By TANVI BARGAJE

Staff Writer

AP exams will be administered online this year through a 45 minute free-response exam that students may take at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Exams will be open-note and can be taken over computer, tablets, or smartphones, with students being able to submit photos of handwritten work. Exams will be held from May 11th to May 22nd, one week ahead of the original testing dates, and make-ups will be held June 1st through June 5th. 

After surveying around 18,000 AP students, 91% said that they wanted to keep AP exams this year, so CollegeBoard’s AP Program is currently investing in the development of an at-home testing option for AP students to ensure their safety.

To be fair to all students, the exams will only cover material that should have been taught up till early March. They will also use a range of digital security tools, such as plagiarism detection software, in effort to prevent academic dishonesty.

CollegeBoard is also working to provide free resources such as test materials and practice tests in their AP classrooms. Beginning on Wednesday, March 25, students and teachers can attend free, live AP review courses, delivered by AP teachers from across the country.

Additionally, teachers will be able to view their student AP test submissions 48 hours after they take their exams. 

CollegeBoard is also investing in resources to provide tools and connectivity to lower income students so that they can take the exams. 

Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) shut down schools for the rest of the school year after Governor Gavin Newsom announced that  California schools would not be able to reopen before summer break.