As AP Exams Near, Students React to New Digital Testing Setup

As the College Board rolled out plans for digital AP testing in 2025, the organization received mixed feedback from both students and teachers. The shift to digital testing has sparked both praise and criticism.

According to the College Board, several AP tests will be fully digital, while others will follow a hybrid format, with multiple-choice questions online and written responses on paper.

AP exams going fully digital include AP African American Studies, AP Art History, AP Comparative Government and Politics, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Environmental Science, AP Human Geography, AP Latin, AP Psychology, AP Seminar, AP United States Government and Politics, AP United States History, and AP World History: Modern. The hybrid exams, where students complete the multiple-choice section and view writing prompts online but handwrite their responses on paper, include AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, all AP Physics classes, and AP Statistics.

While reactions to the news were mixed, many students seem to prefer online testing over paper. Bryce Barnett (‘27) welcomed the change, saying he supports online testing because “[his] handwriting is bad.” He noted that typing is faster and easier, adding, “People with terrible handwriting, their handwriting will become legible.” Barnett felt the College Board made the right choice, emphasizing the importance of “moving with the times,” since most work is becoming digital.

Josh Black (‘25) shared Barnett’s enthusiasm, describing online exams as “a little less work because you don’t actually have to write anything, you can just click buttons… and it’s better for the environment.” He also believed that students’ scores wouldn’t be significantly affected by the change and cited the convenience and environmental benefits as key reasons for supporting the transition.

However, not everyone is fully convinced. Landen Gay (‘26) expressed concerns about the potential for cheating, saying, “It’s super easy to cheat” on online platforms like Canvas. While the College Board’s Bluebook app includes several anti-cheating safeguards, Gay and others remain wary. He argued that “it would be more fair to the teachers and to everybody” to stick with paper exams and suggested an alternative solution: “They should give people a choice whether to take it online or on paper.” Gay also questioned whether the College Board might be transitioning too quickly.

Mr. Carlton Ackerman, who teaches AP World History and Human Geography and taught during the pandemic when AP tests were temporarily moved online, also weighed in. He noted, “I’m not taking the tests, but the students told me that they prefer digital because they could type faster than they could write.” However, he also highlighted a potential downside: “The multiple-choice section was more difficult because you couldn’t go back to previous questions,” a feature that many students may not be aware of, which makes the online format less appealing to some.

Overall, while many students at Walls feel optimistic about the upcoming changes, concerns remain about issues like cheating and limitations on revising answers. These questions will likely be answered in the spring when the new digital tests make their debut. For now, the College Board’s move toward digitalization continues to generate mixed reactions.