Opinion: AP Testing in Person: Yes or No?
An example of a testing site at a highschool. Photo Courtesy: pixabay
At Segerstrom High School, students who take an AP class usually take their AP exam at the end of the school year. The exams are paid by the school, and all students need to do is show up to take their test. This has been the normal routine for years.
Due to COVID-19, AP exams were online last school year, and most students took their test at home. Since everything happened so fast, College Board was not able to perfect this system, and many students had trouble at home with Wi-Fi and with submitting their files.
Personally, I had problems with my Wi-Fi being too slow and with my family being loud in the background.
“Honestly I don’t really feel comfortable with AP tests being in person just because COVID is still a major problem. I think it would be more beneficial and safer to take the tests online from home knowing that you won’t have to be around people who may have been exposed to COVID without realizing it,” says Joshua Trevino (12).
This year, however, Segerstrom has announced that students will most likely be taking their AP exams at school, in person. This came as a shock since school has been online for a little more than a year, and the fact that we are going to be taking the tests in person has made some students uneasy.
“I like that we have the opportunity to take the AP test in-person because taking it on the chromebook was terrible. The format of the AP test on the chromebook was confusing compared to paper and pencil,” says Kevin Chavez (12), a student who supports the school’s announcement.
But, how is it that the College Board expects students to be ready to take the AP tests in-person when we have been learning online all year? It has not been the same experience as learning in a classroom setting. Personally, I feel like I haven’t been able to learn to my fullest potential because online learning isn’t the same as regular in-person learning.
Leo Rivera (12) says, “To be honest, I understand why they want AP testing to be in person, it’s a more serious type of test. Personally, I don’t like the idea of in-person testing because there are people dying from COVID and now they are telling us: ‘Here come take this free test but there’s a slight chance you might catch COVID.’ Sure, there’s a vaccine already out, but the vaccines aren’t 100% effective and there are some people, like me, who haven’t gotten the vaccine. In short words, no I don’t want in-person testing, either way they gave us an option for home testing so why can’t we do that instead?”
Segerstrom High School has not revealed all the details on how in-person AP testing will be taking place. Hopefully in the new few weeks, we will be given more information.
Milagros Quezada is a senior and the opinion editor of The Jag Journal. Milagros is in journalism because she enjoys reading other people’s stories as...
Katrina Nguyen • Apr 17, 2021 at 9:36 pm
Interesting article! I’m glad to hear both sides of how people are feeling about it as I have also dealt with difficulty with online learning too so I’m very nervous about the AP tests!
Amy Dam • Apr 9, 2021 at 8:09 pm
Although the vaccine has came out and many people have received it, there is still a possibility that the virus can still be transmitted. For over a year now, students have been learning virtually, and have not been able to experience an actual test setting (like they were able to the previous years, when teachers held “practice AP Exams” on Saturdays). Testing at home allows students to feel secure and safe, but I can see why the school would want students to test on campus, especially in order to monitor them.
adviser • Mar 23, 2021 at 11:35 am
Great work, Milagros. This a thoughtful article. I like how you included many student perspectives. It is important to make sure that our newspaper can help students voice their opinions.