Important Changes: 2011-12
Important AP Exam Administration Policy Changes for 2011-12
| How it worked last year | How it will work in 2011-12 | Why is it changing? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free-response question inserts | Most exams included separate Section II inserts containing the free-response questions. Students wrote their responses in Section II exam booklets. | 2012 AP Exams will not include free-response question inserts. The free-response questions will now be printed in the Section II exam booklet. For some exams, content previously contained in the insert will now appear in a separate orange exam booklet. | To help ensure that different forms of the exam can be statistically compared, some students will take exam forms or questions that will not be released. Therefore, it is no longer possible to allow schools to keep free-response questions and distribute them to students 48 hours after each regularly scheduled exam. |
| Schools kept the free-response question inserts for 48 hours after the exam, and then could return them to students for review and discussion. | All exam materials containing exam content (e.g., exam booklets, exams on CD, and master CDs) must be returned to the AP Program, including the separate orange booklets included with some of the 2012 exams. | ||
| Free-response questions on the web | All free-response questions for regularly scheduled exams, as well as for certain exams administered outside North, Central, and South America, were released on the College Board website 48 hours after each exam. Students and educators could discuss these questions 48 hours after the exams. | Before discussing any free-response questions, students and educators must check the College Board website 48 hours after the exam administration. Only the specific questions released on the website may be discussed. If the free-response questions in the exam are not released, they may never be discussed. As in past years, free-response questions from alternate exams taken during the late-testing period are not released, and may not be discussed. | Because some students will take exam forms or questions that will not be released in 2012, a student can't assume the free-response questions he or she answered during the regularly scheduled administration will be released 48 hours after the exam. For this reason, the AP Coordinator and the AP teachers should make sure to check the College Board website before initiating discussions of any free-response questions. |
| Ordering free-response booklets | Students and schools could order their free-response booklets from the regularly scheduled exam administration, for a fee. | Free-response booklets will not be available for exams whose free-response questions are not released on the College Board website 48 hours after the exam administration. | Exam forms or questions that are not released must be kept secure. |
| Borrowing and lending exams | If a school had insufficient exam materials, it was permitted to borrow exam materials from another school in the immediate vicinity. | Schools are no longer permitted to borrow or lend exams. In the event that AP Services cannot fulfill a time-sensitive order, the school may offer a late-testing administration. | To ensure that different forms of the exam can be statistically compared, some exams must be taken by the students at specific schools. |
No Increase in Exam Fee for 2012
The fee for each exam is $87, with schools retaining an $8 rebate per exam.
The fee for exams administered at schools outside of the United States, U.S. territories and commonwealths, and Canada, with the exception of U.S. Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) is $117 per exam.
Fees per exam vary at some private College Board-authorized testing centers outside the United States.
One AP Exam Instructions book
One AP Exam Instructions book will be used for both regularly scheduled and late-testing exam administrations.
One AP Answer Sheet
One AP answer sheet will be used for all 2012 AP Exam administrations.
Service Enhancements
New Online AP Score Reports for Schools and Districts
School and district administrators can now access the following new AP score reports online: five-year school score summary, AP Scholar roster, student datafile, and district summary reports (districts only). Visit Online Scores for Schools and Districts for more information about the new reports.
AP Coordinator Rebate
Rebates for schools with large AP programs are now based upon the number of exams administered, with additional tiers of rebates available for schools with significant AP Exam participation: $250 for schools giving 150-499 exams; $500 for schools giving 500-749 exams; $1,000 for schools giving 750-999 exams; $1,500 for schools giving 1,000-1,999 exams; and $3,000 for schools giving 2,000 or more exams.
AP Studio Art Portfolios Ordered Separately
Studio Art exams are now ordered separately from other exams on the AP Exam Ordering website. This change helps schools expecting a significant increase in the number of AP Studio Art students this year. (Before a school’s Studio Art exam order is placed, the number of student portfolios that can be set up in the Digital Submission web application is limited to the number of exams ordered last year, plus 10 percent for growth.) This also means that orders for preadministration materials will not be affected by Studio Art exam orders.
Ordering and Receiving AP Chinese and Japanese Exams on CD
The AP Chinese and Japanese Language and Culture Exams are now ordered on the same ordering screen as paper-based exams. The Exam CDs are shipped with the paper-based exams.
Course and Exam Content
Revised AP Courses and Exams
Revised courses and exams in French Language and Culture, German Language and Culture, and World History launch this year. Visit AP Central® for important information and resources for these courses. Visit Advances in AP for information about revised courses and exams in Biology, Latin, and Spanish Literature and Culture, which launch in 2012-13.
Art History
Beginning with the 2012 exam, five-minute essay questions will no longer be included in the AP Art History Exam. Section II, Part B will consist of six 10-minute essay questions based on color images and/or text. Section I,Part A will now contain five sets of multiple-choice questions based on an image or pair of color images to be completed in 20 minutes. The total time for the exam remains unchanged. Please see the AP Art History Course Description for more information.
Italian Language and Culture
The AP Italian Language and Culture course and exam have been reinstated this year, with the exam administered in May 2012. Visit the AP Italian Language and Culture Course Home Page for more information.