Seating Policy and Seating Charts

AP Coordinator's Manual, Part 2

This page offers a summary to help you prepare for the 2024 AP Exams. Review the AP Coordinator’s Manual, Part 2 for complete information.

Failure to follow seating requirements could result in cancellation of exam scores.

  • Allow no less than 5 feet (1.5 meters) between students. Distance between students should be measured from the center of one student to the center of the next student.
  • Everyone must face the same direction.
  • Seat students directly behind each other (in rooms with elevated seating, students must be seated no less than 5 feet behind one another).
  • Assign seats randomly (not alphabetically or following any other expected pattern) within the testing room. Under no circumstances should students be permitted to select their own seats. Go here for step-by-step directions to assign random seating using Microsoft Excel.
  • You may seat more than 1 student at a table, but only if all students face the same direction, are seated on the same side of the table, and the 5-foot distance between students can be maintained. To maintain this distance, a table must be at least 8 feet (2.43 meters) in length to accommodate 2 students and at least 13 feet (3.96 meters) to accommodate 3 students.
  • Round tables are prohibited for testing, regardless of the number of students.
  • The desk or work surface should be an adequate size for each student and must have a minimum writing surface of 12’’ x 15’’ (30.4 cm x 38.1 cm). If possible, seat left-handed students in left-handed armchairs. Tablet armchairs designed specifically for right-handed individuals provide an awkward and difficult writing surface for left-handed students. If only right-handed tablet armchairs are available, seat left-handed students behind one another in a separate row with a vacant writing surface to their left, or in the last seat of each row of right-handed students.
  • In rooms with elevated seating, students must be seated no less than 5 feet behind one another.

  • See the AP Coordinator’s Manual, Part 2 for details about specific seating requirements for AP Exams in Calculus (AB and BC), U.S. History, Chinese Language and Culture, and Japanese Language and Culture.

Seating Chart Tools

AP Exam Seating Chart (Directions, Sample, and Template) (.pdf/335KB)

Start here. This provides step-by-step directions for creating a seating chart and a blank form to create your own seating charts.

Note: schools may use either the 11-digit serial number of the exam booklets or students’ full names on the seating charts.

Excel Seating Chart Templates:

36 Seats (.xlsx/50KB)

64 Seats (.xlsx/50KB)

100 Seats (.xlsx/50KB)

Excel templates that you can use for different size administrations.

Assigning Random Seating Using Excel (.pdf/958KB)

Step-by-step directions for using Excel to assign random seating.

Resources

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