By Jakob Salao, Sports Editor
Due to the coronavirus, the structure of Advanced Placement (AP) testing has fundamentally shifted.
Rather than the usual two-to-three-hour long test filled with multiple-choice questions and multiple free-response questions (FRQs) in a room with dozens of other AP students, the exams will now be only 45 minutes long and consist of either one or two online FRQs. Students will be able to submit their answers by taking a picture of their written answers and uploading it to College Board or typing the answers directly online.
“I think the test could potentially be easier, but at the same time, there seems to be a lot less cushion,” senior Nicholas Lopes said. “Therefore, I think the format is a sort of double-edged sword in the sense that if you get material you are confident in you can do really well or do really poorly if you get material you weren’t well versed in.”
Although many students and parents may be concerned about the validity of taking AP tests online, Senior Vice President of AP Trevor Packer assures that the results of the exams will not be any different due to the unusual test circumstances
“Our focus will remain on student and teacher safety and ensuring all AP students have the opportunity to earn the college credit and placement they’ve been working toward all year,” Packer said. “They [AP tests] will measure skills that can’t be learned from Google or chats with friends.”
Packer and the rest of the College Board assure students that they are confident exam takers will still receive awards credit with qualifying scores from colleges even though these tests are different from all previous years.
To help students prepare, College Board is also offering free online AP review courses that will help students review concepts. Classes range from European History to Calculus BC and every subject in between, giving students a chance to catch up on areas they may not be confident in.
The dates and times of every exam can be found on the College Board website.
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