Written by Amara Rattigan-Grey
Every year, students study tirelessly for their AP exams and this year was no different. However, when COVID-19 struck, all of our plans changed. Because of the pandemic, all students switched to distance learning and waited for announcements from College Board regarding the exams. It turned out that we were still going to take our AP exams... but online. Online testing was new to everyone and it took time to adjust to the idea. Luckily, the College Board provided us with lots of information and details for our exams. Exam demos for the students taking the tests were a helpful resource; it allowed us to see how the exams worked.
Many students had difficulties, while many found the online experience to be better than expected. I spoke to two of our students, Emily Slukova-Palma and Marlina Carbajal, and asked them to share details about their experience.
“My experience of the online test this year was stressful as I wasn’t in a classroom environment as I am accustomed to. I liked that the test was shorter this year and I was able to finish it within an hour. I disliked that I didn’t have a break in between the questions. I would prefer to do the testing in person as I feel less stressed and don’t have to worry about WiFi or timing as my proctor usually helped me with that.” -E.P.
Practice Exam Demo provided by College Board
“I had no issues submitting the exam, the time was limited though so I felt stressed but after I got it over with, I was relieved. I arrived at the exam 30 minutes early, so I had to wait but time went by really fast. I was prepared so I didn’t have to use notes, but they purposely made the exam harder than usual to prevent cheating. Since there are so many kids that had issues submitting, I think College Board should’ve made a better program for submitting exams within a certain time frame.” -M.C.
Overall, online testing was a different experience for everyone. There were many complications and improvements need to be done to make testing easier for students, but we have to remember that this was a first for everyone.
Practice Exam Demo provided by College Board