How will the new AP test format affect students in West Bend?
By Chloe Bauer, Current Staff
Advanced Placement students will be having even more screen time this school year.
At the beginning of the 2024-25 school year, AP students across the nation were surprised to learn that the majority of the end-of-course assessments will be taken in an online format, replacing the standard written tests that many students have become accustomed to. Starting in May, 28 exams that were previously on paper will be in an online format.
The change is to improve test security. The amount of AP exams that have been canceled due to cheating attempts has risen in recent years.
In West Bend, AP teachers have some things to say about this adjustment.
Mark Drake, a West social studies teacher, has always given paper tests and exams for his AP Government and Law class. Drake worries about students’ ability to comprehend multiple choice questions online versus on paper, as well as the loss of physical annotations that he sees many students benefit from.
“I do not like this change,” Drake said. “I understand the College Board’s worry about test security, but I don’t know how this will help our students score better on their tests. Many of my students like the tactile feel of holding real tests and textbooks.”
West English teacher Blaise Arens has similar concerns that the shift from paper to digital will “shake things up.” He expressed that not only will the students have to learn to switch from paper AP tests to online ones, but teachers also will be facing a change.
“It’s going to be a learning curve as teachers now have to also transition to teaching, practicing, and leaving feedback in a digital format,” Arens said. “I want to use the BlueBook program that students are going to use on exam day, but I don’t know how best to use it myself yet.”
“Many of my students like the tactile feel of holding real tests and textbooks.”
Mark Drake, West social studies teacher
In addition to the learning curve teachers themselves face, they must alter their courses to fit the new format of the AP tests in order to best prepare the students. Drake, whose AP Government and Law class has tested primarily on paper, finds himself needing to make significant changes to the manner in which he teaches his students.
“I will have to change how I teach parts of the course, specifically skills for students to learn for answering their multiple choice questions online and writing their FRQs,” Drake said. “We will have to merge more testing online, and there are always problems with this like if the AP Classroom program crashes mid-test. I spent weeks building custom practice online FRQs so students can practice all of the prompts for all of the different questions and units of study.”
Arens wonders if benchmark expectations will go up due to the average student typing faster than they write. This causes him to worry that students who are naturally slow typers will not be able to accurately exhibit their skill due to their typing ability.
However, not everyone is uneasy with this change. Marcie Petersen, an East junior taking AP Language and Composition, has a different perspective.
“Though it might be difficult because we’re used to taking tests on paper, I think it is beneficial,” Petersen said. “It is fast and efficient, especially in English classes when we’re writing so much in a limited amount of time.”
Whether students will miss the feeling of the pen in their hand or are thankful for the addition of screens to the AP tests, Drake says the learning experience will remain high quality.
“The biggest things students can do is to work hard, participate in class, get help when needed and learn the material,” he said. “Then it doesn’t matter how the test is given because the students will know the content and be able to answer it just fine.”
(Top image: Marcie Petersen, Tatiyana Patrick and Justin Geniesse are students in Blaise Arens’ fourth period Advanced Placement class at the West Bend High Schools. Photo taken Nov. 13 by Chloe Bauer, Current Staff.)
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