College Board

Founded in 1900, the College Board is a mission-driven organization that connects students to college success and opportunity. It is best known for administering the AP program (which includes 39 courses and exams as of 2025), the SAT college admissions test, the PSAT/NMSQT, and the CSS Profile for financial aid. The organization serves over 7 million students annually.

In the context of AP, the College Board plays several critical roles. It develops the curriculum framework for each AP course, specifying the concepts and skills that students should master. It creates and administers the AP exams each May, employing rigorous security protocols. It recruits and trains AP readers -- college faculty and experienced AP teachers -- who score free-response questions during the annual AP Reading. It also provides professional development for AP teachers and maintains AP Classroom, an online platform with resources, practice questions, and progress checks.

The College Board publishes course and exam descriptions (CEDs) for each AP subject, which serve as the authoritative guide for what will be tested. These documents detail the units, topics, enduring understandings, and skills assessed in each course. Students and teachers should treat the CED as the definitive source for exam preparation. The organization also releases past FRQs, scoring guidelines, and sample responses, making these among the most valuable study resources available.

The AP program has expanded significantly over the decades and now offers courses in areas ranging from AP African American Studies to AP Computer Science Principles. The College Board also provides fee reductions for eligible students with financial need and has worked to increase access to AP courses in underserved communities through programs like AP Potential and the AP Capstone Diploma.