AP Glitches

From USA Today:

“Amid coronavirus, AP exams went online and had tech problems. College Board says it's investigating.”

Submission hiccups, registration problems, outdated computer browsers and plain old human error have dampened the roll-out of online Advanced Placement exams this week, which hundreds of thousands of students are taking at home because of the coronavirus pandemic. The College Board, which oversees the college-level courses and exams that can grant students college credit, quickly pivoted in March to create shortened, online versions of the tests. They included safeguards for cheating. And, remarkably, it’s worked for a majority of students: The College Board said that out of 1.6 million tests taken since testing began Monday, more than 99% have been submitted without a hitch. But. That remaining 1% — 10,000 students or more — is a vocal bunch.   Hundreds of parents and students have complained on the College Board's Facebook page that they were unfairly shut out of exams by faulty technology or other technical errors.  Other school leaders say they've had to fight for low-income students who didn't have computers or high-speed internet to be able to access the exams. Some parents of students with disabilities questioned whether the at-home exams were inclusive enough. The concerns are understandable. The stakes for the tests are high: Scoring well on each AP exam means students can get credit for one or two college courses, worth thousands of dollars in tuition. String together a few of the exams, and students can enter college with an entire semester or a full year of entry-level courses under their belts. All for taking college-level classes for free in high school, plus a $94 fee per exam, which is reduced for lower-income students. Bob Schaeffer, who leads the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, an advocacy group, said he’s heard about many students facing technological problems, particularly while attempting to upload their answers.  “Nearly every computerized test that’s introduced has problems during the rollout,” Schaeffer said. “The notion that the College Board could immediately take a test administered to millions of kids on pencil and paper (and put it) online flawlessly is incredibly arrogant and unrealistic.” After initially dismissing many of the concerns as user errors, College Board leaders turned more sympathetic at the end of the week."We share the deep disappointment of students who were unable to complete their exam – whether for technical issues or other reasons," the College Board said in a statement Thursday.

'I was devastated':   Many students encountered problems uploading photos of their work during the exams' 45-minute time frame. The College Board says it's looking into students' "unique circumstances" and that anyone who encountered an issue will be able to take the test again in June. In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Julie Laviolette said her daughter successfully uploaded work related to the first part of the AP Calculus exam, then got an error message when she tried to upload work for the second part. After taking the test, she was prompted to register for a make-up exam. In New Hampshire, Nathan Chasse, 16, sat down Monday afternoon to take the first of six AP exams. He had worked through multiple study books this spring and practiced uploading responses through a portal provided by the College Board before the exams.  But when Chasse tried to submit his answers to the two free-response questions on his AP Physics exam, he couldn't upload the files showing his work within the time allowed. He requested a make-up exam, but misunderstood the terms for doing so. He's now unsure if he's eligible for a retake. “I was devastated,” Chasse said. “I already had this emotional rollercoaster of it not accepting my responses and then this, and I thought all was lost." At Fox Chapel Area High School outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, teacher Kristine Yacamelli said a fifth of her 55 students were unable to upload photos of their written work during the AP Calculus exam Tuesday before time ran out. Some received error messages after the photos appeared to have been submitted. All 11 now must retake the exam. Yacamelli understands technology problem happen, especially with the College Board having to change the exams in a matter of weeks. But she's upset that her students who studied hard now must wait a month to test again.  “I think that’s a lot to ask of a high school senior that’s going through a pandemic where everything’s been taken away from them," she said. "To add on more studying is frustrating.” More than 9,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org to urge the College Board to let students who encountered technical difficulties resubmit their work rather than retake the tests. The petition was started by Eliana Sisman, the 2020 salutatorian at Yeshiva University Los Angeles Girls School. "Most of us still have our work and answers saved," the petition says. "The college board can give us time to re-submit after they fix their website."

Major lift to overhaul AP exams:   The big problem is testing security. The College Board must ensure the integrity of the exams because colleges award credit for them. But it didn't have much time to plan in the middle of a pandemic. Trevor Packer, who leads the AP program at College Board, said in April the easiest route was to cancel the exams. But when the company surveyed thousands of students, the feedback was overwhelming, he said: They wanted to take the tests they'd worked for all year. That meant the company had to upend its testing format in a matter of weeks. For 65 years, AP has administered exams in schools, with proctors and paper and pencils. Tests are offered in 38 different subjects and traditionally take between 90 minutes and three hours to complete. They're scored on a scale of 1 to 5, and a 3 generally offers a student at least a semester of college credit. The 2020 exams were turned into shorter, 45-minute versions to be taken at home. They could be open book and open note, but the company would need to guard against cheating and plagiarism and verify students' identities. The exams will continue through next week. To be sure, millions of students have completed them successfully. Leamae King, a senior at Preble High School in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and her twin sister, Dominique, took both the AP Calculus and AP Literature and Composition exams without issue in their separate bedrooms. Both feel confident in their work and thought the format worked well and should, perhaps, be considered for future years if the technological glitches can be worked out. “If it would’ve worked flawlessly for everyone — which probably couldn’t have happened — then I’d prefer they kept it online,” Leamae King said.

Problems for low-income students and those with disabilities?:   Beyond technical glitches, some critics have said the College Board did not pay enough attention to the needs of low-income test-takers, who may not have laptops or mobile devices on which to take the tests, or high-speed internet to upload photos in a timely manner, or a quiet place to take the exam. "The way College Board has thought about this is directed toward middle-class families," said Jennifer Lopez, CEO of a charter school network, Carmen Schools of Science & Technology that serves predominantly low-income students in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. "Our students are faced with caring for young siblings and working and not having home environments in which they can quietly take these exams," she said. The College Board says it worked with partners to ship both loaner devices and Wi-Fi hotspots to high schools around the country that requested them. Other parents are concerned about the exams being accessible to their children with disabilities. In Scottsdale, Arizona, Emily Heetland said her daughter, Mercedes, has dyslexia and is approved for test accommodations, including extra time and for some sections to be read aloud. But on May 11, several days before she was scheduled to take the AP U.S. History exam, Mercedes received an email from the College Board informing her of an issue affecting her accommodations. The email attributed the problem to a “processing error,” she said. Heetland’s daughter was given two options: She could take the test on the planned date in May, but she wouldn’t get the extra time she needed. Or she could take the test with the accommodation in June. Heetland said her daughter has studied for months and struggles with recall, so taking an AP test long after class ends might affect her performance. But she also needs the extra time. “It’s just not a very sensitive solution,” Heetland said.  The College Board, however, says students approved for accommodations by the April 27 deadline received extended time during the primary test period. If they missed that deadline, they were told they could test during the makeup period to receive extended time.

^ I took the APs when I was in high school and couldn’t imagine having to take them online – especially after working so hard for so long and thinking you will have to do them in person. The AP needs to fix their technical issues, the issues with the students that couldn’t upload their answers and the disabled students who need special accommodations. If the AP can’t do that for them then the AP tests results for everyone should be made null-and-void until the system is fixed. I know it sounds harsh, but unless everyone has equal access than the tests are discriminatory – no matter if it was done at the last minute because of a pandemic. ^

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/05/15/coronavirus-ap-exam-2020-college-board-troubleshooting/5194639002/