A big part of Lakewood High School students’ academic journey is taking AP classes and preparing for AP exams. If they get a 3, a 4, or a 5 on their AP exam, they can earn college credit for that particular class and they don’t have to retake the same course again when they enter university. Students who decide to make this commitment work hard throughout the entire year in order to do well on AP exams, but this year, the situation is far more complicated than it looks. 

Hundreds of schools across the United States have been closed because of the Coronavirus outbreak, and the students who were preparing for the AP exams with the guidance of their teachers have to prepare on their own, using the internet as their primary tool. Teachers have been trying to help as much as they can, but communicating in person has proven to be far more efficient than emails or Zoom online lectures.

Additionally, Collegeboard, the company that runs AP, has announced that the AP exams will probably take place on our computer screens rather than at school. Not only that, but they will be only 45 minutes long and there will not be any multiple choice questions. Some students might find this new feature as a disadvantage, not to mention the difficulties some of the students will face while typing mathematical or chemical equations on their STEM AP exams.

However, the good news coming from Collegeboard is the fact that it is uploading video lectures to help students carry on with the content material for each course, as well as reducing the topics that will be tested on each AP exam. Some units will not be included on the 2020 exam, which is going to be a major relief for many of us. Furthermore, Collegeboard is going to provide two testing dates for each exam because some students prefer to get tested while the content is still fresh. 

The second testing date as well as more information on the AP exams will be announced soon.