AP Seminar
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The AP Seminar assessment has three parts: two performance tasks—which you’ll complete over the course of the year and submit online for scoring through the AP Digital Portfolio—and the end-of-course AP Exam. All measure your proficiency in the course skills, and all contribute to your final AP score on a scale of 1–5.
Thu, May 20, 2021,
11:59 PM EDT
You must submit all final AP Seminar performance tasks via the AP Digital Portfolio and your teacher must have scored all presentations by this time.
Tue, May 11, 2021,
8 AM Local
This is the Administration 1 date for the AP Seminar Exam.
Wed, May 26, 2021,
4 PM EDT
This is the Administration 2 date for the AP Seminar Exam.
Mon, Jun 7, 2021,
4 PM EDT
This is the Administration 3 date for the AP Seminar Exam.
Note on 2021 Exams
There are differences between the paper and digital versions of some 2021 AP Exams, and those variations differ by course. The information below applies to AP Seminar only. View a summary of all 2021 AP Exam formats.
20% of Score
Work in teams of 3–5 to identify, investigate, analyze, and evaluate an academic or real-world problem, question, or issue. Your team will design and/or consider options, alternatives, or solutions and develop a multimedia presentation to communicate your conclusion or recommendations. The team project and presentation will be evaluated based on the following components:
35% of Score
College Board will provide stimulus material (texts) representing a range of perspectives focused on a single theme or topic. You will use these texts to identify a research question of your own; research, analyze, evaluate, and select evidence to develop a written argument of your own that you will present; and then you will defend your conclusion. The individual research-based essay and presentation will be evaluated based on the following components:
4 questions 2hrs 45% of Score
During the AP Exam administration window, you will take a two-hour exam. The exam consists of four questions (three short-answer questions and one essay question). The exam will be scored by College Board–trained readers, similar to other AP Exams.
Teacher-Scored Components
The two AP Seminar in-class presentations and defenses are scored by your AP Seminar teacher. Your scores on these components contribute to your final AP score.
Here’s how we make sure that scoring by AP Seminar teachers is standardized:
College Board–Scored Components
The individual research-based essay, the individual written argument, and the end-of-course exam given in May are scored by College Board. These scores also contribute to your final AP score. All these components are scored by trained, experienced educators called AP readers.
2020 AP Seminar Performance Task Directions, Scoring Guidelines, and Student Samples
Review student samples and scoring commentary for the performance tasks.
2020 AP Seminar Performance Task 1 Scoring Guidelines
See the guidelines that the AP Program used to score the Individual Research Report.
2020 AP Seminar Performance Task 1 Student Samples
2020 AP Seminar Performance Task 2 Directions and Stimulus Materials
Review the directions and stimulus materials for the Individual Written Argument.
2020 AP Seminar Performance Task 2 Scoring Guidelines
See the guidelines that the AP Program used to score the Individual Written Argument.
2020 AP Seminar Performance Task 2 Student Samples
AP Seminar Performance Task and End-of-Course Exam Samples and Scoring Information Archive
Includes directions and stimulus materials for the performance tasks, free-response questions from the end-of course exam, and sample student responses and scoring information for the 2019 assessment and earlier.
Find colleges that grant credit and/or placement for AP Exam scores in this and other AP courses.