AP Exams Digitize;
Students, Faculty Wonder What’s Next 

As high school students’ classes across the nation begin to gear up for the AP curriculum, the news of exams becoming digital may come as more of a shock to both students and teachers than you may think. Subsequently, this may have an unexpectedly large impact on NRHS students themselves.

By this upcoming May, 28 AP Exams will make the jump over to their new digital-form. This seemingly sudden digital actualization may come as a surprise to many, as the plan to roll out digitized exams was originally set out to occur over a prolonged time period, with a slower, more digestible transition. This swift pivot to making this change as soon as possible has come about as a result of cheating scandals within the most recent AP exam years. Academic dishonesty has become an increasingly prominent issue in recent times, as exam content has often been compromised for monetary gain. These cases of stolen exam material seem to have been the cause of the change to sixteen completely digital and twelve hybrid exams in which questions are viewed online, but answers are written in physical booklets. 

This monumental change will have a large impact on New Rochelle High School as a whole. The digital format is completely unfamiliar to not just students, but teachers as well, leaving them questioning the most effective way to change their teaching style or methods. Ms. Russo, an educator at NRHS who has spent years teaching the AP Language and Composition course, shared the feelings and concerns of many other teachers at the high school. She said that her teaching style has already changed following the announcement, and she plans to shift her classes to digital assessments in the second marking period. Russo described herself as “generally apprehensive” about the change, and she was “unsure as to how it will affect student performance”. 

Additionally, some important features are currently unavailable for use or practice on the College Board AP Classroom website. The annotation tool, which is an integral part of any AP English exam, cannot be used or tested at the moment. This reflects one of Ms. Russo’s most prominent concerns right now, as she said she understands how important it is to provide her students the opportunity to practice in a simulated test environment in order to become comfortable with testing conditions. Ms. Russo also prefered physical annotations in regards to its processing benefits. This reflects other possible concerns regarding the familiarity students have with writing on paper and taking physical exams, as well as those who are used to reading, annotating, flipping through pages, choosing answers on paper, etc. 

Octavia Liku, a senior at NRHS, discussed her view on non-digital comfort. Liku expressed the unfortunate fact that digital exams may make annotating graphs, a facet she finds necessary on exams she’s taken previously like Calculus BC, a much different, more difficult, unpreferable experience. She also worries about the logistics of digital exams, as during her digital SAT, she “brought it [my Macbook] in fully charged, and by the time I had my break, it was on like 20%”. Although adaptation is possible, these valid concerns may demonstrate the benefit of a slower digital transition. 

Concerns over the digital-exam change are shared among students and teachers far outside of NRHS. Districts with less funding and longstanding digital integration within schools may have a harder time adjusting to this development. Without proper resources, students may not be able to practice and familiarize themselves with the tools and transformed online testing process. Still, the AP Program has defended its decision to digitize by sharing positive aspects to the move. They’ve discussed the flexibility in exam-scheduling and heightened speed of computer typing as benefits. Moreover, they have also emphasized the change’s positive impact on cheating, as it aims to largely decrease the possibility of leaked exam content. 

The quick, huge transformation within something as integral as the AP Program raises questions of what may be moving to the digital world next. As AI becomes increasingly involved in our daily lives, technological advancement through the digital world seems to be placed at the forefront of our lives. Digital facets evidently have both positive and negative aspects, and it seems that these vast changes will continue to impact students. 

Ms. Russo believes education is currently heading in the fully-digital direction. Although she thinks there is immense value in reading books, writing on paper, and annotating physically, she isn't afraid of the AP push from pencil and paper to keyboard and screen. She understands its purpose, and simply recognizes the necessity of time to adjust. It will be fascinating to discover what educational changes lie ahead.