By J1 Reporter Mary Cate Tabor

With the recent outbreak of COVID-19, many students are concerned with how the upcoming AP® exams will be handled and if they will even happen. College Board has been looking at all possible ways to continue with the exams and has come to the decision to take the tests virtually. All AP® exams are planning to be administered at home, online from May 11-22. 

Usually the tests are approximately two to three hours in a classroom with an administrator. This year’s virus is causing most of the tests to be 45 minutes long with an extra five minutes for students to submit their responses online. With this inconvenience, seniors will be allowed to send a free score report to any college of their choice. Each test still costs $93 and that applies for all subjects. To find specific timing for each test or edit your registration, go to the College Board website at https://www.collegeboard.org where the full schedule is listed for each subject. 

Teachers are working hard to make the best of the situation. Science teacher Mrs. Kris Calhoun says that she was all ready to do the AP® reading this summer in Kansas City but is on standby to see if they will need her help for online grading. 

Students are also working very hard to study and prepare as usual for this year’s tests despite the circumstances. “Taking AP tests online was definitely not what I planned on doing, but I am trying my best to prepare and hope they understand the circumstances that AP students are in right now. I am using my free time to study as much as I can and hope that I can still get a good score,” said junior Ola Hezel taking the AP® Psychology test this year for the first time. 

This time of year is already stressful for students and with the added burden of the virus, the College Board will have to work hard to help ease the minds of students.   

Students already scheduled to take the exams should have received this information via email.  The deadline for paying was April 24. If students or their family members have questions about the testing process, please address them to counselor Mrs. Kathy DeWispelare at kdewispelare@omahamarian.org