More Updates on AP Exams for the 2019-2020 School Year
The College Board has continued to announce updates regarding the new AP Exams The most recent update was on Friday, April 3. For a number of reasons, Ivy Link has strongly recommended our students to consider taking the AP Exams this year.
As we outlined in our March 21 post, traditional in-person AP Exams will not take place. Instead, for the 2019-2020 school year, AP Exams will be administered as 45-minute, online exams. These “streamlined exams” can be taken on any device, such as computer, tablet, smartphone. Students will have the option to choose between handwriting and typing for completing their answers. Importantly, the revised exams will cover a lot less material – testing concepts that teachers have covered through early March.
Below is what we know so far:
Open Book Format: All AP Exams will be “open book”, open response questions. Generally speaking, English and history exams will be a single 45-minute open response; foreign language and culture exams will be two spoken, recorded responses; and all other exams will be two open response questions (25 min and 15 min). Additional information about the format of the exam questions, what topics each exam will cover, and how the questions will be weighted in the grade are provided in the exam-specific section at the College Board.
Shortened Content: AP Exams will only cover topics and skills most teachers have covered through early March. As we have indicated before, this year’s AP Exams should be easier than prior years, and students are encouraged to take them. The specific units being tested for each exam are provided in the exam-specific section at the College Board
Two Dates: Each exam will have two exam dates, one between May 11 and May 22 and a second “make up” date between June 1 -5. The full calendar is available here. All students who are registered to take an AP Exam will be given a credential to access the exam on the date it is scheduled for; if a student does not take the exam on the first scheduled May date, they will automatically be allowed to take the exam on the second, make-up date in June.
Scoring & Credit: Exams will still be scored on a scale of 1-5. The College Board continues to emphasize that they worked with their college partners to make these decisions, and that colleges are in support of this solution and are committed to still giving students college credit for their success on AP Exams.
Accommodations: Students who already have accommodations approved through SSD (such as time and a half) will have any approved accommodations automatically applied for their exam.
Testing Security: The College Board has affirmed they have plans in place for testing security. One additional measure is that all AP teachers will receive student scores within 2 weeks, so they can verify the student’s work is their own.
The College Board has also provided updated FAQs and AP Updates for Schools Impacted by Coronavirus. As mentioned earlier, AP Exams are usually lengthy and difficult, but given the on-going coronavirus crisis, this academic year’s AP Exams will be much shorter and easier than usual. Ivy Link recommends our students to prepare for and take the AP Exams this year. Many of our students already have! Check out our Advice on AP Exams where we discuss how performing well on AP Exams can be beneficial for both high school seniors and juniors.
