AP exam season is a dreaded time for many WCHS students. Even for those excelling in AP courses, these exams still make hearts flutter as the date approaches, and students must show the information they retained throughout the year. However, an online change is coming to AP exams, one that is easing some of the tension built up by the student body.
In recent years, some AP exams have gone online through the Bluebook testing application instead of the traditional paper tests. The move to make AP exams online is an attempt to modernize these exams while also serving as a way to increase test security by decreasing the means of cheating. According to Education Week, the transition to online testing “could offer flexibility for schools on block schedules administering the test,” as well as for other schools with unique schedules.
MCPS has had a positive reaction to the shift, and reasonably so, since it makes administering AP tests much more efficient while providing more diversity in the devices that can be utilized come exam day. The online shift of AP exams has also proved to be a huge cost-saver for MCPS, allowing for these funds to be reallocated to other vital areas.
Online AP exams will improve the testing experience for the student population. Considering that most, if not all, students in MCPS have become accustomed to working on electronic devices, online exams should help create an air of familiarity while taking these exams. This essentially means that students will feel a lot less uncomfortable and anxious regarding the nature of AP exams.
This switch is also a step towards making AP tests more accommodating to all students. Many MCPS students are afflicted with a variety of writing disabilities, such as dysgraphia, which hinders their ability to communicate ideas on paper and thus negatively affects these students’ performance on the pen-and-paper components used in the old paper exams. This switch to online is an essential change for these students and will dramatically improve their performance.
In essence, the transition is simply designed to aid students. The benefits are unparalleled when compared to the previous testing method, now giving students more ways to show progress in a more comfortable environment. Additionally, the advantages of online exams present students with the ability to take actions like highlighting and typing, making the written portion of the exam, including information gathering, much easier.
A common misconception is that AP exams going online is a result of the overly electronic tendencies of schools and education today or that students can only succeed in a setting they are used to. In actuality, the transition is mainly due to the astonishing usefulness, ease and anxiety reduction that digitalization provides to AP exams.
Concerns have arisen that online AP exams are not guaranteed to provide the best testing experience due to technical issues such as computer glitches, internet outages or various other electronic problems. While there is merit in the worry surrounding malfunctions, these bugs can be easily combated through proactive maintenance on the instruments being utilized to make the exams possible.
The extensive benefits of online AP exams simply outweigh the concerns. In this increasingly digital world, exams must not be shackled by the past and should instead evolve, employing contemporary methods to achieve success. Online AP exams will help revolutionize an outdated examination system, bringing forth a new and improved era for students.
