Exam Rooms

Overall testing room requirements and seating policies are the same for all AP Exams, however there are additional considerations to keep in mind when choosing and preparing exam rooms for digital AP Exams. Read the “Planning for and Selecting Test Locations” and “Seating Policy” sections in the 2024-25 AP Coordinator’s Manual, Part 2 for complete details.

Important: Remember to ask school or district technology staff to check your choice of testing rooms and the number of expected test takers in each. Assigning too many students to a single wireless access point (WAP) can delay testing and prevent answer submission.

If you’re planning to test at an off-site location, confirm that the testing spaces meet all room, seating, and technical requirements. Follow all policies for off-site testing locations detailed in the AP Coordinator’s Manual, Part 2.

Power Sources in the Exam Room

Students’ devices must be fully charged and capable of lasting the duration of the exam (at least 4 hours).

On exam day, students should bring (or the school should provide) a charging cord/AC adapter that is compatible with their testing device. Testing rooms should have outlets or power strips for students who may need to plug in their computer during the exam. 

• Consider the position of power outlets and power strips when planning seating configurations. Mitigate any tripping hazards.
• Work with staff at your school or testing location to ensure the testing room will be able to handle multiple devices being plugged in, if necessary.
• Determine how students will plug in devices without disrupting other exam takers.
• Students testing with extended time will need to have their devices plugged in due to the longer exam length.
• Power banks and external laptop batteries are permitted. Students will need to leave any external power source on their desk for inspection prior to the start of the exam. Students may not share external power sources.

If a student 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. There’s no need to complete an incident report, unless this causes a disturbance with other students. However, the proctor should document the move in the seating chart.