Advanced Placement (AP) Precalculus is an

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...

precalculus course and examination, offered by the

College Board The College Board is an American nonprofit organization that was formed in December 1899 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) to expand access to higher education. While the College Board is not an association of colleges, it runs a ...

, in development since 2021 and announced in May 2022. The course debuted in the fall of 2023, with the first exam session taking place in May 2024. The course and examination are designed to teach and assess precalculus concepts, as a foundation for a wide variety of

STEM Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

fields and careers, and are not solely designed as preparation for future mathematics courses such as AP Calculus AB/BC.

Purpose

According to the College Board,

Topic outline

Unit 1: Polynomial and Rational Functions (6–6.5 weeks)

Unit 2: Exponential and Logarithmic Functions (6–6.5 weeks)

Unit 3: Trigonometric and Polar Functions (7–7.5 weeks)

Unit 4: Functions Involving Parameters, Vectors, and Matrices (7–7.5 weeks)

Note that Unit 4 will not be tested on the AP exam.

Exam

The exam will be composed of 2 sections, each with 2 different types of questions. Section I will consist of 40 multiple choice questions. 28 will not allow the use of a calculator, while the last 12 will allow a calculator. The non calculator section will be worth 43.75% of the exam score, while the calculator section will be worth 18.75%. Section II of the Exam will include 4 free response questions, with 2 not allowing a calculator and 2 allowing use of a calculator. Section II will be worth 37.5% of the exam score, with the non-calculator and calculator sections weighed equally. AP Precalculus exams will be scored on the standard 1–5 AP scale, with 5 signifying that the student is "extremely well qualified" for equivalent college credit and 1 signifying "no recommendation."

References

Advanced Placement Mathematics education in the United States {{US-edu-stub