I could’ve sworn that just yesterday I was celebrating winter break with my family. And it’s February already. As AP season comes rushing in, I’ve had some inhibitions about the entire process. 

Let’s just say that I have plenty of APs to study for already, but I still have some worries that don’t necessarily only entail preparing. 

First of all, I’ve adapted to this online setting of school. I don’t think I’ve experienced more than five instances this year where I would need to use actual physical materials such as paper, a stapler, binder, or even a notebook. We even take our notes online and submit them that way. I’ve certainly gotten better at typing, that’s for sure. But, it just seems very illogical to have to take the AP exams in-person. I’m now going to have to get into the groove of doing things in-person again. Wow, I know, it’s such a big problem (note the excessive sarcasm). And I’m not trying to play it out to be a big issue, it’s just that habits form easily, and it’s going to take a while for me to revert back to the “norm”.

Additionally, I’m a little reserved because we’re still in a pandemic. Yes, vaccines are starting to go out and things are beginning to look up. But, it’s not possible that every student will get a vaccine before AP exam time. I’ve mentioned before that I’m high-risk because of my asthma and so because of that, I’ve always double masked, and even wore a face shield the entire time, even when I went to take PSATs. It can get suffocating, believe me. And this goes for the SATs, STAAR exams, and any other exam location that you can think of. So, it’s really a hassle to have to do that six different instances all in the time span of a week or so. I understand if there’s no other way, but having the AP exams online would make it easier for many that are at home because of restrictions. 

And I know that there’s a lot of skepticism about this topic because there is worry of students cheating on the AP exams. But, there are ways to combat these. Having proctored tests, showing your workspace through a camera, and lockdown browsers are just a few suggestions to better protect the integrity of students. It would not only help to maintain the routine that online students are used to, but it would also provide some comfort for students in knowing that they’ll be safe. Plus, it provides an opportunity for those that are planning on missing out on taking the tests because of this. 

All in all, I think that having the AP exams held online could be beneficial in more ways than one. 

Just something to think about.