College Board is set to introduce nine new digital advanced placement exams that will no longer be available on paper in May 2025.
The AP African American Studies, AP Computer Science Principles, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP European History, AP Psychology, AP Seminar, AP United States History and AP World History: Modern exams will be the first to go fully online for AP test takers.
Among these AP tests, the AP African American Studies would make its debut for the first time in the 2024-2025 school year in the United States and be available internationally in the 2025-2026 school year. The AP Psychology exam will also be offered for the first time digitally.
According to College Board’s official website “schools in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Territories, and schools and test centers outside of the United States” will have to register for the digital AP tests in May of 2025 to be able to administer the exams as they did not could not order digital exams before.
“It is interesting to see how technology is advancing and how even the College Board began to use it for convenience,” said Kaila Kelly (12), an AP student at Aliso Niguel.
“I feel that in the scope of the world we live in today, having the tests be online makes a lot of sense because so many things are going online now. I know a lot of people have the ‘I suffered so you suffer’ mentality, and while I can empathize with that, I feel like we should take advantage of these technological advancements, especially since they’re relevant to the present time,” said Holly Kim (11), an AP student at Aliso Niguel.
The amount of paper used for each exam across the globe could be significantly decreased as a result of going digital. This would eliminate the chances of tests being lost or mixed up. The AP exam graders can also easily grade content online instead of receiving stacks of paper.
“I think AP classes going online would cause an increase in the availability for students to take. Although I think it’s great for more students to be able to take an AP, I also think it would be easier to pass due to the ease of cheating and online resources,” said Sarah Cuenca (12).
Many show concerns about how the system will work and if it will increase the probability of students chatting on exams. With the availability of technology that can access the web in the test environment, will there be an increase in cheating and hacks to work around the system?
Not just for 2025, in 2026, AP Art History, AP Comparative Government and Politics, AP Computer Science A, AP Human Geography, AP Latin and AP United States Government and Politics will also become fully digital. However, it is encouraged to check for any changes closer to the May 2026 exam dates.
