April 10, 2025
By Isabella Bartlett
Managing Editor
Next month, 28 Advanced Placement exams will be administered on the Bluebook digital testing application. Sixteen of these exams will be fully digital and 12 will be hybrid, with some sections taken on Bluebook and some on paper.
Senior Angelina Brennen will be responding to the AP Calculus free-response questions on paper and completing the multiple-choice questions digitally. Her AP English Literature and Composition and AP European History exams will be entirely digitized.
Brennen said she feels comfortable taking her AP tests digitally, especially because she is already familiar with the Bluebook application because it is used for the PSAT and SAT.
“I’m way more confident and calm when taking a digital test. I will be faster when doing the test on the computer because it will be easier to get from question to question.”
“I have never taken an AP test online, but I have taken the SAT online. It was a very easy process that made taking the test a lot faster and relieved a lot of the stress that I had,” Brennen said. “There are built-in
timers [that show] how much time you have left in a given section, and the online tools are very easy to use.”
Brennen said another advantage of digital exams is the shortened pre-exam process.
“[Bluebook is] a helpful tool because students can sign in even before they are in the room and do pre-exam check-in even if all of the students are not present in their testing room,” Brennen said.
She said that when AP tests were administered on paper, students had to wait until all the test takers were in the room to fill out their information.
“This sometimes would take a while because people would show up to tests late,” Brennen said.
Sophomore Gabriel Angelli, who will take the AP Computer Science Principles and AP Human Geography exams digitally, said he is glad his first AP test will be online.
“I’m way more confident and calm when taking a digital test. I will be faster when doing the test on the computer because it will be easier to get from question to question,” Angelli said.
He said the advantages of digital exams outweigh the drawbacks.
“[Students] won’t make as many mistakes on the online tests. If any kids have bad handwriting, the online test gets rid of [that factor],” Angelli said. “The online test is [also] more accessible because it can account for people with disabilities.”
Angelli said typing is more efficient than handwriting, especially for exams where students have to write multiple essays.
“The only disadvantages I see from online tests are the computer’s battery life or if your device is broken,” Angelli said.
Upon instating the new digital exams, the College Board has taken precautions regarding internet connection, according to its website. A student only needs to be connected to the internet at the start and end of the exam, as disconnection from the internet during the exam will not disrupt testing. If a student experiences a severe disruption, they have up to four days after the exam to get an internet connection and submit their encrypted response.
Junior Rebecca Ruiz, who will take the AP Comparative Government and Politics and AP English Language and Composition exams digitally and the hybrid AP Biology exam, said she prefers taking tests on paper.
“I [can] write down my thoughts right next to the question, underline important information, circle questions and do a physical process of elimination to find my answers,” Ruiz said.
She said that while digital AP exams will prevent cheating in a locked browser, they negatively affect her ability to focus.
“I know personally from taking the PSATs online that I tend to get distracted when I take online tests,” Ruiz said.
AP Human Geography teacher Mr. Spence, who has been teaching the course for five years, said his only concern regarding digital AP exams is the Chromebooks provided by LHS.
“I wish that we had better technology for our students,” Spence said. “[The Chromebooks] may present a challenge the day of, but we’re not going to know that in advance.”
The switch to digital exams affects not only students but also teachers who are AP readers. They are assigned an AP exam to grade and use detailed rubrics to evaluate the test’s free-response questions at a designated AP reading event, with the time and place varying depending on which exam is being graded.
Spence, who has been an AP reader for five years, said the switch to digital tests will make the grading process easier and more efficient.
“College Board can have digital answers the day students take the test, whereas in the past it’s been [teachers who] have to mail back the books, then College Board [has] to receive the books [and] then they scan the books,” Spence said.
He said he had a difficult time grading past exams because of poor handwriting, but digital exams eliminate that issue.
“Sometimes a student is accurately conveying themselves in their responses, but the writing is so hard to read because they’re writing under a time crunch,” Spence said. “The fact that students can type and I’ll be able to look at something typed and look for content will make [taking the exam] and my job a lot more streamlined.”
