Charles Brossy, Head of Media
@cbrossycourant
COVID-19 has shaped students and adults greatly in the past few month. Changes have been made to society, including testing for different schools across America. This year, AP testing will be online, open-note and open-internet for all.
Two days before a student’s AP Exam, they will be emailed their personalized AP Test ID, an eight character code. Thirty minutes before the exam,, the student must click on their e-ticket, log in and fill out personal information. A timer will show how much time you have until the exam starts, which will automatically start once it hits zero.
The timer remains at the bottom of the page while the student begins question one. For exams with one question, a student will be allowed 50 minutes and a student with two questions for the exam is allowed 30 minutes for the first question, then 20 minutes for the next. To see if your exam is one or two questions, check the CollegeBoard website.
If you are a student that has approved extended time, it will be put on the timer automatically. Once five minutes are left in the exam, your timer will turn red as a warning to begin submitting your work. Once the timer hits zero, if the student has not submitted their work, they will not receive credit for that question.
Students are allowed to take this exam on almost any device. Acceptable devices included a desktop, laptop, tablet, or phone. But, the exam is compatible with only Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Microsoft Explorer), not Internet Explorer.
When submitting work, there are three different ways to submit; Attach a text file, copy and paste your response, or attach a photo of handwritten work. Once submitted, there is no going back to your work. Students can practice how to submit their work with the CollegeBoard demo exam.
If handwriting, make sure your test ID as well as your initials are on the top of the student’s page. Blue or black pen is eligible as well as a number two pencil while working on white paper. If the student uses more than one piece of paper for work, make sure the pages are numbered at the top right in the correct order.
As different students start to prepare for their AP Exams, many have different opinions on the new style. “I believe that allowing students to take these at home creates many issues. One of these issues, which impacts me every day, is internet connection,” Junior Charlie Borthwick said. “For example, in a class I had to take a test. But, just before the test started my Wifi cut out and I lost 15 minutes of my test taking time. My teacher was understanding and was able to adjust the due date so that I could finish. However, for a much larger test, such as the AP’s, I would think that making an adjustment like this would be immensely difficult and I am nervous due to the temperament of my wifi.”
However, Charlie believes the biggest problem he has is getting past home distractions. “If I were taking the test in school, I would be much more focused and in much more of a test taking mood,” he said. “Because the tests are online and at home, distractions will be abundant and will pose the biggest obstacle between me and my desired grade.”
Senior Katie Dunn expresses her contentment about this year’s exam. “When taking the AP tests last year, it was an extremely complicated process beforehand in order to ensure that there was no cheating involved, where all sources of technology were removed from the room,” Katie said. “This year, it won’t feel like the typical AP test, but I definitely don’t mind the changes.”
The difference between AP test prep at school versus at home has been helping some students. “Last year, I felt as though there was no time designated by teachers to really start studying in advance for the AP tests. In order to study ahead of time, you had to do it by yourself rather than as a class,” Katie said. “However, this year, teachers have put more of an emphasis on starting to review for the AP test way earlier than last year, in part due to the fact that there is less content on the test so they don’t necessarily have to teach as much. This has helped me because having my classwork in some classes being review for the AP tests allows me to devote more time into preparing for these tests.”
Some students fully support the new online testing system. “Granted, I don’t see any other options, so how can I really complain. Given the circumstances, the new AP Testing system is actually very good,” Junior William Bozzella said.
AP Testing will be at one time for all students around the country. Below a chart is posted with the start times for all AP tests with acknowledgement of the different time zones.
Here are some tips from the College Board to make sure test takers are on top of their game:
- If you accidentally close the browser, your device crashes, or you temporarily lose internet access, you can quickly click your exam e-ticket again to return to the exam. Continue the exam, and if you feel at the end of the exam that the temporary disruption negatively impacted your performance, you can request approval to take the makeup exam at cb.org/requestmakeup. Tip: During the exam, don’t refresh your browser or hit the back arrow.
- If you want to submit a photo of a handwritten AP Exam answer from an iPhone or iPad, make sure to change your camera settings so your photos are saved as JPEGs, not HEICs. Go to Settings > Camera > Formats > Select “Most Compatible.”
- If you never see that “Your AP Exam is Complete” message, you should go to cb.org/requestmakeup to explain the situation and request an e-ticket for the June make-up date.
- Don’t call: Customer service centers won’t be open due to the pandemic. If you lost too much time to a technical problem, aren’t able to connect to your exam, or experienced some other serious disruption, you can request a makeup exam.
