AP Exam update
College and career
By Sanvi Bhardwaj, 2020
Published 03/21/2020
In light of the COVID-19 crisis that has been sweeping the globe, the College Board has announced changes for AP Exams in May. All exams will now be online and will be 45 minutes of free response questions only. In addition, only 75% of the course content will be on the exam in an effort to match the curriculum of AP classes in mid-March.
In their statement, the College Board made it clear that students will still earn college credit from these exams; colleges have accepted a shortened AP exam for credit due to emergencies for decades. In addition, there are now two different testing dates for each exam, although the schedule has yet to be announced. This will allow students to decide if they want more time to study or take the exam while the content is still fresh. Both teachers and students are awaiting more updates on the full exam schedule, specific free-response question types, and other details, which are slated to be available by April 3.
In the meantime, the College Board has taken measures to help test takers during this unprecedented time. Beginning on March 25th, students and teachers can attend free, live AP review courses on any device to prepare for the content on the exam. In addition, the cancellation fee for all AP exams has been waived.
Teachers are currently scrambling to ensure their students are best prepared for these upcoming exams. AP US Government teacher Mr. Swanson disagrees with the College Board’s decision, saying: “Taking a multi-hour test and shortening it to 45 minutes devalues everything I worked to prepare my students for all year.” He particularly dislikes the abrupt change in the content covered, noting the shift in messaging from the beginning of the school year that initially allowed teachers to shape their course in the way they see fit. Mr. Swanson also believes the College Board’s failure to survey teachers in making this decision was a mistake and that “the exam should be the exam students signed up for regardless of what is going on.” These sentiments are being echoed by educators around the world.
To see the full unit breakdown for all AP exams as well as the official statement from the College Board, click here.