Many things have had to change within the last year and exams were no exception, including the Advanced Placement program (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) program.

For those taking AP exams this year, College Board, in regards to COVID-19’s global stretch, created an alternative to traditional in-person exams. The protocol for the alternate exam is to be digital, but instead of having the exact same material as the paper exam, different types of courses have had their digital exams modified. 

These modifications included portions being excluded, with some material being replaced with a format more tailored to online students. Coppell High School, already catering to in-person and online learners, was able to offer their students the option to choose between this new online exam or to take it on paper, in person. 

With the new prospective tests came new aspects for students to consider. Which testing option offers the most beneficial environment for each individual’s success is the main question. 

“Choosing between those two might be a little more difficult, but I really like that we do have the option after all,” said CHS sophomore Siya Sangani, who is planning to take the AP world history exam online. 

The IB program’s take on the 2021 exams leans toward a more traditional approach. The IB leadership released a statement stating schools that had any level of in-person learning must give out the exams in person. Despite this, many IB exams have been altered and modified, with portions of exams being removed, such as the listening portions of the French and Spanish exams. 

“Digital learning this year has not been the easiest on the part of both teachers and students, so, I do appreciate that they modified the exams,”  CHS senior IB student Anvita Okidwe said. “I do wish they had maybe taken some student surveys into consideration when deciding if there were to be exams or not because a lot of people would feel more secure about their IB diploma if there were not exams.”

CHS IB coordinator, Michael Brock, created an in-depth video on the May 2021 examinations for IB parents and students. “IB had left it to schools to determine their exam pathway. And the determination was really very simple, there wasn’t really a choice at all,” said Brock. “In the instance where school districts were allowing students to come to school….those were expected to administer exams as normal.” Brock assured parents that safety precautions were to be observed as normal.

Currently, most IB exams will take place in May, as will AP exams for CHS. However, many online students share Okidwe’s same sentiments when it comes to being prepared for the exams.

“It is more of a circumstantial problem, because obviously with online school teachers can not teach to their full potential, therefore, students can not learn to their full potential,” Coppell senior IB student Rohan Kanjani said.