College Board announces AP testing revamp

Mantra Dave, Staff Writer • Mar 20, 2020

Photo Courtesy of: College Board Twitter Account

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the College Board has announced a revamp of Advanced Placement (AP) testing. Keeping in line with recommendations for social distancing, there will be no in-person AP testing for the 2019-20 school year. Instead, students will have the opportunity to test online. Tests will be 45 minutes in length and can be taken at home.

Online tests will only consist of a free-response question section in order to fit time requirements and maintain the integrity of the testing process. There will be no multiple-choice questions on any 2020 AP test, according to Trevor Packer, College Board Director of AP Programs.

Additionally, testing software will have plagiarism detection capabilities to ensure that students cannot gain unfair advantages on the assessment.

Since schools across the nation have closed at different times, 2020 AP tests will only cover content that most AP classes had worked through by early March. The test breakdowns for each individual exam can be found on the College Board’s website.

In an additional effort to offer flexibility during this chaotic period, students will have two dates that they can test for each exam. Students that would like to test sooner, to ensure that content remains fresh will have an earlier testing date option, while those that would like more time to review have the option of a later assessment date. Dates for each AP test will be released by the College Board on April 3, along with a full exam schedule and the breakdown of free response questions for each test.

Students will be able to take their AP tests on any internet-connected device – smartphone, laptop, or tablet. For computation based assessments, students will be able to do their work on paper and submit a picture. The College Board is also offering technology solutions to students who do not have access to online testing.

Due to COVID-19, the College Board is also allowing students who have registered for an exam to cancel at no charge.

In addition to revamping testing, the College Board is offering students free remote learning resources. Online lectures will be delivered by certified AP teachers starting on March 25. Students will be able to view these through AP Classroom, and lectures will remain accessible through testing dates.

Though the method of testing has been impacted by COVID-19, the College Board has affirmed that colleges accept 2020 AP scores for credit in the same manner that all past scores have been accepted.

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About the Contributor

Mantra Dave, Staff Writer

Mantra Dave is a senior at Normal Community High School and the captain of the varsity speech and scholastic bowl teams, as well as a four-year member of the varsity Ironmen tennis program. This is his first year working as a staff reporter for the Inkspot. My guilty pleasures include The Bachelorette and The Good Place. A book that moved me was Dr. Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air. I love to watch Tottenham Hotspur FC and listen to Hozier.