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Home > AP Courses and Exams > Course Home Pages > Music Theory: Reporting Subscore Grades

Music Theory: Reporting Subscore Grades

Reporting Subscore Grades
By reporting subscore grades in addition to an overall composite grade, the AP Music Theory Examination enables colleges and universities to make more informed placement and credit decisions, especially for courses in which aural skills and nonaural skills are taught separately.

As with the overall composite grade, the subscore grades range from 5 to 1.

The aural subscore grade is based on performance on the multiple-choice questions that are related to recorded musical examples, and on two melodic dictation questions, two harmonic dictation questions, and two sight-singing exercises.

The nonaural subscore grade is based on performance on the multiple-choice questions that are not related to recorded musical examples (for example, score analysis questions), and on a realization of a figured bass, composition of a bass line to fit a given melody, and a realization from Roman numerals.

When colleges and universities consider awarding advanced placement or credit for courses that deal primarily with nonaural content, the AP Music Theory Development Committee recommends that they place most emphasis on the nonaural subscore grade. For courses that chiefly emphasize aural skills, colleges are encouraged to rely primarily on the aural subscore grade. For courses that feature both aural and nonaural content, the overall composite grade will be most useful.

View a description of the College Board's recommended credit, placement, and advanced standing policies for each AP grade under "See also."





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