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AP Comparative Government and Politics

In 2021, AP Comparative Government and Politics is offered online on 2 dates:

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2021 Test Information and Resources

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Test Details

The AP Comparative Government and Politics exam will consist of 2 online free response questions. The total time for the exam will be 45 minutes. The test is open note and open book. Read more about the College Board's academic integrity policy.

Time on the exam will be divided between two questions. Each question will have a 5 minute upload period for students to submit their work. After a student submits their work for the first question, they will not be able to return back to it.

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Units Covered

The units covered on the 2021 AP Comparative Government and Politics exam will be adjusted to encourage fairness amongst students who have missed varying levels of school due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Units covered: Units 1–3
Units not covered: Units 4–5

Test Questions

Argument Essay

Question #1
Time: 25 minutes
Weight: 55%

Question 1 assesses students’ ability to do the following:

  • Articulate a defensible claim or thesis that responds to the question and establishes a line of reasoning
  • Provide specific and relevant examples of evidence from at least one course country related to the course concept in the question prompt
  • Use reasoning to explain why both pieces of evidence support the claim
Quantitative Analysis

Question #2
Time: 15 minutes
Weight: 45%

Question 2 presents students with quantitative data in the form of a table, graph, map, or infographic, and assesses students’ ability to do the following:

  • Explain how a pattern, trend, similarity, or difference presented in the data relates to political systems, processes, institutions, policies, or behaviors in a specific course country
  • Draw a conclusion based on the data and course concepts
  • Explain how the data demonstrates political systems, principles, institutions, processes, policies, or behaviors in 1 or more course countries

Academic Integrity

College Board is taking a strong stance against cheating on the 2021 online Comparative Government and Politics test. The following anti-cheating measures will be deployed on testing day to prevent cheating amongst students:

Students found violating the academic integrity policy will suffer severe consequences, including:

All data sourced from College Board AP Coronavirus Updates site. Read more here.