Due to school cancellations because of the spread of COVID-19, the College Board has moved toward developing online tests that students can take at home. This year’s exams will be given a week later than expected, starting Monday, May 11 through Friday, May 22.
All tests will be taken at either 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., or 3:00 p.m. central time. Alternate dates of testing for students unable to test in May will occur the week of June 1. These make-up dates will be for students who have technological problems or WiFi issues. A schedule of when each AP test is can be found here.
So how does this change the format of the tests? All exams will be 45 to 50 minutes long, and will only contain one or two Free Response Questions (FRQs) depending on the subject. If students are back at the school in time to test, the online format will not change. The AP tests will also be open book and open note. Students will be able to either type their responses on the College Board website, or hand-write and then submit a picture. Tests will continue to be graded on a 1-5 scale.
“The exams will only include topics and skills most AP teachers and students have already covered in class by early March,” KISD Assessment Coordinator, Marjorie Martinez, said. “Therefore, teachers will spend time reviewing what has been taught and preparing students for the new format.”
Although some minor details will change between courses, the format will overall be cohesive. One difference for AP world language and cultural exams is that students will “complete two spoken tasks consistent with free-response questions three and four on the current AP exam; written responses will not be required,” Martinez said.
Students who have requested or are using KISD devices that will be using them for the AP exams should see the required app for testing on their device. More communication will be coming soon, especially for students who do not see the app or are having trouble using their devices.
To make sure that all students are kept up to date and fully aware of this situation, “students should be checking their [College Board] accounts/email routinely for updates coming directly to them from CB [College Board],” according to Martinez.
Since these circumstances are not optimal for all students, AP testers do have the option to cancel their test for a refund. Students can contact Helene Kilanski via email at helene.kilanski@kellerisd.net to innate the refund process.
