All AP Exams Going Digital?

This May, most AP testing exams will begin to be taken digitally. This measure is unorthodox as since AP exams were established in 1952, exams have been taken on paper. This was a sudden change that was unexpected for many people around the world.

According to the College Board, “Digital AP Exams allow students to highlight and annotate exam stimuli and questions, mark questions to revisit, and eliminate answer choices for the multiple-choice section.” This is why the College Board decided to make the AP exams digital. Although the College Board believes that the digital transformation of AP exams will help increase student scores, teachers and students feel that this sudden change will decrease student scores and make the exam more challenging to succeed in.  

The College Board has decided to make the exams digital without warning and without giving teachers ample training to help the students succeed. This may lead to students doing poorly on their exams. Many teachers are worried about how their students will test in this new exam form. Mrs. Maynard, an AP Environmental Science teacher at Half Hollow Hills West who has been teaching the course for many years, believes that the multiple-choice section of the exam may be more difficult for students.

Mrs. Maynard argued, “I do; I think there is something to be said about crossing out on paper.” Without proper training and time to adjust to the new form of testing, it can be challenging for students to rapidly switch the form of learning that they have done the entire year for one exam.

In conclusion, the sudden change of exam form may impact the scores of students and their ability to succeed. Students also feel this change will negatively affect their grades. Emerson Mankin, a Half Hollow Hills West junior enrolled in multiple AP classes, asserts, “Online testing makes me feel separated from what I take from the classroom, so I think it will make my score worse.” Finally, although digital exams may have pros, the cons of lack of preparation and separation from the classroom outweigh the pros.