New Updates on How AP Testing Will Be Affected By School Closures

Alexis Larsen

On Friday, March 20, 2020, College Board announced changes to their AP exams scheduled for this May as a response to the hundreds of school closures due to the continued risk and spread of COVID-19 or coronavirus. Prior to the announcement, ACPS had already closed their schools until April 14, the day after spring break.

Similarly, states across the country are experiencing statewide school closures for expansive periods of time, lengths varying per state. On Monday, March 23, 2020, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced the closure of all public K-12 schools for the remainder of the school year.

With schools being canceled, classes have continued online. Though many Advanced Placement or AP students have become increasingly nervous about their ability to be prepared for the AP exam, a test which determines if the student mastered the year-long course.  By scoring well on the exam, students have the choice to opt-out of that course in college. 

To combat this issue, College Board has announced the following notable changes to their AP exams:

• Students will take online exams at home
• Each exam will be 45 minutes long
• The exam will consist only of free-response questions
• All Art Portfolio due dates are extended
• Each class will offer two different testing dates
• The required amount of units needed to have been taught has been reduced

The update varies by class, so for more specific course information, click here.