Once you complete your AP exam, it will be sent away to the College Board's AP Program for grading. The multiple-choice part is handled by a machine, while qualified AP graders—a group that includes history teachers and professors—score your essay responses. Your final score is a weighted combination of your multiple-choice and free-response section scores and is reported on a 5-point scale:
"Qualified" means that you have proven yourself capable of doing the work of an introductory-level world history college course. Some colleges and universities will give you credit for a score of 3 or higher, but it’s much safer to get a 4 or a 5. For specific rules regarding AP scores, check out each college's websites or call their admissions offices. If you do well on the AP exam, you may even get to move straight into a more advanced class (which is where the term "advanced placement" comes from)!