College Prep: 2020 AP Exams
The emergence of COVID-19 into the United States has forced so many companies and industries to change their everyday processes and plans. The AP exams that high schoolers take each year are no exception. Here is everything you need to know about what to expect from the AP tests and how they’ll be different this year compared to other years.
At the end of each school year, College Board administers Advanced Placement tests that go along with Advanced Placement exams that students are enrolled in. There are AP courses and tests for everything from United States history to literature to Latin. Students taking these courses will then take the College Board AP exam in the fall that coincides with the course, and their score on the AP exam can be used to determine a few different things, such as college course placement and potential college credit.
Historically, students have taken their AP exams, which can consist of both multiple choice sections and free response, at their high school. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and schools closing their doors and switching to online distance learning, College Board had to make some changes for the students taken the AP exams this spring.
2020 AP Exams
Rather than testing at their schools, students will take their AP exams online from their homes.
Each AP exam will be 45 minutes long.
AP tests will not include multiple choice questions; tests will be free response only.
AP Exams will be open-note.
Tests will still be scored on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest mark.
All students throughout the country will test at the same time for any given test. College Board has a helpful AP testing schedule on their website where they outline the exact date and time schedule for the different time zones throughout the country.
Questions could be harder than traditional test questions, and students may not be given as much time to respond to them. The College Board has remarked that students don’t need to worry about answering the entire question to receive a score of 5.
Students will receive e-tickets two days before each test.
There are two testing windows: the primary testing window is May 11-22, and there is a make-up testing window from June 1-5
The College Board has put a lot of work into deterring students from cheating while they take their AP tests from home this year (so don’t try and cheat!!). Some of their efforts include the following:
using plagiarism software,
having parents review responses before they are permitted,
warning students that if they are found cheating their AP scores will be cancelled, and The College Board will alert any colleges to which the student has sent AP scores and/or SAT scores, and
blocking plug-ins like Grammarly, which will result in the online exam not working.
Depending on the AP Exam being taken, there could be additional details to know. For example, language exams will require a speaking sample in which the student demonstrates speaking ability, and some music exams require a musical demonstration. That being said, we recommend visiting The College Board site, where you can read about details as they relate to specific AP Exams.
At this point, many colleges have announced that they will honor 2020 AP Exam scores and use them to grant college credit and placement into courses as they have in the past. Other colleges are considering how to approach 2020 AP Exam scores and have not yet voiced decisions as they relate to the tests.
That being said, even if a student’s AP scores don’t end up resulting in free college credit, it doesn’t mean the full AP process was a complete loss. After all, students spent over half the school year in their classrooms and working hard on their AP homework, papers, and presentations. It’s important to showcase that work on college applications for colleges to see. By taking AP courses in the first place, a student is demonstrating that they care about their education and they are prepared to work hard to do well. Colleges love that!
While the overall use of strong 2020 AP Exam scores is not currently clear for many colleges, taking AP courses and exams and displaying them is still an asset to a college application. We wish any high schoolers taking their AP exams over the next couple of weeks the best of luck!!