AP Biology is a popular AP class, and many students are curious about the challenges it presents. Is AP Biology hard? Will you spend hours upon hours studying for the class? Are you likely to fail the exam? Or are AP tests much easier than they seem?
In this article, we'll look at statistics, course material, and student perceptions to present you with a clear picture of the difficulty level of the AP Bio class and exam. We'll also give you some tips for figuring out how challenging AP Biology will likely be for you based on your academic strengths and weaknesses.
What Determines the Difficulty of an AP Class? 5 Factors
There are a few indicators we can look at to make judgments about how hard a particular AP class might be. Here's a list of key considerations (we'll explore these in more detail for the AP Biology course later).
Factor 1: Passing Rate
The passing rate for an AP class is the percentage of students who earn a 3 or above on the exam. If the passing rate is on the lower side, it might indicate a more difficult class.
However, the passing rate can also be a deceptive statistic. Sometimes, passing rates in the most difficult subjects are very high because only the most dedicated students take the class. A smaller pool of more serious students will be a better prepared group overall.
Factor 2: Perfect 5 Rate
The perfect 5 rate is potentially a better metric for determining the difficulty of AP classes. The 5 rate is the percentage of students who earn 5s (the highest possible score) on the AP test for the class. If the 5 rate is on the lower side, it might indicate that the material is more difficult to master (or even to understand reasonably well, since the 5 cutoff is around 70% correct on many AP tests).
A low 5 rate also sometimes happens with very popular classes because the proportion of students who are prepared for an AP test tends to decrease as the number of students taking it increases.
Factor 3: Content Difficulty
The complexity of the curriculum is one of the most important factors that goes into determining the difficulty of an AP class. This essentially boils down to the amount of material the course covers and how advanced that material is. Some courses have high 5 and passing rates because their content is extremely challenging and only very driven students will take them, not because they are easy classes.
Factor 4: Student Testimonials
What do students say about the class? This can change from high school to high school, but there should be some consistency based on the fact that everyone is supposed to be learning the same curriculum and taking the same test. Student feedback can provide more information about the day to day challenges of the class and whether the workload is especially daunting.
Factor 5: Timing of the Class
A final factor to consider is which year of high school students tend to take the class. The classes that students take later in high school will be more difficult overall, though some students might perceive them as being easier than other AP classes that they took when they had less experience. The reverse is true of classes that students take earlier in high school.
If you are one of the lucky few to earn a 5, you should get one of these candles, put it in a cake, and eat the entire thing by yourself. Only then will you truly possess the top score.
What Do Statistics Say About the AP Biology Exam?
Let's take a look at the passing rate and the 5 rate for the AP Biology exam.
The passing rate for the AP Biology exam in 2021 was 59.2%. This is a fairly middle-of-the-road passing rate, as compared to other AP exams; therefore, we can assume that the AP Biology exam has a medium level of difficulty.
Additionally, AP Bio's 5 rate was 15%. This is also middle-of-the-road, as far as 5 scores go. In 2022, there were 20 other AP exams with lower 5 scores and 17 exams with higher 5 scores. From the 5 rate, we would assume AP Biology to be a medium-difficulty test.
What's going on here? Based on these statistics, is the AP Biology exam really medium-difficulty?
We have to keep in mind that AP Biology is one of the more popular AP classes. This means that a large number of students take the class, thereby increasing the proportion of students who are under-prepared for the test—potentially helping us understand why 32.2% of students failed the exam in 2022.
Conversely, sometimes AP tests with high pass rates are actually more difficult. Since the subjects themselves are challenging (and have a reputation for it), these classes only attract the most motivated, well-prepared students. This might help us make sense of how 67.8% of students passed the exam in 2022.
Behold, statistics.
Is the AP Biology Content Difficult?
There's no question that the breadth of content covered in AP Biology is extensive. It requires memorization of complex processes, along with a deep understanding of how biological concepts and themes connect with one another. There are also many lab assignments that teachers have to schedule around lectures, so it ends up being a pretty heavy workload overall.
The AP Biology exam could also be considered more challenging than other AP tests because of its format. The free-response section consists of six questions (two long-form and four short-answer), which is on the higher end for AP exams. The Bio test requires extensive knowledge of many different topics as well as a lot of stamina.
Do Students Think AP Biology Is Hard?
Personally, I found AP Biology to be one of the most difficult classes I took. There was just so much information to remember. Studying for tests took much longer than it did in any of my other classes, and I still forgot stuff. This, coupled with lab assignments, made the class extremely challenging.
That said, I didn't take an introductory bio class before taking AP Biology, and it was my first-ever AP class. It's a good idea to take a basic biology class beforehand if you have the opportunity so that you can get a basic foundation for advanced concepts covered in the AP class.
The most common way students describe AP Biology (based on College Confidential threads) is that it's very, very memorization-heavy. Even with the test's 2020 redesign, it still covers a ton of conceptually difficult material.
Most students take AP Biology their junior or senior year. This makes the claims about the difficulty of the class even more valid. Students have had a chance to adjust to the demands of high school academics and compare their experience in AP Biology to other high-level classes, and they still find it challenging.
Since students see AP Biology as a hard class, it's less likely that unmotivated or unprepared students will take it.
Your lab assignment is to take this cutie for a walk! If only ...
Will AP Biology Be Hard for You? 3 Tips for Finding Out
Because schools and students are different, I can't say for sure whether AP Biology will be as hard for you as it might be for other students. To figure out whether the class will be challenging for you personally, you'll need to do the following.
#1: Ask Reliable Sources About the Class
The best way to learn what AP Biology is like at your school is to question people who are familiar with the class or have already taken it. If you know any older students or have older siblings, you might ask them what they thought of the class.
You could also speak with your current teachers (probably your science teacher is the best person to ask) and see what they say about the AP Biology class. Since they know your academic abilities and have observed how similar students have performed in the class, they should be able to give you a more accurate idea of how hard it will be for you.
The same goes for your guidance counselor. They're probably very familiar with the grades that students earn in AP Biology and how students have performed on the exam in the past. They might also be able to give you perspective on how challenging the class will be for you based on the grades you've earned so far in high school.
#2: Take Your Academic Strengths and Weaknesses Into Account
As mentioned, although AP Biology is memorization-heavy, it's also important to have a solid understanding of basic science and experimental design to succeed. There's a small math component to the class as well, but it doesn't go beyond algebra, geometry, and graphing skills.
If math and science aren't typically your strong suits, AP Biology might be more difficult for you than it is for other students. On the other hand, if you've always done well in these types of classes, you might find AP Biology to be less challenging.
Still, AP Biology incorporates skills from many different subject areas. Because there's just so much memorization involved, the actual study skills you need to succeed are somewhat similar to those required in social studies classes. Well-rounded students might actually have the biggest advantage in this class, as it draws on skills from a variety of subject areas but requires you to implement them in a scientific (and sometimes mathematical) context.
#3: Consider Your Schedule
If you have the opportunity to take an introductory biology class before you take AP Biology, you might find the AP class less challenging. You'll also be able to manage AP Biology better if your schedule isn't loaded up with other difficult, memorization-heavy classes.
For example, if you're thinking about taking AP Biology and a class like AP US History at the same time, you should understand that both classes could end up being more stressful because of the time you'll have to spend studying the material (which is extensive and complex in both cases).
If you take too many intense classes, it can create a perfect storm of stress.
Conclusion: So Is AP Biology Hard?
AP Biology is one of the more difficult APs based on its challenging curriculum, the middle rate of students who earn 5s on the exam, and the consensus from students on the demanding nature of the class.
Ideally, you should take an Intro to Biology class before you take AP Biology so that you're fully prepared for it. It's a challenging class for most students, but it should be manageable if you're aware of what you're facing.
What's Next?
Want to get a taste of what you'll be learning in AP Biology? Find out what an enzyme is, what the differences between homologous and analogous structures are, and three tenets of cell theory.
If you're already a biology pro, don't sweat—we have a few more in-depth articles for you, too. Review with our articles on the functions of the endoplasmic reticulum and cell membrane, and on what the photosynthesis equation is.
Thinking about signing up for AP Biology? Read this article on how to register for AP classes and exams. We also offer advice on which additional AP classes you should take in high school.
Looking for an easier AP class than Biology? Learn which AP classes tend to be the least challenging for students.
Have friends who also need help with test prep? Share this article!
Samantha is a blog content writer for PrepScholar. Her goal is to help students adopt a less stressful view of standardized testing and other academic challenges through her articles. Samantha is also passionate about art and graduated with honors from Dartmouth College as a Studio Art major in 2014. In high school, she earned a 2400 on the SAT, 5's on all seven of her AP tests, and was named a National Merit Scholar.
Holly R.