Getting Students Ready for Digital AP Exams
Share this info with students so they can know what to expect on exam day, familiarize themselves with the digital exam tools, navigation, and preview questions in Bluebook™, and check their device readiness. Students approved for accommodations can also learn how their accommodations will work on exam day.
What Students Should Know
Students should expect a new experience when they take a digital AP Exam in 2023. It’s not just about clicking instead of bubbling, it’s about a more self-directed exam day.
Students should be ready to:
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Sign in to their College Board account.
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Read most instructions on their device—students will hear only a few instructions from their proctor before they start testing.
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Take their break when Bluebook tells them to.
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Use digital equivalents of the accommodations they use on paper exams.
Digital Readiness Checklist
1. Watch the Introduction to Digital AP Testing video.
Students and educators can watch the Introduction to Digital AP Testing video to learn what it’s like to take a digital AP Exam.
2. Install Bluebook.
Students should be aware that the steps to install Bluebook are different for personal and school-managed devices.
Personal devices: Encourage students to go to bluebook.app.collegeboard.org on their testing device and download Bluebook. The page will detect their device type and make the right file available.
School-managed devices: Send your technology coordinator to Device Readiness for files and installation instructions.
3. Try the digital AP Exam preview questions.
As soon as Bluebook is downloaded to a student’s device, they should sign in with their College Board account and explore the digital AP Exam preview questions.
Previews allow students to see sample AP Exam questions in Bluebook and try out the testing tools. The questions aren’t timed or scored.
Students planning to test with assistive technology should answer the preview questions using the relevant technology.
Students who can’t access the preview questions on their device should notify their AP coordinator as soon as possible to make sure the device is ready for exam day.
4. Meet about approved accommodations.
AP coordinators and SSD coordinators should meet with students to:
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Make sure they understand how their College Board–approved accommodations will work on exam day.
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Share the AP Assistive Technology Configuration Instructions (if applicable).
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Encourage them to try the preview questions using assistive technology (if applicable).
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Answer any questions they have.