College Board Shifting AP Exams to Digital by 2025

The College Board is accelerating its move to digital Advanced Placement (AP) exams by 2025 in a push to boost security and prevent cheating and said it will help provide schools with devices and Wi-Fi support to assist in the shift.

The announcement by the creator of the AP courses and exams follows an increase in test cheating scandals, with Trevor Packer, the head of the AP Program, citing a “rise in bad actors compromising AP Exam content for financial gain.”

The move to digital exams will provide substantially more security than shipping paper exams to thousands of locations, Packer said.

In addition to more security, digital exams will also provide improved accessibility, streamlined testing processes, and less stressful exam experience for students. This will be done by eliminating pre-test bubbling and labeling of paper materials; allowing students to use their own device or school-issued device through the Bluebook digital testing application; and helping students focus on relevant sections of reading passages and enabling faster writing and editing.

“Students and teachers work hard in AP courses and deserve the confidence that other students aren’t gaining an unfair advantage,” Packer said.

The move from paper to digital formats for 28 AP exams will be implemented by May 2025, and will use the Bluebook digital testing application. Schools without devices or Wi-Fi access will be assisted by the College Board, according to its announcement.

Individual exams will also provide a customized digital experience by offering a course-specific hybrid digital testing approach for subjects requiring graphing or symbolic notation, said the College Board.

“Accelerating the digital transition will help us preserve the integrity of the AP Exam experience for students and educators,” Packer said. “We understand that this is a significant change, and we will work closely with the AP community throughout the year to ensure that schools have the information and resources they need to prepare for digital AP Exams.”

Students can access free online practice resources in preparation for the move to digital exams with additional test previews made available for all subjects on Bluebook later in the 2024-2025 school year. Other resources available to students include free online practice exams, quizzes, and other teacher-created assessments in AP Classroom.