AP Macroeconomics


Advanced Placement Macroeconomics is an Advanced Placement macroeconomics course for high school students culminating in an exam offered by the College Board.
Study begins with fundamental economic concepts such as scarcity, opportunity costs, production possibilities, specialization, comparative advantage, demand, supply, and price determination.
Major topics include measurement of economic performance, national income and price determination, fiscal and monetary policy, and international economics and growth. AP Macroeconomics is frequently taught in conjunction with AP Microeconomics, although more students take the former.

Topic outline

Basic Economic Concepts (8–12%)

Multiple Choice (2/3 of Score)

The exam was first held in 1989, along with Microeconomics. Grade distributions since 2008 are as follows:
Score2011201220132014201520162017201820192020
513.1%13.9%14.6%16.1%13.8%16.1%16.4%18.2%17.6%19.5%
424.0%23.9%23.2%23.2%22.0%23.4%23.1%22.5%22.9%24.8%
316.7%18.0%16.6%18.5%17.3%16.2%17.2%16.7%17.4%18.3%
218.2%17.8%19.1%17.5%17.5%17.5%16.2%17.3%15.3%16.2%
128.0%26.3%26.6%24.7%29.4%26.8%27.1%25.3%26.9%21.2%
Mean2.762.812.802.892.732.852.862.91
Number of Students90,13499,903108,219117,209126,267138,638141,649146,673

Criticism

Tawni Ferrarini, James Gwartney, and John Morton have written that the examination does not adequately cover recent advances in the field: "The AP macroeconomics exam and resources largely reflect the simplistic Keynesian view from the 1960s and 1970s." The College Board updates the AP Macroeconomics curriculum with the guidance of college and high school economics instructors. The most recent update was published in 2019.

Study Resources