This May, AP students across the country will still have to wake up to the dread of taking their AP exams, but this time around, students will be taking these tests in the comfort of their homes. For months, AP students have been studying hard for their stressful three hour AP tests, but this year will only have to face a 45 minute test, at home.

So far, waking up for online school has not been very difficult, and students have been using the break to catch up on their sleep schedules by sleeping late. While other students no longer have to worry about letter grades, AP students are still worrying because they have to face the stress of their AP exams.

Since the beginning of the year, AP students have been learning loads of information from their teachers, in hopes of passing the AP exams and earning college credit. Before the disastrous effects of Coronavirus, students planned on taking three hour tests at school with their classmates. Since Coronavirus struck, the coordinator of AP exams, the College Board, has had to make drastic changes to accommodate students who will take each test online.

For this year’s AP European History exam, students will use a computer at home to take a 45 minute test, which is just a ten point Document Based Question. The College Board has also made the decision to shorten the number of units included, because of distance learning.

Since then, two AP Euro sophomore, Carter Glass and Max Spurr have been hard at work reviewing, and are both planning on taking the test on May 13. Before the College Board announced this change, AP classes around the country were impatiently waiting to see how they would handle the adversity of the situation. When news of a DBQ first came out, Spurr was both “surprised and confused.” The ten point format seemed confusing, and using five documents instead of seven seemed like an odd change.

Since the College Board changed the format from a three hour test to a 45 minute exam, it seems like it would be easier, right? Glass felt the same way, “I think that the test will be a lot easier for us because we only have to focus on the DBQ, with no multiple choice or short/long answer questions.” Spurr agreed with Carter, and expressed that a timed DBQ would be “the best way to demonstrate students’ knowledge, especially without anybody to monitor test-takers.”

Some might criticize the College Board’s change to the exam, but Spurr and Glass both agreed that the College Board made the best decision, and made the best of the situation at hand. While a DBQ might be the best alternative, an at-home test will have to address problems of academic integrity. In order to solve these issues, the College Board made the exam open-notes, so that there would be clarity among registered AP students.

The College Board has made it clear that AP testing will not be halted by the Coronavirus, and that students will continue their studying and testing for Advanced Placement, online.