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AP Macro

AP Macroeconomics

How a whole economy moves: GDP, inflation, unemployment, the Fed, and the graphs that earn the points.

Category
History and social sciences
Units
6 units
Exam
Exam May 7, 2027 (in 222 days)
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What the course covers

A complete AP Macroeconomics course for the framework in effect for 2026-27 and the May 7, 2027 exam. Six units follow the College Board sequence: scarcity, trade, and supply and demand; measuring GDP, unemployment, and inflation; the aggregate demand and aggregate supply model and fiscal policy; money, banking, and monetary policy in both limited-reserve and ample-reserve systems; the long-run effects of policy, the Phillips curve, deficits, crowding out, and growth; and the open economy, from the balance of payments to the foreign exchange market.

The exam rewards one habit above all: tracing a complete cause-and-effect chain and drawing the graph that proves it. Every unit trains the eight graphs the free-response section actually asks for (PPC, supply and demand, AD-AS, money market, reserve market, loanable funds, Phillips curve, and foreign exchange) plus the bank balance sheet, the calculations it asks for (multipliers, real GDP, inflation, unemployment rate, money creation, real interest rates), and the explanation that links each step. Practice follows the real format: 60 five-choice questions and one long plus two short free-response questions scored point by point.

6 units, with exam weights

  1. Unit 1

    Basic Economic Concepts

    5-10% of examFree
    Scarcity forces choices, and the production possibilities curve makes the tradeoff visible. Comparative advantage explains why specialization and trade leave both sides better off. Supply, demand, and equilibrium are the market model the rest of the course reuses for money, loanable funds, and currencies.
    6 topics
    1. 1.1Scarcity
    2. 1.2Opportunity Cost and the Production Possibilities Curve (PPC)
    3. 1.3Comparative Advantage and Gains from Trade
    4. 1.4Demand
    5. 1.5Supply
    6. 1.6Market Equilibrium, Disequilibrium, and Changes in Equilibrium

  2. Unit 2

    Economic Indicators and the Business Cycle

    12-17% of exam
    How economists measure an economy: GDP through the circular flow, the unemployment rate and its types, the CPI and the inflation rate, real versus nominal values, and the phases of the business cycle. Every calculation here returns in later units, so understanding what each measure captures and misses matters more than memorizing a formula.
    7 topics
    1. 2.1The Circular Flow and GDP
    2. 2.2Limitations of GDP
    3. 2.3Unemployment
    4. 2.4Price Indices and Inflation
    5. 2.5Costs of Inflation
    6. 2.6Real v. Nominal GDP
    7. 2.7Business Cycles

  3. Unit 3

    National Income and Price Determination

    17-27% of exam
    The aggregate demand and aggregate supply model: why AD slopes down, why SRAS slopes up and LRAS is vertical, how shocks create recessionary and inflationary gaps, how the economy self-adjusts through wages and input prices, and how fiscal policy and automatic stabilizers change output. The multiplier gives the numbers. This is the most-graphed model on the exam.
    9 topics
    1. 3.1Aggregate Demand (AD)
    2. 3.2Multipliers
    3. 3.3Short-Run Aggregate Supply (SRAS)
    4. 3.4Long-Run Aggregate Supply (LRAS)
    5. 3.5Equilibrium in the Aggregate Demand-Aggregate Supply (AD-AS) Model
    6. 3.6Changes in the AD-AS Model in the Short Run
    7. 3.7Long-Run Self-Adjustment
    8. 3.8Fiscal Policy
    9. 3.9Automatic Stabilizers

  4. Unit 4

    Financial Sector

    18-23% of exam
    Money, bonds, and banks: the functions and measures of money, nominal versus real interest rates, bond prices and interest rates, fractional reserve banking and money creation on balance sheets, the money market, the reserve market, monetary policy in limited-reserve and ample-reserve systems, and the loanable funds market. This unit carries the most distinct graphs on the exam.
    7 topics
    1. 4.1Financial Assets
    2. 4.2Nominal v. Real Interest Rates
    3. 4.3Definition, Measurement, and Functions of Money
    4. 4.4Banking and the Expansion of the Money Supply
    5. 4.5The Money Market
    6. 4.6Monetary Policy
    7. 4.7The Loanable Funds Market

  5. Unit 5

    Long-Run Consequences of Stabilization Policies

    20-30% of exam
    What policy does over time: combined fiscal and monetary actions, the short-run and long-run Phillips curves, the quantity theory of money and why sustained money growth causes inflation, deficits and the national debt, crowding out through the loanable funds market, and the sources and policies of long-run economic growth. The heaviest-weighted unit on the multiple-choice section.
    7 topics
    1. 5.1Fiscal and Monetary Policy Actions in the Short Run
    2. 5.2The Phillips Curve
    3. 5.3Money Growth and Inflation
    4. 5.4Government Deficits and the National Debt
    5. 5.5Crowding Out
    6. 5.6Economic Growth
    7. 5.7Public Policy and Economic Growth

  6. Unit 6

    Open Economy: International Trade and Finance

    10-13% of exam
    How a country connects to the world: the current account and the capital and financial account in the balance of payments, exchange rates and the foreign exchange market, how policy and economic conditions move a currency, how appreciation or depreciation changes net exports and AD, and how real interest rate differences drive capital flows. The long free-response question usually ends here.
    6 topics
    1. 6.1Balance of Payments Accounts
    2. 6.2Exchange Rates
    3. 6.3The Foreign Exchange Market
    4. 6.4Effect of Changes in Policies and Economic Conditions on the Foreign Exchange Market
    5. 6.5Changes in the Foreign Exchange Market and Net Exports
    6. 6.6Real Interest Rates and International Capital Flows

The exam, part by part

4 parts, 2 h 10 min in all.

  • Section I: Multiple Choice

    Questions
    60
    Time
    1 h 10 min
    Weight
    66.7%

    Calculator allowed

    Format details

    Sixty questions with five choices (A-E), answered in the Bluebook app; no penalty for wrong answers. A four-function calculator is allowed. Unit weighting: Unit 1 5-10%, Unit 2 12-17%, Unit 3 17-27%, Unit 4 18-23%, Unit 5 20-30%, Unit 6 10-13%. By skill: 30-40% Principles and Models, 25-32% Interpretation, 30-40% Manipulation; 16-20% of questions require working with numbers or calculations. Graphing skills are not tested by drawing here, but many questions give a graph, table, or balance sheet to read.

  • Section II, Question 1: Long Free-Response

    Questions
    1
    Time
    36 min
    Weight
    16.7%

    Calculator allowed

    Format details

    Task types: Long Free-Response

    Section II lasts 60 minutes for all three questions and begins with a recommended 10-minute planning period, counted here with Question 1; the suggested writing time for this question is about 25 minutes. Prompts appear in Bluebook, but answers and graphs are handwritten in a paper booklet. The long question is half of the Section II score (10 raw points).

  • Section II, Question 2: Short Free-Response

    Questions
    1
    Time
    12 min
    Weight
    8.3%

    Calculator allowed

    Format details

    Task types: Short Free-Response

    Suggested pacing: about 12 minutes. Worth one quarter of the Section II score (5 raw points).

  • Section II, Question 3: Short Free-Response

    Questions
    1
    Time
    12 min
    Weight
    8.3%

    Calculator allowed

    Format details

    Task types: Short Free-Response

    Suggested pacing: about 12 minutes. Worth one quarter of the Section II score (5 raw points). One short question usually centers on a data table and calculations.

How the 1 to 5 score is set

Section I (60 multiple-choice questions) counts for about two thirds of the composite (66.65%) and Section II for about one third (33.35%). Inside Section II the long question is worth half of the section and each short question a quarter, so one raw point on a short question counts exactly as much as one raw point on the long question. Free-response points are awarded independently, one decision at a time; there is no holistic score and no deduction for extra wrong work unless it contradicts the answer. Across Section II, drawing and manipulating graphs is 30-50% of the points, explanations 25-35%, numerical analysis 10-25%, and simple assertions 10-20%. There is no penalty for wrong multiple-choice answers. The weighted composite is converted to the 1-5 AP scale with cut scores set after each administration; in 2025, 20.4% of students earned a 5 and the mean score was 3.20.

What you bring and get

Hybrid digital exam: multiple choice is answered and free-response prompts are read in the Bluebook app, and free-response answers, including all graphs, are handwritten in a paper booklet. A four-function calculator (with square root) is allowed on both sections, either an approved handheld model or the calculator built into Bluebook. No formula sheet, no reference tables, and no graph templates are provided: every formula (multipliers, real GDP, CPI, inflation rate, unemployment and participation rates, money multiplier, quantity equation, real interest rate) must come from memory. Scratch paper is provided for planning.

Skills the exam scores

  • 1.APrinciples and Models: describe

    Describe an economic concept, principle, or model accurately.

  • 1.BPrinciples and Models: identify from an example

    Recognize which economic concept, principle, or model a given example illustrates.

  • 1.CPrinciples and Models: identify with numbers

    Identify an economic concept, principle, or model by working with quantitative data or a calculation.

  • 1.DPrinciples and Models: compare and limit

    Describe how economic concepts, principles, or models are alike, how they differ, and where they fall short.

  • 2.AInterpretation: explain one outcome

    Use economic concepts or models to explain how a particular outcome comes about, or what action would produce a particular outcome.

  • 2.BInterpretation: explain with several variables

    Explain an outcome that has more than one contributing cause, or the combination of actions needed to reach a target outcome.

  • 2.CInterpretation: explain with numbers

    Interpret a specific economic outcome using data or a calculation.

  • 3.AManipulation: determine an outcome

    Work out the result of an economic situation using concepts, principles, or models.

  • 3.BManipulation: effects on other markets

    Determine how one or more changes carry through to other markets, such as from the loanable funds market to the foreign exchange market.

  • 3.CManipulation: effects with numbers

    Determine the size or direction of an effect using data or a calculation.

  • 4.AGraphing: draw the model

    Draw a correctly labeled graph or visual that represents an economic model or market.

  • 4.BGraphing: show a situation

    Show a specific economic situation, such as an output gap or an equilibrium point, on a correctly labeled graph.

  • 4.CGraphing: show a change

    Show the effect of a change, with the shift and the new equilibrium, on a correctly labeled graph.