By Sydney Simpson – Staff Reporter

All Advanced Placement students at Jonathan Law are studying for the upcoming at-home AP exams that will take place online from Monday, May 11, through Friday, May 22. 

Due to the closing of schools to protect students from the COVID-19 outbreak, College Board decided to administer their exams online this year for students to easily be able to take at home and still be able to receive college credits.

Mr. Zuraw’s AP Government students were the first to take the 50-minute test this past Monday. While there were some technical difficulties with the test website, many AP Government students were pleased with how the test went.

“I think the AP exam went well,” sophomore Katie Craft said. “Everything worked on the website and I had no malfunctions, although I was a bit scared to have my first AP test be online.”

Most students are nervous about having technical difficulties, and about not being as prepared as they could be for their tests due to the less than ideal distance learning situation. 

“I feel that the online learning has both affected students in positive and negative ways, one negative way being that students don’t get a lot of time with their teachers which can interrupt the learning,” said sophomore Ryan DiMuro. “This can have an affect on the score of the AP test.” 

This year’s test is also set up quite differently than previous years. Being online and at home, the tests are a lot shorter, only one or two questions, and students have less time to complete them. 

Even students who have taken A.P. tests in prior years don’t know what exactly to expect from this online exam. Tests run at 12 p.m. ET, 2 p.m ET, or 4 p.m. ET, and for students taking multiple tests, this can be stressful if they happen to fall on the same day. 

Junior Colin Buchner, who is taking multiple exams this year, said, “It feels odd having to prepare in different ways than I have in the past since I’m someone who’s taken a normal AP exam before.” 

Exams being online are different and can prove to be a challenge, but the fact that they are only one or two questions long seems like it can be a good thing for students. This can also make the exams more stressful, however, as junior Molly Murray points out. 

“I like how the exams are much shorter, but it also puts a huge burden on the questions,” Murray said. “It’s scary to think about your score depending on one or two questions.”