The College Board revised Advanced Placement (AP) Exam procedures for the 2021 exams on Feb. 4 to accommodate for the pandemic, offering both in person, hybrid, and online exams. 

Three options will be available for testing dates: Administration One on May 1–7, 10–12, 14, 17 at school, Administration Two on the dates of May 18–21, 24–28 for in school and at home, and Administration Three June 1–4, 7–11 for in school and at home. 

However, students will not have the opportunity to choose which administration, or in which form, they take their AP tests. According to the College Board website, “Schools make all decisions about which exams are offered. Students won’t be able to choose exam dates on their own. Beginning in early March, AP coordinators will be able to assign students to Administration Two and/or Three exams, if needed.” The digital exams will be different from the shortened online exams held last year. The tests will be full length, and all solutions will be entirely typed instead of the mix of typed and paper and pencil upload the College Board used in the 2020 testing year.  “I think College Board is trying their best to be more prepared this year.  Hopefully, they have learned from the mistakes they made last year and will make the changes needed to have the test run as smoothly as possible.   They have provided us with a few options that the district is looking over, which I am grateful for.   It is not easy for anyone involved because there are so many unknowns regarding COVID restrictions, but MHS will do what we can to make it work for the students,” Veronica Erickson, AP Test Coordinator, said.

On Feb. 22, the Acalanes Union High School District (AUHSD) announced its plan for AP Exams this year, and released the exam schedule. “AUHSD staff has carefully considered all exam dates and administration windows offered by the College Board. Please note that some options offered by the College Board included students taking exams after the conclusion of the school year and during the week of finals, including on the day of and after graduation,” Aide Glimme, Associate Superintendent, said.

Students have mixed opinions about this year’s new schedule. For many, online testing is the only AP Exam they have ever taken. “While it is difficult for me to judge which I would prefer (having never taken an in-person AP exam myself) I would have to say I would prefer taking the test in person. While I would not have access to notes, I feel this advantage would be outweighed by the advantages in-person tests offer: having a designated test space, not having to worry about how to submit, not having to worry about internet access, etc.” senior Drugan Brady said. According to the schedule AUHSD released, some AP exams will be held in person, while others will be held online. “Most of my exams are in person this year, except for AP US History. I had no idea what to expect for this year’s AP season, and I’ve never done a full, in-person AP exam before so I’m worried about the difficulty level and curve,” junior Isabelle Bennette said. 

As for advice on how to prepare for online exams, some big takeaways for first-time AP exam takers include staying organized, preparing accordingly, and staying calm. “I recommend preparing for online exams by doing most of your practice online, whether it’s quizlet flashcards or full length typed dbq’s. I think I will do this as I study for my online test this year, and I might study a little bit more for any online AP because of its inflexibility of being unable to go back to questions,” Bennett said. “In general, I recommend preparing for online exams by doing most of your practice online, whether it’s quizlet flashcards or full length typed dbq’s. I think I will do this as I study for my online test this year, and I might study a little bit more for any online AP because of its inflexibility of being unable to go back to questions,” Brady said. “I would also say to stay calm while taking the tests, and if the internet does not work for some reason, do not panic. I had some internet problems last year, but you have to trust the College Board (as hard as that may be) to be accommodating.”