Due to the coronavirus pandemic and school closures around the United States, AP tests will be shortened to 45 minutes and taken online this year. 

College Board has said that the exam will consist of material that most schools have completed by early March, so not all content will be covered. Additionally, each AP course will have two available test dates, according to the College Board website:

“For each AP subject, there will be two different testing dates. The full exam schedule, specific free-response question types that will be on each AP Exam, and additional testing information will be available by April 3.”

Additionally, the College Board has tried to calm fears that colleges won’t accept credit for the shortened exam. Their website reads:

“Colleges support this solution and are committed to ensuring that AP students receive the credit they have worked to earn. For decades, colleges have accepted a shortened AP Exam for college credit when groups of students have experienced emergencies.”

The College Board has had to adjust to changing circumstances and school closures.

With the rapid spread of coronavirus in the United States, some schools have already announced they will remain closed for the rest of the year. Kansas became the first state to cancel the remainder of the academic year when Gov. Laura Kelly made the decision on March 17. 

The most recent announcement from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has schools in Illinois closed through April 7, but the closures will almost certainly be extended. Indiana, our neighbor and a state with almost 2,000 less cases as of March 26, has already announced that schools there will be closed until May 1. 

The full exam schedule will be released by the College Board on April 3.