The coronavirus has forced the cancelation of many school-related activities, but Advanced Placement exams are still on.
The standardized tests give high school students a chance to receive college credit for courses they take in high school if they score high enough on the administered exam.
And while the SAT and ACT college entrance exams have been canceled for spring, the AP exams are scheduled to take place in May with a new format, which is causing concern for some students, NPR reports.
College Board spokesperson Jerome White told NPR the organization decided to move forward with AP testing to give students the opportunity to earn college credit. He said College Board made "a significant financial investment" to make the exams available online, from cheating prevention software to helping students who may not have an internet connection or access to a computer.
The exams are typically proctored in a classroom. The test lasts three hours and contains a mix of multiple choice and essay questions. Now, the format is an online 45-minute, open-response test. The exam will be administered at the same time worldwide. Students taking the exam in Hong Kong will begin at midnight.
The new format has some students concerned about what their results will mean to colleges. Tests are scored on a 1-5 scale.
"None of us would say that we are confident that a 3 or 4 or 5 on the AP exam this year means the exact same thing as a 3, 4 and 5 on the exam last year," Harvard University's Andrew Ho, who studies the reliability of educational tests, told NPR.
Ho said that because of the new format, this year's AP exams won't be measuring the same thing as previous years' exams.
"Just because it's not completely comparable doesn't mean the College Board and colleges, through their own policies, couldn't adjust," he added.
The University of California issued a statement saying it won't change the way it credits AP scores. But not all schools have made a decision on what the test results will mean.
Some students are stressed about the change in format and pressure the test brings during a time of heightened anxiety.
Kayleen Guzman, 17, of Boston told NPR it's hard to find a quiet place in her home.
"Currently, it's me, my mom, my dog, my sister and my stepdad," she explains. "Sometimes I feel like it's too much chaos."
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