After receiving much backlash from the virtual AP (Advanced Placement) testing last spring, the College Board has announced their plan to support schools in the 2020-2021 school year by administering AP testing in-person in May 2021. If health and safety regulations allow, Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) may be one of the schools that will test in-person.

After the 2020 AP exams took place, the College Board received many complaints from students, parents and teachers alike who thought the exams were inequitable to some students. Students who didn’t have a computer, internet or a place to take their exams were put at a disadvantage. 

Many students could not submit their answers and were told that they would have to take a makeup exam the next month. Because of the complaints and backlash, the College Board even received a lawsuit. However, this lawsuit was rejected, as it was deemed “wrong, factually and baseless legally,” by Peter Schwartz, the Chief Risk Officer and General Counsel for the College Board. 

With everything that has happened because of the 2020 AP exams, it is no wonder that the College Board plans to offer it’s full, traditional AP exams in May 2021. The College Board is also offering an abundance of resources to help students succeed during the pandemic, whether students are attending school, in-person or virtually. These resources include AP Classroom, online AP Daily videos and practice questions. 

As many counties in California have entered the purple tier, it is uncertain, at the present, if AP testing will take place in-person in Ventura County. However, the College Board has announced on their website that there will be “options so all students can test, even if school buildings are closed.” The website continued that more options will be available in the early parts of 2021. 

Students at Foothill Tech are beginning to gear up towards the exams next May, and many of them share a feeling of uncertainty for what AP Testing will bring this year.  

Rachel Johnston ‘21 has never “experienced [the] conventional three hour in-person exam,” because of the 2020 at-home testing, and she thinks “the unknowns of a traditional AP exam are a bit scary.”

Dailyn Thompson ‘21 would prefer taking the full length and in-person exams, so she is “better prepared for the length and difficulty of exams in college.” 

Johnston, along with Thompson, are both feeling confident that they will be prepared for whatever exam comes their way next May, with the help of Foothill Tech’s wonderful staff and agree that the exams should be conducted in a safe manner.