The AP Psychology exam in 2027: format, date and length
Two hours and forty minutes in two sections: 75 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes, then two free-response questions in 70 minutes. The whole exam is taken in the Bluebook app.
Section I
75 multiple-choice questions, 90 minutes, 66.7% of the score
Section II
2 free-response questions, 70 minutes, 33.3% of the score
Length
2 hours 40 minutes, fully digital in the Bluebook app
Date
Friday, May 14, 2027, Session 2
The two sections
Section I: 75 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes, two thirds of the score. Some stand alone; others come in sets that share a scenario or a study.
Section II: 2 free-response questions in 70 minutes, one third of the score: the Article Analysis Question and the Evidence-Based Question, 7 points each.
It is fully digital: you answer both sections in Bluebook, and your responses are submitted automatically at the end.
The five units
Each unit is 15–25% of the multiple-choice section, so no unit can be skipped.
Unit 1: Biological Bases of Behavior
Unit 2: Cognition
Unit 3: Development and Learning
Unit 4: Social Psychology and Personality
Unit 5: Mental and Physical Health
What the multiple choice tests
Concept Application, about 65%: apply theories and concepts to a scenario.
Research Methods and Design, about 25%: identify the design, variables, sampling, controls and ethics of a study.
Data Interpretation, about 10%: read tables, graphs and statistics.
Argumentation is tested only in the free-response section.
Pacing
Section I gives you 72 seconds a question. In Section II, the Article Analysis Question has 25 minutes, including 10 minutes to read the source, and the Evidence-Based Question has 45 minutes, including 15 minutes to read the three sources.
Try 2 questions
Question 1
Students are randomly assigned to drink a caffeinated or a decaffeinated coffee that taste the same, then take a memory test. Neither the students nor the research assistant who gives and scores the test knows who drank which. What is the main purpose of keeping the assistant unaware?
Question 2
A researcher wants to measure implicit attitudes toward older adults. Which of the following is the best operational definition of an implicit attitude in this study?