Amid the changes caused by COVID-19, many students have been inquiring about what will happen in regard to Advanced Placement testing and classes. 

As of April 2, the plan is that the exam will be on a computer, tablet or smart phone, is 45 minutes long and contains the units that the College Board has assumed was covered before the break. 

“My understanding is that they will all be free-response,” said associate principal for curriculum and instruction Dr. Jeff Schagrin.

As the exam is online, there raises the question as to how the College Board will be preventing cheating.

 “The free-response questions will be run through software to search for plagiarism,” said AP teacher Erin Wise.

Another major concern surrounding the exam is whether or not students will be able to earn college credit at their respective schools, since the exam is shortened and cheating could possibly occur. 

“We are told that universities support this and acknowledge the difficult situation,” Schagrin said.

This means the likelihood of obtaining college credit is high.

Yet if the colleges and universities accept this credit, they will expect students to have an understanding of the course in its entirety, which begs the question of will this content be covered?

“I will still be covering all content. The College Board still requires the course to be taught in its entirety as per the syllabus agreement,” Wise said. 

The remainder of the content being taught is up to the teacher of the course, but many teachers have already provided resources to their students on the remaining content even if it is not taught. 

“The College Board has a schedule posted of online learning available,” Wise said. 

The AP teachers are all helping students prepare for the upcoming AP tests.

 “Stay calm. Get enough sleep. Stay active and take walks. Make sure to stay connected to others in your family, and connect to friends via various digital platforms. I also recommend students stay connected to each other- contact and or create online study groups with one another. You don’t have to be besties to study with your classmates. Take time each day to work, relax, do something that makes you happy, and laugh,” said AP psychology teacher Catherine Dodd.