On April 7 JCPS launched their Non-Traditional Instruction (NTI) to their 169 schools helping students adjust to a new learning system from home that has been implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers are trying to help their students adjust by providing online communication and supplemental work for their students to access. Right now, all 50 states and Washington D.C. have closed their schools either until the end of April, or the rest of the school year, affecting more than 55.1 million students. States are taking different approaches on how to move along with their students’ education. Information on how each state’s school districts are responding to COVID-19 can be found on Education Weekly. 

As JCPS superintendent Marty Pollio and his staff continue to watch the increase of COVID-19 cases, they are determining whether it is safe for their students to return to school. But many high school students are still concerned about how they will take their AP Exams if school is canceled for the rest of the year? How will they receive their credit? The College Board announced that exams will now be taken online on any device that a student has access to and will be open book/open note. Students that do not have access to the internet can fill out this form or fill it out for a student they know who doesn’t have access to the internet so that they can get the resources and information they need. 

Students across the country have their own worries and reliefs about how the College Board is responding to COVID-19. Some are grateful to have extra time to relax and take some time to catch up while others are worried that steering into a new learning system takes away many advantages that made it easier to prepare for the AP Exams. 

“Online learning is drastically different from classroom learning and personally I feel more engaged being in a class where the teacher is readily available to answer questions and help.” Vy Pham, a sophomore at duPont Manual High School shares her thoughts on College Boards suggestion for teachers to continue with virtual lessons to prepare students for the exams in May. 

Pham is one of the 1.24 million students that takes College Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests scheduled in May. But as schools continue to close for longer periods of time, students are worried about preparation for these exams. The College Board has stated on their website that if students are attending a school that is going to be closed on the day of their exam, the student still has the option to take their test by using their registration ticket and test at another CLEP test center before June 30, 2020, or they have the option to take it online at home. Nearby test centers can be found on the CLEP Test Center Search tool. 

On March 20, the College Board announced that they will still give students the opportunity to receive college credit for the classes they took with an adjusted schedule. Exams will now be taken online and portfolio submission deadlines will be extended for AP 2-D Art and Design, 3-D Art and Design, Computer Science Principles, Drawing, Research, and Seminar courses. The College Board is now offering remote learning to help prepare students for AP Exams such as Khan Academy, Career Finder, live streams for each of their courses, and their new digital magazine “The Elective”. All May conferences such as “A Dream Deferred: The Future of African American Education” and “Prepárate: Educating Latinos for the Future of America” have been canceled. The May SAT, and all makeup test dates in March have been canceled as well. 

The new setup for exams will only cover the first 75% of the course that teachers have likely covered prior to NTI and students will not be tested on the last 25% of the course. Most exams will have one or two free-response questions and each question will be timed separately. The College Board is also offering a variety of online resources such as the free live stream  they hosted on March 25 for AP review courses. Students can also take advantage of free, optional practice on AP classroom. Starting April 13 there will be a new Student Practice section in the AP classroom that has free-response questions which students can use as a resource to help apply their learning to the skills needed for the test. To see the full details of what specific units will and will not be covered on your AP Exam and the type of exam questions to expect you can find that on the College Board website.