FAQs for AP Exams in 2021
As we get closer to this year’s Advanced Placement exams, new details are regularly emerging that will help students plan for success. Gluttons for punishment can check out the 100-page AP Digital Testing Guide – the rest of you can stay right here and read on.
How do I prepare for my digital AP exam?
If you are taking the online administration of an AP exam, you will need to complete these steps before test day.
Students will be required to use a desktop or laptop computer (no phones or tablets) and will need to both register with College Board and download a digital testing application. This app will install the software for test day and provide access to practice test material. You’ll need to complete your exam setup no later than the day before your exam. (N.B.: You must complete exam setup for each individual AP test you’re taking.)
There are a few additional things digital AP testers should know. The College Board has addressed the concerns regarding internet connectivity by engineering its testing software so that, even if you lose your connection, you won’t lose progress or time on your exam. Be aware, though, that on the digital exam you won’t be able to return to previous questions once you’ve navigated past them.
When will I take my exam?
This year, the College Board will be offering three test dates ranging from May 3 through June 11. The College Board has devised a relatively complex testing calendar sorted by subject, and schools will choose which and how many administrations they provide. In situations where students have the opportunity to choose, they should consider both timing and format. Some students feel more comfortable with digital learning than others, and some benefit from paper testing and the ability to annotate their exams as they work.
What will be tested?
Unlike last year, 2021 exams will be full-length, involving both multiple choice and free response questions.
These exams test your ability to synthesize information – in other words, the College Board wants to see if you know how to apply your knowledge, not just memorize miscellaneous data. That said, each of the courses covers a wide range of material that you’ll need to master in order to ace the test – see our thoughts about test prep below!
How can I prepare?
Study with official resources. The College Board’s YouTube channel offers free, live AP classes and review sessions for almost every AP subject area. These are offered by AP Workshop Consultants, the people who train your AP teachers. For those of you who want a more lighthearted take, the YouTube Crash Course channel also has great videos.
Get to know the concepts. For humanities courses like AP English Literature or AP European History, instead of focusing on details, think about overall themes. A concept map or timeline can give you a sense of what happened when, and how one event relates to others. Humanities-based AP exams often test your ability to discuss in writing how events of the same era compare and contrast with one another, or to analyze both historic and literary documents. This is where your “big picture” studying will give you an advantage. For math subjects like AP Calculus, be prepared to combine skills across units and to make reasonable inferences. For science classes like AP Physics or AP Biology, you’ll need to be comfortable analyzing processes and making predictions about data.
In addition to the AP Classroom resources released last year and the new Daily Learning Videos, the College Board will be offering live online review sessions the week of April 19-30.
Students who aren’t achieving their best results with distance learning may need more guidance, whether that be in a small group setting or with individual tutoring. Face-to-face sessions provide an accountability that’s often lacking in distance education, as well as personalized attention to students’ strengths and weaknesses. Get in touch if you’d like to discuss a customized learning plan for your AP student.