AP Seating Policy and Seating Charts

AP Seating Policy

• Allow no less than 4 feet (1.2 meters) between students. Distance between students should be measured from the center of one student to the center of the next student.
• You may seat students using one of these AP Program seating options:
  • Seat students directly behind each other, no less than 4 feet apart (side to side), facing the same direction.
  • In rooms with elevated seating, seat students no less than 4 feet behind one another, facing the same direction.
  • For digital AP Exams (fully digital and hybrid digital), AP Chinese and AP Japanese Exams, and the speaking portion of AP French, German, Italian, and Spanish Language and Culture Exams only: You may seat students facing outward toward the wall. In testing rooms where computer tables/desks are at a 90-degree angle, students must not be seated next to one another in the connecting corner.
• 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 4-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.
• Note: If a student is testing on a device that runs low on power and needs to move to an area in the exam room where they can plug in, they can do so, with the proctor’s permission. The proctor should document the move in the seating chart. 

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

Seating Chart Tools