Janice

Married w/ children, history teacher, ❤️ quilting, sewing, & embroidering. NCCSS Vendor Coordinator, Ashland University grad student & James MadisonFellow ‘24

[Trevor Packer @AP_Trevor]

The 2026 AP United States Government and Politics Exam scores:
5: 23%; 4: 28%; 3: 25%; 2: 16%; 1: 8%

The 2026 AP United States Government and Politics exam was taken by ~430,000 students, roughly 2.5% of the U.S. high school population.

AP US Government and Politics Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs):

Students scored highest on questions related to Civil Rights and Liberties (Unit 3) and Political Participation (Unit 5); AP students scoring 3 or higher generally answered all or all but a few of these questions right.

The most challenging group of questions was related to Foundations of American Democracy (Unit 1); 28% of students answered all or all but one of these questions correctly.

AP United States Government and Politics Free-Response Questions (FRQ):

Each AP exam has multiple versions, for different time zones. I’ll focus the commentary below on the version taken by most students:
https://t.co/2bRqBaXu1O

Since AP scores are reported on a 5-point scale, the free-response questions deliberately include some very difficult points, designed to differentiate AP 5s from AP 4s, points of varying difficulty to differentiate AP 4s, 3s, and 2s, and more foundational points to separate AP 2s from AP 1s.

FRQ #1, the Concept Application Question that required electoral systems analysis in a historical context:

Q1, the Concept Application question, centered on the 1992 presidential election and Ross Perot’s independent candidacy, asking students to describe the impact of a third-party candidate, explain the structural barriers that limited that impact, and apply a voting behavior model to explain citizen decision-making, the sort of evidence-based reasoning required in college political science courses. The question parts differentiate between
students receiving AP 2s, who were not usually able to answer multiple parts of the question, and those receiving AP 3s or higher, who were.

FRQ #2, the Quantitative Analysis Question on State Income Tax Rates and Federalism

This four-part question used a 2023 data map to assess data literacy and political reasoning. The question collected info used to place students on both ends of the score scale, with several relatively easy points, and one especially challenging one that distinguished scores of 5 from scores of 4.

https://t.co/x2LQNMFeKA A & B require accurate reading of the data map, foundational points earned by almost all students, including those receiving 1s.

2.Part C was the most challenging part of this question. For students receiving AP 5s, the only group to consistently earn this point, this part required constructing an inferential argument about participatory democracy from the data rather than simply describing it.

3.Part D explaining federalism through state income tax variation distinguished between AP students receiving scores of 3 or better, who were typically able to explain this relationship accurately, while students receiving scores of 1 and 2 could not.

FRQ #3, the SCOTUS Comparison Question: McCulloch v. Maryland and Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc

This question required students to apply constitutional knowledge to an unfamiliar Supreme Court case, the most rigorous task on the exam. Students needed to identify the Supremacy Clause as the constitutional principle common to both the studied case McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) and the provided case Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc. (1989). They then had to explain how facts in both cases led to similar holdings and analyze how Bonito Boats illustrates the doctrine of stare decisis. The development committee’s crafting of this question is always one of the highlights of this exam for me, a great model for assessing college-level legal reasoning.

The rigor of all parts of this question is such that it serves to differentiate between AP 3s, 4s, and 5s, as exams scoring 1 and 2 are not typically earning any points on this FRQ. Students receiving an AP 3 must know constitutional principles well enough to be able to summon and state the Supremacy Clause as the common one across both cases. Students receiving an AP 4 must be able to move further into the question and explain the relationship between the facts of the cases and the resultant holdings, and students receiving an AP 5 must receiving perfect scores across all parts of this question.

FRQ #4, the Argument Essay on the Expansion of Voting Access

The Argument Essay asked students to draw upon three of the foundational documents for the course, including Article I of the U.S. Constitution, the First Amendment, and the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, to develop and defend a position on whether social movements or congressional actions have done more to expand voting opportunities in the United States. The essay required a defensible thesis, multiple pieces of specific evidence, logical reasoning connecting evidence to the claim, and a rebuttal of an opposing perspective, all within a timed, proctored environment.

Here’s what performance looked like:

Exams receiving an AP 2 were able to provide some evidence within their essay, which distinguished the work from a score of 1, but otherwise earned very few points.

On the other end of the spectrum, students achieving an AP 5 generally earned perfect scores on their essays, hitting the marks across all rows of the rubric. Exams receiving an AP 3 or an AP 4 earned a mix of points across various rubric categories, but not perfect scores.

Congrats to the AP United States Government and Politics students who completed the course and took this exam. In a single sitting, students interpreted a geographic data map, engaged in legal analysis of a Supreme Court case they had never seen before, applied voting behavior models to a historical election, and constructed a sustained argumentative essay drawing on foundational documents — all within the 100 minutes devoted to the free-response section. And they did all this after having spent 80 minutes answering 55 multiple-choice questions across the range of course topics.

Looking ahead to next year, four more required foundational documents have been added to the course: The Emancipation Proclamation; Federalist No. 39; The Gettysburg Address; and core principles from Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations. See more info here: https://t.co/2GCz2JzSkc

All subjects’ AP score distributions for 2026 will be posted here when available: https://t.co/OrkaQhPZYO

[Janice @Novemberhistory]

@AmericanIdol I think she could end up winning this whole thing. She’s amazing, and one day we’re gonna see her son singing too.

[Morgan J. Freeman @mjfree]

25th Amendment NOW
25th Amendment NOW
25th Amendment NOW
25th Amendment NOW
25th Amendment NOW
25th Amendment NOW
25th Amendment NOW
25th Amendment NOW
25th Amendment NOW
25th Amendment NOW
25th Amendment NOW
25th Amendment NOW
25th Amendment NOW
25th Amendment NOW
25th Amendment NOW
25th Amendment NOW
25th Amendment NOW
25th Amendment NOW
25th Amendment NOW
25th Amendment NOW
25th Amendment NOW

[Janice @Novemberhistory]

@AmericanIdol This is should be another platinum winner.

[Janice @Novemberhistory]

I got chills listening to her sing. Give her that platinum ticket. ❤️

[American Idol @AmericanIdol]

Keyla Richardson's talent is limitless, and Carrie's mama heart is happy. 😊 #americanidol https://t.co/OqlMdnMxz7

[Retro Report @RetroReport]

Are you looking for resources to use next week for #CivicLearningWeek?

Browse Retro Report's free resources, such as the Citizen Nation: Civics Skills collection, today: https://t.co/Gy7CwH1Odj

[Senator Mark Kelly @SenMarkKelly]

No matter how many times Trump says it, other countries aren't paying for tariffs — Americans are. Families trying to buy food at the grocery store are struggling. Seniors just trying to pay bills are struggling. Small business owners trying to keep their doors open are struggling. Trump needs to stop pretending the economy is good and start taking action to make it work for the American people.

[National Action Network @NationalAction]

Dismantling DEI does not strengthen government. It weakens it. Diversity improves decision-making by up to 87% and strengthens institutional performance. Equal opportunity is not a favor. It is a constitutional promise. #SOTU2026

[Janice @Novemberhistory]

@LyndsayMKeith Watch that again because no he didn’t. He only shook Chief Justice Roberts’ hand.

[Brian Krassenstein @krassenstein]

BREAKING: Epstein survivor Dani Bensky moments ago about attending Trump's State of the Union address:

“How can anyone feel safe in this country when our President’s sympathies are going to the former Prince Andrew and not to survivors?”

She then went on to list 3 things that need to be done immediately!

1) Where are the rest of the files?
2) Why are there no investigations when there are plenty of people in these files to investigate?
3) Why is the FBI Director out there partying like a college kid when he should be investigating the vast criminal enterprise?

“Release the Damn Files!”

[American Idol @AmericanIdol]

Braden Rumfelt brings the Hollywood Week house down on Sam Smith's "I'm Not The Only One"! 🥳 #americanidol

https://t.co/20fzZFX8Qy

[Sesame Street @sesamestreet]

We laugh with him, we sing with him, we love him! #HappyBirthdayElmo ❤️🎉😂

[Grover @Grover]

Everybodeee! I have an important ANNOUNCEMENT! It is @elmo's BIRTHDAY! 🥳🎉🎉 Thank you, my furry and adorable friend, for always being YOU! Have a SUPER day! ❤️💙 #HappyBirthdayElmo

[Cookie Monster @MeCookieMonster]

Happy birthday to me friend, Elmo! Me hope you have da sweetest, yummiest, day ever. 💙🍪🥳

[Janice @Novemberhistory]

This is awful. How could society fail these kids twice?

[ABC News @ABC]

Three of the 13 Turpin siblings are speaking out for the first time about the abuse they experienced at the hands of their birth and then foster parents in a new interview with ABC News. https://t.co/KHZ2OUdPKf

[Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett @RepJasmine]

This year marks 100 years of celebrating Black history.

Now more than ever, it is critical that we teach our history, preserve our history, and continue to make history.

Black history is American history.

Happy Black History Month.

[Janice @Novemberhistory]

I’m honored and excited to be one of the 2026 Teacher Ambassadors.

[Retro Report @RetroReport]

1/ Each year, Retro Report works with educators across the nation who use our journalism and classroom resources in their teaching. Through that work, we learn how students engage with our materials and how those resources function in real classrooms.

Today, we’re pleased to announce the 2026 Teacher Advisor groups, made up of more than 400 educators across the U.S. Learn more: https://t.co/JCCHHxsqum

Read more about each group below ⬇️.

[Candidly Tiff @tify330]

If only folks listened or cared. Yes, Kamala told you so!

[sky @skylikeajedi]

Nobody should be shocked because everyone knows Kamala Harris was right about everything.

He’s unhinged and doing whatever he wants and nobody’s stopping him.

[James Tate @JamesTate121]

The fact we keep violating the constitution, just makes it worthless in the eyes of the world.