The 10 Easiest AP Classes – 2026 Edition

Brilliant students who are serious contenders for a spot at an Ivy League or Ivy-equivalent school often take 10+ AP classes. Whether the subject comes easily to them or requires extensive studying is of little relevance. These high-achievers simply aren’t backing down from anything. If you are a more typical college-bound student, you may want to take just 2-3 AP courses over your high school career. If this sounds like you, you may be curious as to what the “easiest” AP classes are generally considered to be.

Let’s dig right into some data. In 2025, over 1.2 million public high school students in the United States took at least one AP test, and overall student participation in AP courses grew by 7% from 2024 to 2025. If you are trying to decide how many AP classes to take, revisit our blog on that subject.

How do you determine the easiest AP classes?

Of course, there is no one-size-fits-all formula for determining whether an AP class is “easy.” There are a multitude of factors at play such as:

• The quality/experience of the teacher.
• Whether you are looking for an easy grade or proper prep for the AP test.
• Your own academic strengths and weaknesses.

We recommend talking with your guidance counselor to see which class they feel would be the best fit for a student with your unique profile. Speaking with older students can also shed further light on the pluses and minuses of each AP teacher at your school, as these individuals can have a major influence on how well you do on the exam.

AP Scores by Subject

One data point we can look at is the AP exam pass rate by subject. Below are the 10 exams that had the highest pass rate (3 or higher) in 2025, the most recent year for which complete data is available.

AP Exams with Highest Pass Rate (2025)

While this data is somewhat helpful, it certainly has its own shortcomings. For example, only around 2,000-3,000 students sit for the Italian and Japanese exams each year. The students who do so are among the most advanced language students at their respective schools. At this stage, many have gained a level of fluency that takes many years of study to develop. This is similar to Calculus BC, since most individuals taking the test already made it through AP Calc AB and are among the most accomplished math students in their graduating class. In other words, it is a self-selecting pool of students who sit for these (in reality) very challenging exams.

Finally, several courses on the Highest Pass Rate list, including Art & Design as well as Research, are assessed using portfolios, papers, and/or presentations rather than traditional exams. These options may feel “easier” to some students. Calculus BC and Chemistry also appear on our list of hardest AP classes, since their high pass rates reflect self-selection by strong students rather than easier content.

Easiest AP Classes

To build this list, we’ve taken pass rate, overall student reviews, and course material difficulty into account. Note that no entry below appears on our list of hardest AP classes, since we wanted this list to feature courses that are both accessible by pass rate and not regarded as conceptually punishing:

1) AP Comparative Government & Politics

Number of Students Taking Exam (2025): ~25,000

% scored a 3 or higher: 71.8%

% scored a 4 or 5: 39.6%

AP Comparative Government & Politics is hardly the most popular class. Just over 1,500 schools offer the course. For comparison, more than 12,000 U.S. high schools offer AP U.S. History. Measuring popularity a different way, students who’ve taken the course have a largely favorable view of it. This course can be a friendly landing spot for many teens seeking out their first AP. You don’t need to have a ton of background knowledge in the government and politics realm to achieve success.

2) AP Psychology

Number of Students Taking Exam (2025): ~340,000

% scored a 3 or higher: 70.5%

% scored a 4 or 5: 45.3%

AP Psych is a common choice among the “I think I’ll try one AP class before I graduate” crowd. It is offered at more than 9,500 high schools nationwide and remains among the most popular AP exams. AP Psych ranks only behind English (both Language & Literature), US History, US Government & Politics, and World History in this regard. As a social science course, there isn’t really any prerequisite knowledge needed to try this course. The 2025 pass rate jumped notably from 59.6% in 2023 to 70.5%, reflecting both a strengthened curriculum and improved student preparation.

Easiest AP Classes: Continued

3) AP Environmental Science

Number of Students Taking Exam (2025): ~215,000

% scored a 3 or higher: ~63%

% scored a 4 or 5: ~38%

More than 7,000 schools now offer AP Environmental Science, which is fewer than offer AP Bio or AP Chem. However, a growing number of students are now willing to give this course a go. In fact, more students now take the AP Environmental Science exam than the AP Chem exam. Many future STEM-oriented college students take AP Bio, AP Chem, and AP Physics in high school. The crowd who takes AP Environmental Science is more inclusive, as the course even draws in many future humanities and social science majors.

4) AP Human Geography

Number of Students Taking Exam (2025): ~260,000

% scored a 3 or higher: 64.7%

% scored a 4 or 5: 42.2%

This course is infinitely easier to find than AP Comparative Government & Politics. It is offered at over 6,800 American high schools, so chances are decent that it may be within your grasp. If the following areas sound in your wheelhouse, you should give this course serious consideration:

• Connecting geographic concepts to real-life situations.
• Understanding maps, tables, charts, infographics, etc.
• Seeing trends in data.

These are all useful analytical skills and there are no prerequisite courses that will keep you from excelling in this one. The 2025 pass rate of 64.7% has climbed significantly from 54.4% in 2023, making AP Human Geography more accessible than ever before.

Easiest AP Classes: Continued

5) AP US Government & Politics

Number of Students Taking Exam (2025): ~345,000

% scored a 3 or higher: 71.7%

% scored a 4 or 5: 48.5%

Apologies to AP World History as it came close to capturing this spot. Yet, the winner goes to AP US Government and Politics. The 2025 pass rate of 71.7% is a remarkable jump from the 49.2% rate we reported in 2023, and getting a 4 or 5 is now achievable for a strong subset of students (nearly half of all test-takers earn a 4 or 5). More importantly, this course will help make you an even more informed citizen, capable of better grasping and analyzing the news of the day. Over 345,000 students took this exam in 2025, making it among the ten most popular tests. AP US Government & Politics was also one of the five fastest-growing AP courses in 2025.

6) AP Precalculus

Number of Students Taking Exam (2025): 254,469

% scored a 3 or higher: 80.8%

% scored a 4 or 5: 53.9%

First administered in 2024, AP Precalculus is the newest exam to feature one of the highest pass rates in the entire AP catalog. In 2025, over 80% of students scored a 3 or higher, and more than half earned a 4 or 5. AP Precalculus was also one of the five fastest-growing AP exams in 2025, with participation jumping from 184,394 students in 2024 to over 254,000 in 2025. The course covers functions (polynomial, rational, exponential, logarithmic, trigonometric) and prepares students for AP Calculus AB or BC. For students who already have a solid math foundation but aren’t quite ready for calculus, this is a strong option that’s now widely available at U.S. high schools.

7) AP Macroeconomics

Number of Students Taking Exam (2025): ~155,000

% scored a 3 or higher: 67.3%

% scored a 4 or 5: 43.3%

AP Macroeconomics has seen meaningful improvement over the past few years. In 2025, more than two-thirds of students passed (a significant jump from roughly 52% in recent years), and over 20% earned a 5. The course covers economic concepts at the national and global level, including GDP, inflation, unemployment, fiscal policy, and monetary policy. Most students take AP Macro as their first economics class, so prior knowledge isn’t required, but you’ll want to be comfortable with graphs and basic algebra. The AD-AS model is the backbone of the course and shows up repeatedly on the exam.

8) AP Microeconomics

Number of Students Taking Exam (2025): 117,548

% scored a 3 or higher: 68.2%

% scored a 4 or 5: 45.6%

AP Micro and AP Macro are commonly taken together (often as a paired full-year course at U.S. high schools). Micro tends to have slightly higher pass rates than Macro, and 2025 was no exception. The course focuses on individual markets, firms, and consumer behavior rather than the broader economy. Concepts like supply and demand, market equilibrium, elasticity, costs, and the four market structures (perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, oligopoly) form the heart of the course. Like AP Macro, you’ll want to be comfortable with graphs (lots of them), but no prior economics knowledge is required.

9) AP European History

Number of Students Taking Exam (2025): ~85,000

% scored a 3 or higher: 72.6%

% scored a 4 or 5: 48.8%

AP European History often gets overlooked in favor of its more popular cousin AP U.S. History, but the pass rate tells a friendlier story. Almost three-quarters of 2025 test-takers earned a 3 or higher, and nearly half earned a 4 or 5. The course covers European history from approximately 1450 to the present, organized around six major themes (interaction with the environment, cultural and intellectual developments, governance, economic systems, social organization, and national/European identity). The workload is heavy on reading, but the pass rate suggests the curriculum and exam are well-calibrated for students who put in the time. Note that AP Euro is not currently on our hardest AP classes list, despite its reputation.

10) AP African American Studies

Number of Students Taking Exam (2025): ~30,000

% scored a 3 or higher: 79.2%

% scored a 4 or 5: 49.8%

AP African American Studies is one of the newest AP courses, with its first full operational exam administered in 2025. The pass rate of 79.2% places it among the top performers in the entire AP catalog, an uptick from the 73% pilot year pass rate in 2024 as the curriculum has stabilized. The course is a four-unit interdisciplinary study of African American history, literature, culture, and politics from origins in Africa through the present day. This course was also one of the five fastest-growing AP exams in 2025. As a newer course with a relatively self-selecting student population (those who actively choose to take it), high pass rates are not surprising, but the strong student satisfaction reports make it a worthwhile choice for students interested in the subject.

What if my high school doesn’t offer the AP course I’m looking for?

There are many online schools/programs that offer AP courses online. Further, many are relatively affordable and have a history of successfully preparing students for the exams. You can find out more in our blog: Where Should I Take AP Courses Online?

The other option is to self-study and then sign up to take the exam directly at a local high school. Visit the College Board’s FAQ section for more details.

Easiest AP Classes – Final Thoughts

In conclusion, we hope you have found this list to be useful as you weigh whether or not to attempt an AP class. If you are a solid student who is considering attending college in the future, we strongly recommend attempting at least one AP course while in high school. Of course, you’ll next want to talk to your parents, teachers, counselor, and classmates as you hone in on the right class(es) for you.