic the experience and material you will encounter in a college class. Having done both I can safely say that they do not do this, but it is a valiant effort, and does provide high school students a chance to explore more advanced material than they would otherwise encounter.
Just as college classes however, not all AP classes will provide the same challenge, and not all will challenge students equally. Let’s begin by reviewing the pass rates for all exams offered by the College Board in 2021. This pdf is somewhat hard to read, so here’s the same information presented in a table:
| AP Test | % Pass Rate | % Scoring 5 | Number of Takers |
| Art & Design: Drawing | 86.2 | 14.2 | 18,096 |
| Art & Design 2D | 87.1 | 10.2 | 34,509 |
| Art & Design 3D | 71.4 | 6.5 | 4,573 |
| Art History | 55.3 | 12 | 20,633 |
| Biology | 59.2 | 7.4 | 230,527 |
| Calculus AB | 51 | 17.6 | 251,639 |
| Calculus BC | 75.2 | 38.3 | 124,599 |
| Chemistry | 51.3 | 11.2 | 135,997 |
| Chinese Language | 88.2 | 57.2 | 13,122 |
| Comp Sci A | 65.1 | 23.9 | 74,676 |
| Comp Sci Principles | 66.5 | 12.4 | 116,466 |
| Economics – Macro | 51.3 | 18 | 124,436 |
| Economics – Micro | 59.1 | 18.5 | 80,199 |
| English Language | 57.7 | 9.1 | 518,548 |
| English Literature | 43.9 | 4.9 | 321,029 |
| Environmental Science | 50.3 | 7 | 160,771 |
| European History | 54.6 | 10.6 | 84,237 |
| French Language | 71.3 | 12.6 | 18,408 |
| German Language | 65.1 | 18 | 4,315 |
| Government: Comparative | 71.8 | 16.6 | 19,292 |
| Government: US | 50.4 | 12 | 283,353 |
| Human Geography | 52.5 | 14.4 | 211,735 |
| Italian Language | 72.4 | 20.6 | 2,102 |
| Japanese Language | 74.3 | 47.5 | 2,204 |
| Latin | 56.8 | 10 | 4,889 |
| Music Theory | 61.2 | 19.9 | 16,271 |
| Physics 1 | 42.1 | 6.9 | 137,229 |
| Physics 2 | 65.3 | 15.4 | 18,736 |
| Physics C E&M | 69.5 | 32.6 | 20,471 |
| Physics C Mechanics | 73.5 | 23.5 | 48,803 |
| Psychology | 53.3 | 14.1 | 288,511 |
| Research | 81.5 | 13.7 | 24,021 |
| Seminar | 85 | 11.1 | 53,076 |
| Spanish Language | 80 | 17.3 | 148,486 |
| Spanish Literature | 64.9 | 7.8 | 21,796 |
| Statistics | 57.9 | 16.2 | 184,111 |
| US History | 47.2 | 10.1 | 454,204 |
| World History | 52.2 | 9.7 | 302,232 |
Now this is a lot of information, and the picture it paints is unclear. From just pass rates alone, AP Chinese language seems to be far and above the easiest, with over 88% of takers receiving a passing score (and more than half receiving the top score possible). The hardest conversely appear to be Physics 1, with only 42% of students receiving a passing score.
This raises an obvious question however: Physics C is known to be much harder than Physics 1, and goes over far more advanced material in more depth. Why then does it have a much higher pass rate than the introductory course? In a similar vein, the more advanced Calculus BC has a higher pass rate than Calculus AB? Does this mean BC is actually the easier class?
Self-Selection Bias
These discrepancies are explained by something known as self-selection bias. The students who choose to take Calculus BC instead of AB are those who are better prepared, and who are more confident in their math ability. The students who seek out and take advanced physics courses are similarly those with a firm belief in their ability to succeed in them.
AP language courses have their scores skewed by native speakers of those languages, whose fluency gives them a significant advantage when testing. This is not to say that the above data is useless, but we must be aware of why students take (or choose not to take) certain AP classes when evaluating their difficulty.
The Hardest AP Classes
So what are the hardest classes? We’ll separate this into a few categories, based on what makes a course difficult.
The Advanced Courses
These classes are hard because they cover the most advanced material, and expect you to be able difficult questions about it:
- Physics C (both E&M and Mechanics)
- Calculus BC
- English Literature
Languages
All language courses are difficult for non-native speakers. This is because learning a language is very hard (Trust me, I’ve studied ten of them). That said, Chinese is often agreed to be one of the three hardest languages to learn for non-native speakers (the others being Arabic and English). While taking language courses is always beneficial, you should not expect any of these exams to be easy unless you already have some degree of fluency in the language.
The Easiest AP Classes
This is entirely relative; what is easy for one student may be stupendously difficult for another (see the pass rates on Physics 1 for evidence of that). What’s important is to find the classes you can consider easy, and which you have the best possible chance of succeeding in.
That said, some AP classes are seen as easier alternatives to others. Some of these are obvious; Calculus AB is easier than Calculus BC. Here is a list of other substitutions which are generally easier:
- AP Statistics is easier than either of the calculus options.
- AP Environmental Science is easier than physics, chemistry, or biology.
Most AP classes, unfortunately, do not have such easy parallels. Instead, we recommend selecting courses which complement your natural talents. Do not take an AP Art, for instance, if you are not already a dedicated artist. In the same vein, you shouldn’t take Physics C if you didn’t do well in Physics 1; that is only setting yourself up for disappointment.
What AP Classes Should You Take?
So now that we’ve talked about which AP classes are easiest and hardest, which ones should you take? Which will best serve your situation? While every student is different, we do have some universal advice:
- Play to your strengths. If you are great at writing essays, reading, and analyzing texts, take more English and history classes. If you are better at math, take more math and science courses.
- Know your limits. There are diminishing returns for AP classes after 8; instead you should show that you challenged yourself where possible.
- Take calculus. This counters our first two points, but many admissions officers have come to expect students to have some knowledge of calculus, so you should take it if offered by your school.
We should also note that AP classes are not necessary for admissions, and you should not worry if your school doesn’t offer any. What colleges want to see is that you have taken the most challenging courses available to you, and excelled in them. What these are vary by high school, and you will not be penalized for the circumstances you find yourself in.
Final Thoughts
AP classes are meant to simulate the intellectual rigor of college coursework. While high school can never perfectly emulate a collegiate environment, the expectations and experiences these classes provide is still very valuable, and we recommend all our students take at least a few if they are available to them.
Of course, there is more to high school than just which AP classes you will take, but building the perfect course schedule for you can have significant benefits. If you want further advice on that, or aren’t sure where to begin, schedule a free consultation today to learn how we can help you. We have a depth of experience helping high school students make the most of their time, and are always happy to hear from you.
