Due to COVID-19, a slew of activities and processes have experienced changes, including the 2020 Advanced Placement (AP) exams. College Board announced March 20 that students will take an at-home, consolidated form of the exam that lasts 45 minutes. Following up April 3 with the updated exam schedule, College Board released the possible content covered on the exam and question types, sparking varied sentiments.
In the past, students could not use outside aid on the exams. Consisting of a variety of questions styles, the test included sections like multiple choice and free response questions. Now, all exams will consist of free response and/or oral question types, allow open notes and cover less content than the usual exam.
According to AP Chemistry teacher Mrs. Paula Urrea, questions in the past tested students’ ability to recall information and how well they can apply it. She believes this year’s test will likely follow this format, but with fewer memorization questions.
“There may be one or two ‘identify based on evidence’ [types of questions], but I think they’re going to make this very lab-based,” Mrs. Urrea said. “[How well students will perform] will depend on how they are able to tie in some of those other concepts [from various chapters].”
Despite these changes, multiple AP teachers have reinforced the idea that AP courses are college courses that cover content students need to know beyond the test. “Whether the students are going to Calculus BC and will see those objectives again, or whether they’ll be going to college next year, they’ll likely take a class that requires that they know those objectives,” AP Calculus and AP Statistics Mr. Isaac Sofy said. “I still want to hold them accountable for that.”
However, the approach to preparing for the exam varies by teacher and subject. AP English Language and Composition involves content that students don’t necessarily have to learn, but rather skills they have to develop.
“I don’t really see any difference as far as curriculum goes,” AP English Language and Composition teacher Mrs. Jennifer Bolaños-Cadenas said. “As far as I’m concerned, many of you are really in the stages where you’re ready. You have the skills.”
On the other hand, for classes that focus on content that students need to learn, the preparation approach may change. For AP World History, Mr. Michael Tavernia will focus on solidifying students’ understanding of how to write a Document-Based Question (DBQ), the sole question format. Yet, the reduced content works in students’ favor.
“It is a little like preparing to run a marathon, but only having to run a 50-yard dash,” Mr. Tavernia, who had covered all the course content before the school’s physical closure, said. “I think the students will do just fine.”
The new time constraints may end up helping Heritage students, Mrs. Urrea added. In contrast to schools with a block, 90-minute schedule, Heritage’s classes last 49 minutes, closer to the format of this year’s AP exams. Mrs. Urrea has tested her students in 45 minutes, allowing them to get a feeling for this year’s timing.
With the change in format, such as with AP Spanish Language and Culture, which will now only feature an oral response exam rather than a mix of all the aforementioned styles, comes concerns over the scoring. “I’m more worried, I’d say,” senior Daniel Block, who has taken 17 APs over the course of high school, said. “I feel like I’m better at the multiple choice.”
A notable component of the grading of AP exams lies with the curve. With the limited number of questions, some students wonder how that will impact AP exam scores. “I’m curious to see if the score distributions remain,” Block said. “Some exams have a 5 [score] percentage close to 5% or so. I’m not sure how they could give so few 5s with only 1 or 2 questions.”
Another concept students are questioning is the change in difficulty of the exam. “Even though I will have to study less, I’m not sure if it will be easier or harder,” junior Aaron Batista, who’s currently enrolled in four AP courses, said. “Some AP exams have become just one essay, which sounds great, but gives less room to earn points. Your entire AP grade may rely on one essay, which is a bit scary.”
As COVID-19 and its consequences remain unprecedented for all parties involved in the AP exam process, students can go in with an open mind and take advantage of the resources provided for them. From materials provided by teachers to College Board’s free, daily AP classes, resources are available to students to prepare for AP exams. No matter how, students can continue to study for the AP exams while remembering the purpose of AP classes: to enhance education and prepare for college and beyond.
