AP World History: Modern, one topic at a time
The exam is the morning of Thursday, May 6, 2027: 55 multiple-choice and 5 free-response questions in 3 hr 15 min. Ashore has a short lesson for every topic in all 9 units, each ending with a few questions on what it taught. Practice sets and mock exams for World History are on the way.
Exam day
May 6
2027 Thursday · Morning
- 55 multiple choice · 55 min
- 5 free response · 140 min
- Scored 1 to 5
What's on the May 2027 exam
How the exam is split, how long each part runs and what you can use.
How students scored in May 2026
| Scored 5 | Scored 4 | Scored 3 | Scored 2 | Scored 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14% | 36% | 16% | 26% | 8% |
Source: College Board score distributions. Compare all 40 AP exams
AP World History: Modern score calculator: enter your section results and see an estimated 1–5 score.
All 9 units
Percentages are the College Board's ranges for how much of the multiple-choice section each unit can be.
Unit 1 · 8–10%
The Global Tapestry
Developments in East Asia from c. 1200 to c. 1450 · Developments in Dar al-Islam from c. 1200 to c. 1450 · Developments in South and Southeast Asia from c. 1200 to c. 1450 · State Building in the Americas · State Building in Africa · Developments in Europe from c. 1200 to c. 1450 · Comparison in the Period from c. 1200 to c. 1450
Unit 2 · 8–10%
Networks of Exchange
The Silk Roads · The Mongol Empire and the Making of the Modern World · Exchange in the Indian Ocean · Trans-Saharan Trade Routes · Cultural Consequences of Connectivity · Environmental Consequences of Connectivity · Comparison of Economic Exchange
Unit 3 · 12–15%
Land-Based Empires
Empires Expand · Empires: Administration · Empires: Belief Systems · Comparison in Land-Based Empires
Unit 4 · 12–15%
Transoceanic Interconnections
Technological Innovations from 1450 to 1750 · Exploration: Causes and Events from 1450 to 1750 · Columbian Exchange · Maritime Empires Established · Maritime Empires Maintained and Developed · Internal and External Challenges to State Power from 1450 to 1750 · Changing Social Hierarchies from 1450 to 1750 · Continuity and Change from 1450 to 1750
Unit 5 · 12–15%
Revolutions
The Enlightenment · Nationalism and Revolutions in the Period from 1750 to 1900 · Industrial Revolution Begins · Industrialization Spreads in the Period from 1750 to 1900 · Technology of the Industrial Age · Industrialization: Government’s Role from 1750 to 1900 · Economic Developments and Innovations in the Industrial Age · Reactions to the Industrial Economy from 1750 to 1900 · Society and the Industrial Age · Continuity and Change in the Industrial Age
Unit 6 · 12–15%
Consequences of Industrialization
Rationales for Imperialism from 1750 to 1900 · State Expansion from 1750 to 1900 · Indigenous Responses to State Expansion from 1750 to 1900 · Global Economic Development from 1750 to 1900 · Economic Imperialism from 1750 to 1900 · Causes of Migration in an Interconnected World · Effects of Migration · Causation in the Imperial Age
Unit 7 · 8–10%
Global Conflict
Shifting Power After 1900 · Causes of World War I · Conducting World War I · Economy in the Interwar Period · Unresolved Tensions After World War I · Causes of World War II · Conducting World War II · Mass Atrocities After 1900 · Causation in Global Conflict
Unit 8 · 8–10%
Cold War and Decolonization
Setting the Stage for the Cold War and Decolonization · The Cold War · Effects of the Cold War · Spread of Communism After 1900 · Decolonization After 1900 · Newly Independent States · Global Resistance to Established Power Structures After 1900 · End of the Cold War · Causation in the Age of the Cold War and Decolonization
Unit 9 · 8–10%
Globalization
Advances in Technology and Exchange After 1900 · Technological Advances and Limitations After 1900: Disease · Technological Advances: Debates About the Environment After 1900 · Economics in the Global Age · Calls for Reform and Responses After 1900 · Globalized Culture After 1900 · Resistance to Globalization After 1900 · Institutions Developing in a Globalized World · Continuity and Change in a Globalized World
How you'll study World History
The lessons are live now. The parts marked Coming soon open later.
A lesson for every topic
Each one explains a single idea step by step, then checks it with a few questions.
- Coming soon
Practice on each topic
Questions build from easy to exam level. Any you miss come back as similar ones 1, 3 and 7 days later.
- Coming soon
Free response
Write under the exam timer, then score each answer point by point, the way an AP reader would.
- Coming soon
Mock exams and a predicted score
Same sections, time limits and calculator rules as the May exam. Every set and mock updates your predicted 1 to 5.
Pricing
Start free, then try everything for a week
One plan opens every lesson and question for every AP course and both SAT sections. The starting check is free, and monthly and 3-month plans start with a 7-day free trial.
Recommended
Free
Find where you lose points and get a plan to test day.
$0
No card needed.
- Starting check and full report
- A study plan to your test date
- One free practice day a week: 3 lessons, 60 questions
Monthly
Every lesson and question, month to month.
$99a month
Billed monthly
$0 today, then $99 a month after 7 days, until you cancel.
Everything in Free, plus:
- Every lesson in every course
- Every practice question, no limits
- Every mistake and flashcard, every day
Every 3 months
A steady term of prep, with the SAT score guarantee.
$66a month
Save 33% vs monthly$199 every 3 months
$0 today, then $199 every 3 months after 7 days, until you cancel.
Everything in Free, plus:
- Every lesson in every course
- Every practice question, no limits
- Every mistake and flashcard, every day
Season pass
Everything through test day, in one payment.
$37a month
Save 63% vs monthly$249 once, early price · $299 from Jan 1
One payment, good through Jun 5, 2027. No trial, and it doesn't renew.
Everything in Free, plus:
- Every lesson in every course
- Every practice question, no limits
- Every mistake and flashcard, every day
- No card for the starting check
- 7-day free trial on monthly and 3-month plans, cancel anytime
- Season pass never renews
- SAT score guarantee on the 3-month plan and season pass
Start World History at Unit 1
Free to start, no card. Up to 3 new lessons on your free practice day each week, or every lesson on any paid plan.
Starting check
SAT Math · 1 of 5
Calculator allowed
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