Advanced Placement (AP) exams will be modified again this May, with the inclusion of multiple-choice questions, the College Board announced on March 2. Other changes to each exam’s format were also laid out, as well as additional testing date options.

Pali administrators opted to offer the revamped exams from May 18 through May 28, one of the three testing administration periods proposed by the College Board. Tests will be held either in person or online depending on the course. 

The tests were shortened and only offered remotely last May, two months into quarantine and virtual schooling. This year’s tests will mostly revert to the traditional test length and format, but several modifications have been made.

The long-essay question (LEQ) has been removed from all tests and replaced with two additional short-answer questions (SAQs). Additionally, online tests will no longer allow students to go back and forth between questions during the multiple-choice portion of the test. 

“Based on the teacher and student feedback, they were overwhelmingly in favor of the second AP Testing Administration Option,” Assistant Principal Chris Lee said. “Some of the [AP tests] will be digital and the College Board requires that some other [AP tests] must be in-person.”

Given the circumstances, AP Calculus teacher Minh Ha Ngo said she is pleased with the way the College Board is trying to meet the students’ needs.

“I think that the College Board is trying to accommodate all the different situations,” she said.  “The fact that we can choose the second administration… gives an extra 20 days for students to prepare, and I think that makes up for some of that lost instructional time.”

Ngo has adapted some of her teaching strategies in response to the changes.

“I do give problems where they can’t go back… on free response.” she stated. “I have been using AP Classroom for their online multiple-choice assessments.”

AP U.S. History teacher Ian Miller said he stopped administering LEQs in his classes, instead focusing on document-based questions (DBQs) and SAQs.

“I switched… to a better assessment model… that gives the annotation tools that they’re going to need to carve up the stimuli,” Miller said. “I would have preferred to have heard about these changes made right before winter break, so we could make the adjustments… and then help students get on board with these changes quickly.” 

Students have mixed feelings about the exam modifications. 

“I am not a fan of the fact that the LEQ has been eliminated,” junior Stella Becir said. “As an APUSH student, I felt most confident writing the LEQ, and now that it’s gone, my nerves have most definitely been escalated.”

Becir added: “The fact that I won’t be able to go back to my answers later under the multiple choice section is definitely my least favorite component of the updated AP exam.… 

“Skipping questions I am unsure of so I can go back to them later has always been a good time saving strategy for me, so hopefully this new policy won’t impact my time management.”

However, not everyone is worried about this change.

“Not being able to go back on my answers in the multiple-choice part of the exam will not affect me,” sophomore Hemosoo Woo said. “I can see maybe others having issues if they need to check their answers.”

For further test details and information, visit the College Board AP 2020-21 update page.