AP Testing to Begin, Amid Controversies
New, shorter tests will be given at the same time all over the world.
Today, at noon Eastern time, Advanced Placement testing begins for the 2020 year, with the Physics C: Mechanics exam. At 4 p.m. the test will be given in government and politics, and so forth through two weeks of AP exams.
In the Western part of the United States, the tests will be at the same time, meaning the physics test will be at 9 a.m. and the government test will be at 1 p.m. That's because the tests are being given in a take-home version this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Three million students will be taking the tests. And the same time applies to those abroad, too. So in Britain (where there are AP students), the government test starts at 9 p.m. In India (where there are also AP students), the test starts at 1:30 a.m. tomorrow. In China, at 4 a.m. tomorrow. Many of the students taking AP abroad are the American children of soldiers or workers in foreign countries.
The tests are seen by many as a key not only for high school, but for college admissions. Even at the many colleges that have (historically) discouraged students from earning college credit with AP courses, they use AP courses in college admissions. Success in AP courses is viewed as a key sign that students have taken rigorous courses in high school.
According to the College Board, the changes it has made in AP testing protect student safety and assure colleges that want to give students credit (or admissions help) that the tests and their results have been valid. But critics say that the arrangements discriminate against those taking the test outside the U.S. and those with disabilities -- and that the AP this year is so different that it degrades the program's reputation.
How the Tests Will Be Given
The timing of the tests is only one of the differences this year.
The AP exams will only include material that most teachers cover in their courses by March. "To be fair to all students, some of whom have lost more instructional time than others, the exam will only include topics and skills most AP teachers and students have already covered in class by early March," the College Board said.
In addition, the tests will be open book, including notes students have. The College Board is even providing students with tips on how to take an open-book exam.
This year's exams will also be shorter: 45 minutes instead of three hours.
Grading will be the same -- on a scale of 1 to 5.
As for the odd times for international students to take the exams, Zachary Goldberg, a College Board spokesman, said via email, "While normally AP students can test at different times, the unique security protocols required for at-home testing only allow one global time for tests and makeups. Because no single time is convenient for all students, the specific times were selected to enable the largest number of AP students worldwide to test in daylight hours. Our only other alternative would have been to cancel exams in certain time zones entirely. We hope that for the students in time zones with inconvenient test times, having the chance to test outweighs concerns about the unusual times."
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