In today’s age of technology, digitalization has made its way into the world of College Board and Advanced Placement (AP) testing. The shift towards digital AP exams started in 2020, when College Board started to offer online testing options in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2023-2024 school year, 8 AP exams were offered in the digital format, including AP US History, AP Lit, AP Lang, AP World History, and more. However, College Board has recently announced that they plan to discontinue paper testing for 28 more APs in May of 2025, including 16 fully digital and 12 “hybrid” examinations. This leaves only 8 to 12 APs that will still remain fully on paper, and they too, are set to switch to digital testing in the coming years. While there are some concerns about the feasibility of AP testing amidst technical difficulties and questions about the necessity of the change, the benefits make it clear that these advancements will remain a core part of the educational landscape for years to come.
Digital testing can offer several benefits to the average student. First, it is much more efficient. Especially in AP tests requiring an extensive amount of writing, students now are able to type much faster which reduces the race against the clock. It enables faster writing and editing, allowing students to more easily revise and edit their essays as if they were just a Google document.
Digital testing has also increased the efficiency in test administration, relieving the burden of shipping paper materials to thousands of locations across the country weeks in advance. Cutting shipping and handling has reduced logistical issues related to paper testing, such as distribution of materials, shipping and handling security, scanner issues, confidentiality, and secure transport. Additionally, from an ecological standpoint, AP testing has significantly reduced the need for paper, contributing to more sustainable practices.
Digital testing is also much more accessible to students. Accommodations are much better on digital platforms for students with disabilities, and Bluebook can adapt to many commonly used devices, such as Chromebooks, iPads, and laptops. Technological obstacles are also reduced, especially when it comes to recording speaking portions of exams.
The Bluebook interface also allows students to focus more easily on certain parts of reading passages and makes questions more engaging. For example, students are able to highlight key passages or lines in long text passages, which in turn, makes the questions easier to concentrate on. The shift to digital AP exams has also improved the legibility of student responses, especially for graders. This development makes it easier for graders to understand the content, rather than having to decipher hand written essays. Overall, the benefits of digital AP testing improve the overall test taking experience for students across the country, making it a valuable alternative to paper testing.
However, as with any major changes, the shift to a digitalized test-taking format comes with its own pitfalls, the most flagrant being technical difficulties. With concerns ranging from battery life issues to WiFi connectivity problems to unforeseen glitches in Bluebook in general, the new digital format of AP exams has the potential for things to go wrong. These impairments not only disrupt the normally smooth, systematic completion of AP exams but also take away from the student’s focus, as the student’s attention is diverted from the test to the technical difficulty. Any high schooler who has taken any digitally formatted exam is familiar with the panic of turning on their device before the test starts only to realize it is moments away from dying from low battery. Consequently, due to the mental drainage that comes with dealing with technical difficulties added onto the already stressful circumstances of taking an AP exam, the student might not be able to display their full capabilities on the test, taking away from their efforts in preparation. Rather than enhancing the test-taking experience, the drawbacks of digital test-taking may undermine the integrity of AP testing as a whole, introducing problems that could have been avoided with paper-based exams.
Although technical difficulties constitute a majority of the concerns about digital APs, there are other disadvantages with the new format, one of which includes the benefits of paper testing. Surprisingly, students mentioned missing the tactile experience of paper tests—the physical act of writing on paper with pencil—which has been researched for its benefits. Another advantage lost during the change to digital exams includes accessibility, as stable internet connection is not as universal to all students as the paper test was.
While digital AP testing certainly has its own strengths and weaknesses, at this point in time, it may simply boil down to personal preference. Some students may find escaping the world of scantrons and hand cramp-inducing written essays refreshing and better suited for today’s digital world. Others might believe that the constant, jarring exposure to blue light and the risk of technical difficulties that may hinder the test-taking process outweigh the benefits associated with digital exams. Nevertheless, the increasing digitalization of critical exams means that digital exams are now the new norm.