Practice tests are some of the best review tools for AP Psychology. They'll give you insight into your areas of weakness and prepare you for the structure and content of the actual test. We'll list all the official and unofficial practice tests available online and provide advice on how to use them to get a great score on the AP test.
AP Psychology underwent some significant changes in 2024. The course now includes topics such as research methods, data interpretation, and argumentation. The exam is longer, has fewer multiple-choice question, tests students on a wider variety of topics than it did previously (when it mostly tested knowledge of psych terminology), and includes two new free-response questions: Article Analysis Question (AAQ) and Evidence-Based Question (EBQ).
The majority of unofficial AP Psych practice tests won't be updated to the current exam's form right away (if ever). That means the College Board's recent official practice materials will be especially important because they'll be one of the only resources that have practice questions that reflect what you'll see on the new exam.
Official AP Psychology Practice Tests
It's best to use official practice tests when preparing for the AP Psych exam because you can be sure that the questions are faithful representations of what to expect on test day. Only a limited supply of official exams have been released, but you should be able to get enough practice out of them (and you can still supplement with some unofficial tests if necessary, which we'll discuss in the next section).
There are four official AP Psych practice tests you can download for free as PDFs:
None of these reflect the current 2024 updates to the exam, but they can still be a useful resource, particularly the multiple-choice questions. If you're looking for more free-response practice specifically, you can get tons of free-response questions on the College Board website (all the way back to 1999). Note that none of these old free-response sections are updated for the current exam, either.
Where can you find current practice questions? Right now there's only one resource, the 2024-2025 AP Psychology Course Description. Beginning on page 151, it contains 21 multiple-choice questions and two free-response questions. This is your best resource for current practice questions, so study it well!
You must wear a nice blazer with a button up shirt when taking official AP practice tests. That's how the test knows that you're also official. If you wear sweatpants, it won't trust you with its secrets.
Unofficial AP Psychology Practice Exams
Unofficial practice tests can also be helpful for your AP Psych prep, but you shouldn't rely on them entirely. While they still test roughly the same content as the real exam, their questions might be phrased differently and have a slightly higher or lower difficulty level. Usually, the ones you must pay for will be higher quality than free unofficial ones, so keep this in mind.
It's a good idea to intersperse official practice tests with these unofficial ones in your prep.
REA Online Practice Exam
This is just one AP Psychology practice test, but it includes automatic scoring and analyzes your mistakes for you. The exam is also timed, so testing conditions are replicated relatively accurately (minus the fact that it's on the computer). The cost is $5.95, and it's not updated for the current exam, so we don't recommend paying for it.
Varsity Tutors Diagnostic Tests
This well-known test-prep company offers tons of free full-length AP Psychology exams (minus the free-response section). While they're not the highest quality out there, these are good to use to review some of the material you've learned and to keep drilling important concepts. It's also got several shorter quizzes organized by topic area.
High School Test Prep Tests
Like Varsity Tutors, this site has a lot of multiple-choice practice questions for AP Psych. The questions aren't super close to what you'll see on the exam, but they are divided into 14 categories, such as memory and social psychology, so that you can focus on a specific content area if you need to.
Albert
Albert is one of the only unofficial sources updated for the 2024-2025 exam which really sets it apart. It has many different multiple-choice practice questions available. A few are free, but to access the majority, you'll need to pay a hefty $79 fee.
How to Review With AP Psychology Practice Tests
Practice tests can be used throughout the school year and in your final review sessions for the AP Psychology exam. They're the best way to judge how advanced you are in your knowledge of the material. They'll also help you gain familiarity with the format of the AP Psych test so that you're not caught off-guard on test day.
Here's some advice on using these practice tests in your prep at different points throughout the year.
First Semester: In-Class Test Prep
At this point, you're just preparing for in-class tests and haven't learned all the information for the course yet. You might decide to use practice sites that include focused questions on specific aspects of the AP Psychology curriculum, such as High School Test Prep or Albert. Also, begin reviewing the free-response questions in the AP Psychology Course and Exam description.
It's a smart idea to practice free-response questions well ahead of time because they require the most independent knowledge. Most students have a tougher time on this section than on the multiple-choice section because you don't get a list of options that might jog your memory about a certain term or concept. Guessing isn't a viable option, so it's important to prepare thoroughly.
Second Semester: AP Test Prep
As you head into your second semester, start thinking about prepping for the AP test with full-length practice exams. You will have learned most of the material by the middle of the second semester, so you'll be able to use AP Psych practice tests to judge your skills more accurately. We'd recommend taking your first full-length test sometime in March.
When you take a Psychology practice test, be sure to treat it seriously so that you can learn from your mistakes. After you finish, score it and investigate your incorrect answers.
There are several reasons why you might answer a question incorrectly. It could be due to poor time management, a careless mistake, or a lack of content knowledge. If one of the first two problems is the source of many of your mistakes, you probably need to take more practice tests to get used to the format while learning to read more carefully and pace yourself better.
If your mistakes have more to do with content knowledge, then you can narrow your focus further by categorizing your wrong answers by subject (consult the list of topics in this article). This way, you can primarily study parts of the course that you struggle with and avoid wasting time on concepts you already understand.
Once you've identified your mistakes on the practice test and taken steps to correct them, take another test to check your progress. Again, make sure you take this test with the same time limits as the real AP test. After taking the second test, repeat the steps of scoring it and looking through your mistakes. Continue this process until you feel fully prepared for the AP Psych exam.
If you struggle with the free-response questions, it might be productive to practice them between full practice tests. The more familiar you are with the way free-response questions are asked and what graders expect, the more likely you are to ace this section on the real test in May.
These questions will also help reinforce your understanding of psychological terms because they often ask you to apply terms to a hypothetical real-life scenario.
Keep working out your test-taking muscles until your brain looks like this dude.
4 Essential AP Psychology Practice Testing Tips
Here are a few important tips to remember while using practice tests to review for AP Psychology.
#1: Always Time Yourself
We've said it before, and we'll say it again: if you want to assess your weak spots accurately, you need to time yourself as though you're taking the real test. You don't want time pressure to be your downfall after working your butt off to memorize all the content. If you can get a parent, sibling, or friend who doesn't have anything better to do for two hours than to be a mock proctor for you, that's even better!
#2: Don't Overthink
It's especially funny to list this tip for AP Psychology, but it's also relevant to the way the questions are structured. You'll see quite a few questions that seem complex but are just a matter of common sense. Try not to second-guess yourself on these types of questions. The test isn't trying to trick you!
#3: Be Direct in the Free-Response Section
When some students think about free-response questions, they imagine writing a five-paragraph essay. You don't have to do that on this test! All the graders want are the correct answers written in complete sentences. Forget about intros, conclusions, or any other fluffy stuff you're tempted to include—just get straight to the point.
#4: Put More Faith in Official Test Scores Than Unofficial Ones
It's tempting to believe that a high score on an unofficial test is valid, but it can get you into trouble. Remember that some tests could be easier or harder than the real AP test because the questions weren't designed by the College Board.
You should always include at least one official AP Psychology practice test in your studying so you can compare the difficulty levels and get an accurate reading on your progress.
Some tests are LIARS!
Conclusion: Prepping With AP Psychology Practice Tests
Use the practice tests in this article as tools to bolster your prep for AP Psychology. Both official tests and unofficial tests are valuable resources, but you should definitely pay more attention to your scores on official tests when judging your progress and skill level.
Going over mistakes on practice tests will help you understand where your weaknesses lie and how you can fix them. If you take multiple practice tests, analyze your mistakes, and plan out your studying responsibly, you can expect high scores on the AP Psych test and any in-class tests you take throughout the year.
What's Next?
Looking for more guidance in preparing for this test? Read my complete AP Psychology study guide to get a collection of helpful notes. You should also check out our description of Stockholm Syndrome (complete with examples) here.
Review books can be great study resources for AP Psych as well. If you're not sure which one to get, take a look at this list of the best AP Psychology books.
What will a high score on an AP test really mean for you in college? Find out how AP classes can lead to college credits.
