The College Board recently announced 3 testing windows for AP exams this year. The three administration windows contain different options of the types of exams they offer:
Testing in-person this year will occur in school at Hammond HS. The majority of exams will occur at 8 am and noon. Students will need to report a minimum of half an hour before each exam. Bus service will only be provided for those students who chose bus service with the hybrid option for school; otherwise, students must arrange their own transportation. All World Language and Music Theory exams will only be offered in an in-person format, per College Board rules. Social distancing, masking, and other COVID protocols as required by HCPSS will need to be followed if testing in the school building.
The College Board is offering digital versions of 25 exams. Digital exams must be taken at their scheduled time slot of 12pm and 4pm Eastern Standard Time. Due to the timing of the exams and capacity for at-school testing, HCPSS is requiring that digital test takers participate in the exam from home. Remember, World Language and Music Theory exams do not have digital options this year, per College Board. Digital exams will require the use of an HCPSS chromebook (there is an app for testing this year that HCPSS will automatically install on each chromebook). Students must designate the computer they plan to test on (we recommend the HCPSS chromebook) 3-1 days prior to EACH exam. More information will be provided about this process. Digital exams may require the use of an embedded digital equation software (for math/science exams). Also, digital exams have additional security protocols in place, including not allowing students to move back-and-forth between exam questions. You may read more information about digital exams here.
Students/families can still participate in-person even if students have opted for virtual instruction. Social distancing will be maintained during exam administrations. The HCPSS recommendations provide the best opportunity for success on the exam. Students/families that are not comfortable coming in to test for paper and pencil exam recommendations will have the option to switch to digital administrations for the 25 exams that have a digital format.
To address these testing opportunities, and to ensure that students have both paper/pencil and digital options that fit their needs, HCPSS is offering administration options and recommendations (See Recommendations/Options by Exam). Students/families can decide to choose a different administration window, but the recommendations are based on course pacing, social distancing metrics, available proctors, and technology requirements.
By 3/12/21: Join the AP Portal for any AP course you are enrolled in or exam you wish to self-study for. Currently, students are being asked to focus on joining the AP Portal no later than 3/12/21. Students MUST be in the AP Portal in order to take the exams this spring. All students should have the join code from their teachers. Anyone having trouble should contact the AP Coordinator ASAP.
By 3/12/21: Confirm that the email address in the College Board portal is correct. This email address will be sent important communications from HaHS and from College Board about registering for the exam.
By 4/1/21: Complete the AP Exam Choice Survey. Beginning 3/15/21, students/parents will receive a survey via email to the email address entered by the student in their AP Portal account. The survey will ask for identifying information from the student and the student’s selection of exams and exam administration windows. Students/parents will receive an email with the recorded responses. This information needs to be completed by 4/1/21 (College Board deadline) so we can order an appropriate number of paper exams.
By 4/16/21: Calculate what you owe for your exams. Once students have indicated which exams they want to take by completing the survey, they can calculate the amount they owe for the exams using the AP Test Cost Worksheet
By 4/16/21: Submit your payment. Payment can be made by check (made payable to Hammond High School), cash, or credit card (by going to the Online Payment link on the Hammond Website and following the directions). Payment can be mailed to the school or dropped off at the drop box outside the front entrance of the school. We will also be holding special “DROP OFF” afternoon events for parents/students to hand-deliver their information and to have any questions answered by the AP Coordinators. For verification purposes, payment should be accompanied by a printout of the results of the survey and the test cost calculator. Families paying by credit card should print out the verification code and provide it along with the survey responses to prove payment. Payment is DUE BY 4/16/21, or your exams will be canceled.
If you have any questions, please contact your AP Testing Coordinator, Ms. Alison Cannon (alison_cannon@hcpss.org).