Due to the special circumstances that are being presented with quarantine and the inability to attend school, College Board has decided to create changes to all of their exams. Most of them have gotten significantly shorter and have been altered in numerous ways. 

  Senior Mya Saint-Louis has mixed feelings about how the coronavirus has affected these tests. “While I do appreciate the fact that College Board is still allowing us to take AP exams, I strongly dislike the FRQ format. I’d much rather have a multiple choice exam,” she states, speaking about AP Government. There have also been changes made to this test as recently as two weeks before the exam date, where they almost doubled the amount of writing in one of the FRQs needed while keeping the time the same. “I don’t know how they plan to score exams such as AP Literature, where the exam is now based entirely on an essay worth 6 points in total. For some people in other countries, they now have to take exams at 2 AM. While the idea had a good start, the execution was definitely less than stellar.” While many can still obtain their AP credits, she feels as if this is not the best way to test the potential of many students. With the strict times and exams being significantly shorter, it may not be the best way to recognize a student’s true understanding in their courses.

  Many do not believe College Board should be able to conduct exams in the first place. “We should not be taking these tests at all,” begins senior Chiamaka Osakwe. “There are major discrepancies from paper to computer for several tests, especially concerning AP [English] classes. Furthermore, it’s irresponsible and inconsiderate for Collegeboard to change the format of some exams so far into quarantine.” She firmly believes that the organization does not seem to care about the students during the quarantine and more “about profit, not education.” This is especially true for seniors who are already experiencing stress due to graduation being significantly altered and many other events being cancelled completely. 

  In comparison, most AICE exams have been cancelled completely. There are differing opinions concerning the changes in AP exams, and while some are happy to earn credit for their hard work throughout the year, others believe College Board is not taking students’ circumstances into account.