17 AP Exams at North will transition from paper testing to hybrid or fully digital testing in May 2025 after the College Board discontinued paper testing for 28 AP Exams in July 2024.
“I feel like it’s definitely going to be easier for a lot of the tests that involve writing, like AP Lang and AP U.S. History, especially when you have to write up to three essays in a set amount of time,” said senior Canina Wang.
Testing in the spring will be administered globally through Bluebook, the same online testing application that the digital SAT utilizes. Of these digital exams, 12 will be fully on Bluebook, and the other 16 will be hybrid tests. The only digital exam that will not use Bluebook is AP Chinese Language and Culture.
“When I take online tests, they often feel less serious because I’m just clicking buttons on a screen,” said Wang. “When I have to bubble in answers physically on paper it’s more stress inducing, so online tests might feel less stressful.”
North administers 17 of the 28 exams set to go digital this year. The exams that have yet to go digital at North are AP French Language and Culture, AP Spanish Language and Culture, AP Italian Language and Culture, and AP Music Theory.
“I am delighted that students will have a chance to write on a computer because I think that is better for students and what they’re used to,” said English teacher Beth Cronin. “However, I’m really sad because I think the AP exam should be giving students a printed test that they can read and annotate, and as a teacher of reading, I’m really sad kids are going to have to read on screens.”
Fully digital tests will have both multiple-choice and free-response questions online, while hybrid tests include a hand-written portion for free-response questions.
“I don’t like the fact that AP tests are changing so rapidly. I think I prefer doing a more traditional route on paper,” said senior Henry Ho.
“I think they’re trying to save money by doing it this way, and not doing what’s best for kids,” said Cronin.
According to the College Board website, students will be able to use personal devices, including Windows and Mac laptops, iPads, tablets, and school Chromebooks during the exams. The College Board website states that exam content and scoring process will remain unchanged. Test previews will be available for the new digital exams on Bluebook throughout the year, according to the College Board website.
“I think moving AP Exams online will be okay, but there may be some technical difficulties in the beginning,” said senior James Low.
