The school closures brought on by the Coronavirus outbreak have sent schedules into a flux. State assessment testing has been canceled, but for students in Advanced Placement classes, that provides no comfort or answers to how they’ll earn the expected college credit for those classes.

The Advanced Placement Program surveyed some 18,000 AP students and reported last week that 91 percent want to take their AP Exams and to have a chance to earn credit and placement.

According to an update regarding this year’s AP Exams, any student already registered for an exam can choose to cancel at no charge. And beginning on Wednesday,  students and teachers can attend mobile-friendly free, live AP review courses, delivered by AP teachers from across the country.

The AP Program will also make other time investments unique to this year’s circumstances, such as:

  • For the 2019–20 exam administration only, students can take a 45-minute online free-response exam at home. Educator-led development committees are currently selecting the exam questions that will be administered.
  • AP curricula are locally developed and we defer to local decisions on how best to help students complete coursework. To be fair to all students, some of whom have lost more instructional time than others, the exam will only include topics and skills most AP teachers and students have already covered in class by early March.
  • Colleges support this solution and are committed to ensuring that AP students receive the credit they have worked this year to earn. For decades, colleges have accepted a shortened AP Exam for college credit when groups of students have experienced emergencies.
  • Students will be able to take these streamlined exams on any device they have access to—computer, tablet, or smartphone. Taking a photo of handwritten work will also be an option.
  • We recognize that the digital divide could prevent some low-income and rural students from participating. Working with partners, we will invest so that these students have the tools and connectivity they need to review AP content online and take the exam.

Some AP classes require portfolios; those due dates have been extended, check the website for new dates, as well as a list of units that the exams will and will not cover.