AP exams and EOC testing changes

With COVID-19 cases rising, educators alter their AP and EOC testing plans

Fulton County Schools and the College Board have adapted testing to fit current COVID-19 guidelines.

Photo courtesy of College Board

Sofia Mang, Staff Writer and Bedansh Pandey, News Editor 

Though vaccine distribution for the COVID-19 pandemic is in full swing, many educators worry that daily life will not be back to business as usual by the end of the school year. With cases surging across the nation, and thousands of vulnerable individuals who have yet to be vaccinated, the pandemic seems to be far from over. To adjust to the dynamic nature of these times, both Fulton County Schools and the College Board have created a new set of guidelines regarding their respective standardized tests: Advanced Placement (AP) Exams and End-of-course (EOC) Exams. 

Testing for AP classes this year is going to be different, though not as different as last year’s singular free-response question. This year, the College Board provided school districts with several different testing options in multiple formats to accommodate the vastly different situations students across the world may be in right now. However, Fulton County Schools has opted to provide their students with only two administration options: For the students that choose to take the in-person, paper exam, testing will take place from May 3-17. For those that choose to take the online exam at home, testing will take place between June 1-11.  

“The College Board initially released three administration windows for Advanced Placement testing in early February and provided updates with additional details regarding this year's administration,” Cliff Jones, Chief Academic Officer of Fulton County Schools, said. “The May 18-28 administration was not considered because it overlapped with many high school graduations. The two other administrations provide a chance for most subjects to be taken in person or online.” 

Jones explains that this year, the state has also waived all penalties for not taking the AP exam, so even if a student does not show up to an exam that they previously signed up for, they will not face repercussions. This may clear any worries that students have about testing due to busy or uncertain schedules. 

“I’m pleased with the way the College Board has changed quickly to meet the diverse needs of our students,” Jones said. 

Though she recognizes that the College Board has had to make a series of unprecedented adjustments, Assistant Principal Takisha Benning concurs with Jones and recognizes the merits of such changes. 

“In terms of giving students an extended time to prepare for it, I think extending it and offering students some other windows of testing opportunities is going to definitely be beneficial,” Benning said. 

Benning also says that these extended times should not present a problem for students either, as most teachers plan to create “study packets” for all of their students, whether they are testing at the end of the school year or in summer. Even if teachers do not provide these packets, though, they will still be expected to help prepare all of their students for testing. 

With regard to what Northview’s plan is after the first, in-person administration of exams is over, Principal Brian Downey believes that, just like many things during the pandemic, this all depends on the circumstances. 

“What happens after the AP exams will depend on the numbers involved,” Downey said. “If the vast majority of our kids choose to come into the building, we will probably default to the traditional model, but if the vast majority of our kids choose remote, we will probably just carry on with teaching and learning for as long as possible.” 

One of the chief misgivings with the virtual format of AP Exams for the 2019-2020 school year was that it would skew scores and could unfairly reward college credit to students for certain classes, even if they did not possess the academic prowess worthy of such credit. Surely enough, this has also been at the forefront of concerns for this year’s administration of exams: some students have worried that taking the exam in-person may lead to lower scores than virtual administrations and vice versa. Jones and Benning recognize these concerns, but Jones believes that this will not have a statistically significant impact on overall scores, pointing to data that suggests a general upward trend in scores over the past few years. 

“I expect our scores and participation [for the exams] to be in line with last year. The percentage of exams with a score of 3, 4, or 5 was 72.7 percent compared to 71.4 percent in 2019,” Jones said. “The percent of exams scoring a 3 or higher has increased for four consecutive years.” 

EOC exams will also work differently this year than they have in the past. In a normal year, EOCs serve as benchmarks for the state and national department of education to gauge students’ understanding of the course material. Last year, states permitted school districts to cancel all EOC exams after the unprecedented statewide school shutdown. This year, the state has decided the only four content areas that will be tested are Algebra One, Biology, 11th grade American Literature, and US History, and will only be weighted 0.01% of a student’s average. 

“Both the Trump and Biden administration rejected GA’s waiver to not administer the Milestones, so Fulton County Schools is administering the Georgia Milestones (EOCs) in accordance with current state and federal guidelines,” Jones said. “We are observing the state minimum requirement for the weight of EOCs on a student grade (0.01%).”

Benning also explains that students cannot be required to come into the building for any reason, and thus if a student does not come to take his or her EOC exam, he or she will receive a 0% (even though this will have minimal impact on a student’s overall average because it is weighted so low). 

“We want students to come and take the EOC so that we can get that data marker to see where our students were and how they progressed throughout the school year,” Benning said. 

“But students and their families have to make that choice and to do whatever they're comfortable with. Because at the end of the day, if you're not comfortable, you're not going to test well, so you just have to do what's best for you and your family.”