On September 5, 2023, Mitty students received an email titled “AMHS Digital AP Exam Information.” This email outlined the changes that would come to College Board Exams this year, the most important being that some exams would now be digital, but digital testing is not an alien concept to Mitty. Because of a successful pilot program last year, additional AP exams for courses such as AP US History, AP World History, AP American Literature and AP Language are going to be taken digitally this year in addition to the AP Computer Science Principles exam.
This change will mean a shift to a digital multiple choice and essay writing format using the Bluebook app rather than scantrons. AP Computer Science Principles teacher Ms. Alexis Jefferson already experienced these changes last year and is confident in the process, stating that for students, the new AP exams are just a different way of presenting information.
As Principal Mrs. Katherine Caputo explains, “These digital exams are full-length, proctored exams, given at AMHS and administered on the same schedule as paper exams. The exam content and overall format remain unchanged.” Digital testing is not restricted only to AP exams, however, as the now shorter PSAT and spring SAT have also moved to a digital platform. As shown by the pilot program earlier, Mitty promises to complete the transition incrementally to truly phase into and address any issue that might arise.
The change will be aided by already existing programs. First, each student is already provided with an iPad and uses sustainable WiFi daily. In terms of issues with affordability, students who receive financial aid and have their textbooks covered will have keyboards covered as well.
Classes and teachers are preparing for proctoring the new exams. AP Coordinator Mrs. Lauren Matusich states, “Mitty has already met with all the AP teachers in the particular subjects that have this digital option. Tremendous resources have been put out by the College Board for the teachers to prepare students for it.” Training also expands to students who have already been familiarized with a digital testing system through the app Examplify. This widely used system is similar to the BlueBook app that students will write their essays with.
One common concern for students is what will happen in the event of a technical issue. Our IT staff has worked with College Board to make sure devices are compatible and everything needed to complete the test is provided. Furthermore, the IT staff dedicate a member who can address technical problems to each of the testing sites. Students are also not internet reliant during the test because wifi is only needed to login and submit the test at the end. Mrs. Captuto states, “The nice thing with digital testing is that if you have a glitch, the test stops and when the glitch is fixed, you can start where you left off.”
This shift to a digital testing format will positively impact many students and facilities. Most students of our digitized generation will be comfortable with this shift as it more closely aligns with how learning occurs today. Moreover, all the issues that come with paper exams like marking test answers on a sheet of paper and properly filling out information will not be necessary anymore. Mrs. Caputo further remarks, “When we did the AP Comp Sci testing last year, the first exam moved to digital, there were far less error or incident reports compared to when giving a paper and pencil test.”