Due to the pandemic shutdown, the College Board announced that the 2020-2021 year AP tests would be taken online. This year, though, the College Board announced that they would continue administering tests similar to years prior to the pandemic.

There are three dates per course between May and June available to students. Some days are solely in-person tests, and some are hybrid. John Carroll chose to go with the first administration of AP tests in May in person.
AP Coordinator Kelly Smith commented, “This year, there is not much changing in the way JC administers the AP exams, other than following the usual safety protocols in place due to COVID-19. We will be offering the majority of students the traditional paper and pencil exams during the first testing administration.”
AP teachers have worked all year to help their students prepare for these tests.
AP Chemistry Teacher Julie Baker has been helping her students prepare for the exam by using the periodic table and equation worksheets. She has also been using questions from previous AP Chem exams.
Dr. Baker said, “I think it will be tough for them this year – harder to get a good score than last year. I think this because (1) this year we could not all do labs at school, and labs are included on the exam. (2) We did not have as much class time as last year. (3) Last year two units were not included on the exam; this year all units are included, and (4) last year the exam was only 45 minutes long and two free response questions with no multiple-choice questions. This year it is a normal length exam: three hours and 15 minutes with multiple choice and free response questions.”
She added, “Students can still do well, but I think it is just going to be harder for them to do so.”
Some AP teachers prefer normal testing conditions rather than online tests.
AP Human Geography and Seminar Teacher James Fendryk said, “I prefer the normal testing procedure. We did not have any large-scale issues with online testing or connectivity issues, but speaking to colleagues from other schools, there were some nightmare stories for students, particularly in areas where there isn’t widespread internet connectivity available.”
Dr. Baker commented, “It is more representative of all the material that we learn during the course of a year. However, I don’t appreciate the fact that the exam covers all the units (including labs) when we obviously have not had a ‘normal’ school year with time to do labs/class activities due to being virtual/hybrid/asynchronous.”
AP teachers are confident that their students will succeed in their AP tests over this two week period.