Administering the AP World Language and Culture Exams
Beginning with the 2027 AP Exam administration, the AP world language and culture exams will be administered in Bluebook as fully digital exams with audio components.
Please note that AP Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish Language and Culture were revised for 2026-27 and now include a course project and a required Personalized Project Reference (PPR). AP Spanish Literature and Culture does not.
What's Changed
Fully Digital Testing in Bluebook
For all of these exams, responses are submitted automatically through Bluebook at the end of the exam. Paper exams, answer sheets, free-response booklets, CDs, CD players, the DAC app, and the DAS portal are no longer used.
Also:
- For the AP world language and culture exams, the free-response section now comes before the multiple-choice section.
- For the AP Spanish Literature and Culture Exam, the sequence is unchanged: multiple choice followed by free response.
New Course Project
- Students taking AP Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish Language and Culture complete a project ahead of exam day to prepare for 2 speaking free-response questions on the exam: the Project Presentation and the Project Q&A.
- The Course Project Packet is released in January through the AP Digital Portfolio.
- By April 30, students submit a PPR, an outline of their presentation, through the AP Digital Portfolio.
- On exam day, students receive a printed copy of their PPR to use during the exam.
Preparing for the Exam Administration
Ordering
AP coordinators order these exams along with all other AP Exams in AP Registration and Ordering. For more information, go to Ordering and Fees.
Testing Devices
Students need a keyboard-enabled device that meets Bluebook requirements: supported Windows or macOS laptops and desktops, iPads, or managed Chromebooks. Schools already administering digital AP Exams may have suitable testing devices available. See the full device requirements at the Bluebook site.
Managing Audio Portions of the Exam
Headset Requirements
For the AP world language and culture exams, students need a wired headset with a microphone for both audio playback and spoken response recording. Wireless headsets are not permitted. Student-owned/personal wired headsets are not allowed at international test centers. Detailed specifications are available at Headsets for AP World Language and AP Music Theory Exams.
Audio Playback and Recording
Bluebook manages audio playback, recording, timing, and submission automatically. AP coordinators and proctors are responsible for confirming that compliant headsets and microphones are connected and functioning before testing begins. No action is required to start, stop, or submit audio responses.
Removing Headsets
Headsets and earbuds may only be worn during portions of the exam requiring audio playback or response recording and must be removed at all other times. The proctor will tell students when to put on and remove their headsets. Students with approved text-to-speech accommodations may use wired headsets for the duration of the exam.
Keyboard Setup for the Free-Response Essay
Accented Characters and Special Punctuation
Students taking AP French, German, Italian, or Spanish Language and Culture Exams can enter accented characters and language-specific punctuation in Bluebook. Students should choose the method that matches how they've been taught and practice it before exam day.
These methods are available on any approved testing device, with no setup by the school:
- Long-press: press and hold the letter or symbol key, then select the character from the menu that appears (for example, press and hold N to insert ñ).
- The special-character button in the Bluebook toolbar: opens a menu of accented characters students can click to insert.
Two additional methods are permitted and supported but require the school to install a keyboard on the testing device. Alt codes are not used, so laptops without a numeric keypad are not at a disadvantage:
- The U.S.-international keyboard
- A language-specific keyboard (for example, a French or Spanish layout)
AP Chinese and AP Japanese Language and Culture Exams require an input method editor (IME), which must be installed on the testing device before exam day.
AP Digital Portfolio and the Course Project
About the AP Digital Portfolio
The AP Digital Portfolio is a web-based application used in the AP world language and culture course project. Students access the project prompt and source materials, released in January in the Course Project Packet via the AP Digital Portfolio, then complete their project and submit their PPR. Students submit their PPR as final by the April 30, 11:59 p.m. ET, deadline.
Teachers guide students through the project and can monitor student progress. AP coordinators monitor submission status and print each student's PPR before exam day.
Teacher Access
Teachers sign in to the AP Digital Portfolio with their College Board professional account after completing the AP Course Audit process. At the start of the school year, students join the teacher's class section, which gives them access to AP Classroom and the AP Digital Portfolio. Teachers can access their class through June 30, after which the class becomes an archived class, available under My Classes. Detailed instructions are in the AP Digital Portfolio Teacher User Guide.
Student Access
Students first enroll in their AP world language and culture class section in MyAP using the join code provided by their AP teacher. Enrollment carries over automatically to the AP Digital Portfolio, so no separate setup is required. Students sign in to the AP Digital Portfolio with their College Board username and password.
Managing the Personalized Project Reference (PPR)
AP Coordinator Responsibilities
The coordinator:
- Monitors submission status in the AP Digital Portfolio and confirms each student has submitted their PPR as final by the April 30, 11:59 p.m. ET, deadline.
- After the deadline, downloads and prints each student's PPR from the Progress page of the AP Digital Portfolio.
- Matches each printout to the correct student using the name and AP ID on the page.
- Stores the printed PPRs securely before exam day.
- On exam day, provides the printed PPRs to the proctor. The proctor distributes the printed PPRs to the correct students before testing begins following the directions in Test Day Toolkit, then collects them after the exam and returns them to the coordinator.
- Retains all PPRs on file at the school for 6 months after the exam.
Note: AP Spanish Literature and Culture does not have a PPR. All other exam content and responses are handled entirely in Bluebook.
After the Exam
The proctor collects each student's PPR and returns them to the AP coordinator. All PPRs must be kept on file at the school for 6 months.
Supporting Exam Only Students
AP coordinators should create exam only sections for any high-school-affiliated AP students who wish to take an exam but aren't enrolled in a teacher-led course at the school. Coordinators give these students the appropriate join code and confirm they have enrolled in the section.
Exam only students engage with the project prompt and source materials on their own and conduct research in preparation to deliver their Project Presentation and Project Q&A on exam day in Bluebook. They are encouraged to use AP Classroom resources, including the project manual and sample project.
For exam only students, the AP coordinator is the primary point of contact and is responsible for confirming they can access the project materials in the AP Digital Portfolio in January and ensuring they can submit their PPR by April 30. The AP coordinator prints and provides the PPR to the proctor on exam day. Schools may assign these responsibilities to another educator or staff member.
Resources
For more information, see the 2026-27 AP Coordinator's Manual, Part 1, which covers everything AP coordinators need to do from the start of the school year through the November 13 exam ordering deadline. Additional guidance will appear in the 2026-27 AP Coordinator's Manual, Part 2 and on AP Central in early 2027.
FAQ
How should an AP coordinator support students taking an AP world language and culture class through an online provider?
The student must enroll in both the online provider's class section and an exam only class section at the testing school. Once the student is enrolled in both, the AP coordinator at the testing school is automatically provisioned with access to the student's PPR in the AP Digital Portfolio. The online provider's AP world language and culture teacher guides the student through all project-related tasks and makes sure they submit the PPR as final. The AP coordinator at the testing school will follow the same process as they would for a student taking an AP world language and culture class at their school—printing the PPR and providing it to the proctor for use on exam day.
How can an AP coordinator support students on a block schedule?
The AP coordinator confirms these students can access project materials in January and ensures their PPRs are submitted by April 30. The AP coordinator also prints each student's PPR and provides it to the proctor for use on exam day.
How are approved testing accommodations handled for AP world language and culture exams?
Bluebook applies extended time and breaks automatically and provides built-in support for accommodations, such as text-to-speech and speech-to-text. Full details about available accommodations will be in the AP Accommodations Guide, to be released in December 2026. As with all digital AP Exams, AP coordinators confirm or waive approved accommodations for students, by exam, through AP Registration and Ordering.
What options are available to schools that don't have enough devices for all students to test at the same time?
Schools can purchase or rent additional devices, borrow from neighboring schools, allow students to use approved personal devices, or split testing across the regularly scheduled and late-testing dates. Schools unable to resolve a shortage locally can request loaner devices from College Board.
What are the printing instructions for the Personalized Project Reference (PPR)?
Each student's printed PPR is a single page that includes their name and AP ID. Print PPRs one at a time or in bulk, and use the name and AP ID printed on the page to match each printout to the correct student.
What should the AP coordinator do if a student has not submitted their PPR before exam day?
If a student hasn't submitted a final PPR by the deadline, contact the student and their teacher as soon as possible before exam day.
If an unexpected issue prevented a student from submitting by the deadline, the coordinator can request an extension on the Progress page of the AP Digital Portfolio. The student must submit their PPR as final with enough time before exam day for the coordinator to print it. A student who doesn't have a PPR on exam day may still test, with no impact to their score. If the student tests without a PPR, the AP coordinator submits an Incident Report.
What should the AP coordinator do if there is a problem with a student's PPR on exam day?
If a student's PPR isn’t printed or is illegible due to a printing problem, the proctor notifies the AP coordinator, and the coordinator prints the PPR before the exam begins.
If a student's PPR is missing or unusable and can’t be resolved before the exam begins, then, depending on school policy, the student may either:
- Test without the PPR. There is no impact to the student’s score. The AP coordinator submits an Incident Report.
- Be dismissed and scheduled for late testing. The coordinator requests an extension on the Progress page of the AP Digital Portfolio, the teacher returns the PPR to the student to update, the student resubmits as final, and the coordinator reprints the PPR before the late-testing administration.
Resources
Download
AP Coordinator’s Manual, Part 1, 2026-27
This manual provides detailed information about everything AP coordinators need to do from the start of the school year through the November 13 exam ordering deadline.