AP Comparative Government and Politics
Advanced Placement Comparative Government and Politics (or AP Comparative Government and Politics) is an examination given by the College Board through the Advanced Placement Program. It tests the topics of a first-semester college modern comparative government course.
Exam Scope
Nations Examined
The countries whose events, histories, and politics are examined during this AP test and its corresponding course are:
Federal Republic of Nigeria (Nigeria)
Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran)
People's Republic of China (China)
Russian Federation (Russia)
United Kingdom (Great Britain)
United Mexican States (Mexico)
Note: For testing purposes, the College Board uses the names in parentheses when making reference to these sovereign entities.
Content Spectrum
Examination information provided for this AP test by the College Board states that the following topics are examined in the context of each of the nations whose materials are specified above for inclusion by the test:
- Political Institutions (35%)
- Sovereignty, Authority, and Power (20%)
- Citizens, Society, and the State (15%)
- Political and Economic Change (15%)
- Public Policy (10%)
- Introduction to Comparative Politics (5%)
Exam Changes
In order to better match a typical first-semester college course, several changes were made to the exam that was administered in Spring 2006, and shall be effective on all such examinations hereafter. These changes include:
- Greater emphasis on analysis of concepts and themes
- Shifting focus to coverage of six core countries (China, Great Britain, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, and Russia)
- Emphasis on themes such as citizen-state relations, democratization, globalization, political change, and public policy
Grade Distribution
In the 2007 administration, 13,358 students took the exam from 996 schools. The mean score was a 2.92.
The grade distribution for 2007 was:
| Score | Percent |
|---|---|
| 5 | 16.4% |
| 4 | 19.7% |
| 3 | 22.5% |
| 2 | 22.8% |
| 1 | 18.7% |
For the last two years, the College Board has named the course taught at St. Ignatius College Preparatory School in Chicago (led by Diane Haleas-Hines) as the top program in the United States in this subject area. [1]