AP® United States Government and Politics 2021 Scoring Guidelines
Reporting
Category
Scoring Criteria
Row B
Evidence
(0–3 points)
0 points
Does not meet the criteria
for one point.
1 point
Provides one piece of evidence
that is relevant to the topic of the
prompt.
2 points
Uses one piece of specific and relevant
evidence to support the claim or thesis.
3 points
Uses two pieces of specific and relevant evidence
to support the claim or thesis.
Decision Rules and Scoring Notes
Responses that do not
earn points:
Responses that earn 1 point: Responses that earn 2 points: Responses that earn 3 points
• Provide one piece of
evidence relevant to the
topic of the prompt.
• Provide one piece of specific and
relevant evidence that supports the
claim or thesis. This evidence can come
from one of the foundational
documents listed in the prompt, any
other foundational document, or from
knowledge of course concepts.
• Provide two pieces of specific and relevant
evidence that support the claim or thesis. One
of these pieces of evidence must come from a
foundational document listed in the prompt.
The other piece of evidence can come from a
different foundational document or from
knowledge of course concepts.
• Do not provide any
accurate evidence.
• Provide evidence that
is not relevant to the
topic.
• May or may not have a claim
or thesis.
Examples that do not
earn points:
Examples of evidence that are
relevant to the topic of the
prompt:
Examples of acceptable specific and relevant evidence that support the claim or thesis (one
example is one piece of evidence):
Provide evidence that is
not specific
• “The actions of the executive branch during the Vietnam War showed continued
encroachment upon legislative war powers, therefore, Congress passed the War Powers Act in
1973 to limit the President’s power during times of aggression.”
• War Powers Act
• “The Constitution
establishes the
legislative branch.”
• Impeachment
• Veto with super majority for
override
• “While the president has the power to counteract Congress by vetoing legislation, the veto can
be overridden by a supermajority vote in each house of Congress, and the bill will become
law.”
• Ratifying treaties
Provide
evidence that is
not relevant to the topic
of
the prompt
• Confirmation of presidential
nominees
• Federalist 10
• “It is clear
that the executive was not meant to have too much power in foreign policy because
the Constitution requires that any treaties negotiated by the president will need to be ratified
by Congress
as a check on presidential power.”
• “Civil liberties are
protections provided to
citizens against the
actions of the
government.”
• Articles of Confederation
• Any
correct check
between
the executive and legislative
branches
Examples of
acceptable
specific and relevant evidence
from the
foundational documents
that
support the claim or thesis (one example is
one
piece of evidence):
• “The
Federalist
70 defends the idea of a single executive. A weak executive is less
responsive to
crises.”
• “Declaration of Independence: A too-powerful executive is bad and can threaten liberty.”
• “The Federalist
51
established a separation of powers/check and balances.”
Additional Notes:
• To earn two or three points in Row B, the response must have a defensible claim or thesis (earned the point in Row A).
•
© 2021 College Board
To earn three points, the response must use one of the foundational documents listed in the prompt.