What Is AP Precalculus?
AP Precalculus is a College Board course on functions: polynomial, rational, exponential, logarithmic, trigonometric, and polar. College Board gives its college equivalent as a college precalculus course or a college algebra with trigonometry course. The exam was first administered in 2024.
| Unit | What it covers | On the exam |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Polynomial and Rational Functions | Polynomial and rational functions through modeling and rates of change | Yes |
| 2. Exponential and Logarithmic Functions | Inverses and the relationship between exponential and logarithmic functions | Yes |
| 3. Trigonometric and Polar Functions | Periodic phenomena modeled with transformations of trigonometric functions | Yes |
| 4. Functions Involving Parameters, Vectors, and Matrices | A variety of new function types | No |
The skills College Board names are algebraically manipulating functions, equations, and expressions, translating mathematical information between representations, and communicating with precise language and giving reasons for conclusions.
What Are the Prerequisites for AP Precalculus?
College Board recommends that students have successfully completed introductory algebra and geometry courses. It asks for proficiency with linear functions, polynomial addition and multiplication, factoring quadratic trinomials, the quadratic formula, right triangle trigonometry, linear and quadratic equations and inequalities, algebraic manipulation of linear equations and expressions, and systems of equations in two and three variables. It also expects familiarity with piecewise-defined functions, exponential functions and the rules for exponents, radicals, and complex numbers.
On the standard sequence the course follows Algebra 2. Our guide to high school math classes in order shows where precalculus falls on each track.
What Is on the AP Precalculus Exam?
College Board calls this a hybrid digital exam. Students answer the multiple-choice questions and view the free-response questions in the Bluebook testing app, and handwrite their free-response answers in paper booklets. The exam lasts 2 hours 55 minutes, and a graphing calculator is required for parts of it.
| Part | Questions | Time | Calculator | Share of score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section I, Part A: Multiple choice | 29 | 65 minutes | Not permitted | About 44% |
| Section I, Part B: Multiple choice | 13 | 40 minutes | Graphing calculator required for some questions | About 19% |
| Section II, Part A: Free response | 2 | 35 minutes | Graphing calculator required | About 19% |
| Section II, Part B: Free response | 2 | 35 minutes | Not permitted | About 19% |
Each of the four free-response questions is worth 6 points. College Board names them as function concepts, modeling a non-periodic context, modeling a periodic context, and symbolic manipulations. The 2027 exam is on Tuesday, May 11, 2027, and our guide to how long AP exams are lists the length of every exam.
Is AP Precalculus Hard?
On the 2026 exam, 82% of students scored 3 or higher and 29% earned a 5.
| Year | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 or higher | Test takers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 29% | 29% | 24% | 11% | 7% | 82% | Not yet published |
| 2025 | 28.1% | 25.8% | 26.8% | 11.2% | 8.0% | 80.8% | 253,596 |
| 2024 | 25.9% | 23.9% | 25.9% | 14.6% | 9.8% | 75.6% | 184,394 |
For comparison, on the 2026 AP Calculus AB exam 65% of students scored 3 or higher and 20% earned a 5. The number of test takers grew from 184,394 in 2024 to 253,596 in 2025. Our guide to AP score distributions sets these results beside every other exam.
In our experience at Oriel Admissions, the exam rewards a student who is fluent in Algebra 2. Two of the four parts, 29 multiple-choice questions and 2 free-response questions, are taken without a calculator, and that is where gaps in algebra show.
In Which Grade Should a Student Take AP Precalculus?
The grade is set years earlier, by when a student took Algebra 1. Each course in the sequence takes a year, so the starting point decides when precalculus and calculus arrive. Our guide to 8th grade algebra covers that first decision.
| Algebra 1 taken in | Precalculus falls in | Calculus falls in |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 7 | Grade 10 | Grade 11 |
| Grade 8 | Grade 11 | Grade 12 |
| Grade 9 | Grade 12 | Not reached, unless a year is doubled or a course is completed in the summer |
A 9th grader choosing 10th grade courses meets this decision only on the most advanced track. For a student who took Algebra 1 in 8th grade, it is a 10th grade decision about 11th grade.
Should a Student Take AP Precalculus or Honors Precalculus?
Some schools offer both in the same year. Our guide to honors classes explains how honors and AP levels compare in general.
At Oriel Admissions we advise taking the AP version where the school treats it as its top precalculus course, because that version is held to an outside exam. Some schools keep their own honors precalculus as the course that leads to AP Calculus BC. Where that is the case, the track that leads to the stronger calculus course is the one to follow, whatever the precalculus course is called. The counselor or the mathematics department can say which course feeds which.
Credit is a separate matter. Each college sets its own policy on AP scores, and the AP Credit Policy Search from College Board shows the policy at each college.
How Do Selective Colleges Read AP Precalculus?
Yale asks applicants to consider whether they are prepared to take rigorous college-level math, writing, and science courses, and says that it expects the senior year program to be at least as challenging as the junior year program. Our guide to high school math classes sets out what Caltech, MIT, Princeton, Harvard, and the University of California each say about calculus.
In our view, precalculus is read as a step and not as a destination. The questions a reader asks are what the student took next and whether mathematics continued through 12th grade. The working rule we give families is that an applicant in engineering, the physical sciences, economics, or computer science should reach calculus, and that an applicant in any field should show four years of mathematics. Our guide to course rigor explains how the schedule as a whole is rated.
Frequently Asked Questions About AP Precalculus
It is a College Board course on polynomial, rational, exponential, logarithmic, trigonometric, and polar functions. College Board gives its college equivalent as a college precalculus course or a college algebra with trigonometry course.
On the 2026 exam, 82% of students scored 3 or higher and 29% earned a 5. A student who is fluent in Algebra 2 is well placed for it.
College Board recommends that students have successfully completed introductory algebra and geometry courses. On the standard sequence the course follows Algebra 2.
It lasts 2 hours 55 minutes. There are 42 multiple choice questions in 1 hour 45 minutes and 4 free response questions in 1 hour 10 minutes.
A graphing calculator is required for some parts and not permitted on others. Part A of the multiple choice section and Part B of the free response section are taken without a calculator.
The 2027 exam is on Tuesday, May 11, 2027.
No. College Board states that the exam measures the content of units 1 to 3. Unit 4 covers functions involving parameters, vectors, and matrices.
At Oriel Admissions we advise taking the AP version where the school treats it as its top precalculus course. Where the school keeps an honors course that leads to AP Calculus BC, follow the track that leads to the stronger calculus course.
Sources: College Board: AP Precalculus course page, College Board: AP Precalculus Exam, College Board: AP Precalculus Score Distributions, 2024 to 2026, College Board: 2026 AP Score Distributions, Yale Undergraduate Admissions: Course Selection
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