On Exam Day
Slide 1 — On Exam Day
Hello and welcome.
Thank you for joining this session of the AP Coordinator Tutorial for 2015-16.
These tutorials provide assistance to both new and experienced Coordinators.
If you are a new Coordinator: First of all, welcome aboard. These tutorials provide an outline
of your new role and responsibilities.
For experienced Coordinators, these tutorials provide the same outline.
They also feature annual updates as well as some advanced ideas to improve efficiency and
accuracy.
Thank you again for joining us. Let’s get started.
Slide 2 — Key Dates and Times
The two primary weeks of AP Exams for the current school year are May 2–6 and May 9–13,
2016.
Late-testing exams, sometimes called alternate exams, are hosted on May 18–20, 2016.
The exam schedule is set by The College Board, not the school.
The exam schedule is not flexible.
Just to be clear, the exams for these two testing windows are different.
Exams ordered for the regular testing during the first two weeks may not be used for latetesting.
Only specific late-testing exams can be used on the late-testing dates.
Morning exams must begin between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m.
Afternoon exams must begin between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m., with the exception of the Physics
C session.
Just like the dates, these times are not flexible.
Coordinators should be clear on this policy.
Without exception, AP Exams can only be administered on scheduled dates and times.
Slide 3 — Late Testing
At times, a student is not able to take the AP exam during the two primary weeks in May.
When this occurs, the school may order a late-exam and host a late-exam session.
Again, this is an alternate form of the exam.
Late exams must be administered at scheduled dates and times during the late-testing
period.
In general, when the reason for late-testing is beyond school or student control, there is no
fee.
In other instances, an additional $45 is charged per exam.
Slide 4 — Security: Exam Storage
Exam materials must be checked for discrepancies within 24 hours of receipt.
Materials must be kept in locked storage before and after exam administration.
After exams are completed, they must be re-stored in the same secure area.
Slide 5 — Security: Exam Storage
Students and unauthorized staff should not have access to any areas where exams are
stored.
Students are not permitted to help transport or organize any secure exam materials.
If exam materials include CDs and tapes, be sure the storage area has low humidity and a
temperature of about 70 degrees.
Also avoid magnetic fields produced by electric motors or other equipment.
Slide 6 — Security: Exam Questions
Teachers are not allowed access to test questions or completed exams.
Teachers cannot make photocopies of the exams.
Regarding multiple-choice questions, no one, other than the student during the exam, is
allowed access to the multiple-choice section of an exam.
Multiple-choice sections can never be shared or copied in any manner.
Multiple-choice sections cannot be reconstructed by teachers or students after the exam.
Regarding free-response questions, students and educators may discuss the specific freeresponse questions only if they are released on the College Board website two days after
the exam administration.
Not all Free-Response Questions are released.
It is possible for a school to receive different versions of an exam for the same subject.
This means that some free-response questions may be released and discussed, while others
may not.
Slide 7 — Security: Exam Room
The Coordinator or designated proctor must be present at all times in every room where
exams are being administered.
Students and exam materials must never be left unattended.
Photography during an AP Exam is strictly prohibited unless permission is granted by the
College Board.
During the exam, proctors should be active and attentive to their exam-proctoring duties.
Proctors should not eat, drink, engage in conversation, correct papers, or use mobile
devices.
Slide 8 — Security: Exam Room
No electronic equipment is allowed in the room.
This includes cell phones, cameras, smartphones, smartwatches, Bluetooth devices, MP3
players, devices that can access the Internet, and any other electronic or communication
device.
If a student is discovered with a cell phone or any other electronic device, confiscate the
device and dismiss the student from the testing room immediately.
The student’s score will be canceled.
Slide 9 — Exam Security
If a student posts to any form of social media during the exam, the student’s scores will be
canceled.
No retest will be permitted.
If a student posts information about unreleased exam questions after the exam, the
student’s scores will be canceled. Again, no retest will be permitted.
When the College Board determines that a student’s testing experience did not meet the
College Board’s standards for administering exams — even through no fault of the student
— the College Board reserves the right to cancel an AP Exam score.
Slide 10 — No Borrowing or Lending of Exams
Schools are not permitted to borrow or lend exams.
Schools that borrow exams run the risk of administrative errors that could result in retesting.
If a school does not have enough exams, contact AP Services.
Slide 11 — Exam Security
Exam security is strongly enforced by The College Board.
Schools that violate security policies may not be permitted to administer AP exams in the
future.
In addition, schools may be held responsible for any damages or losses The College Board
and ETS incur in the event of a security breach.
Any incident or potential breach in security must be immediately reported to the Office of
Testing Integrity.
Full details about exam security are available in the AP Coordinator’s Manual.
Security information for students is available in the Bulletin for AP Students and Parents.
Slide 12 — Preparing Exam Rooms
When preparing the exam room, Coordinators should provide the best possible testing
environment for the student.
Students must be spaced a minimum of five feet from other students, except during
scrambled format exams.
Student must face the same direction, preferably with a clock on the wall in front of them.
The walls must be free of subject-related information that could be used to gain an unfair
advantage.
If the testing room has elevated seating, alternate rows to meet spacing requirements.
If the testing is done off-site, check in advance to be sure the room is appropriately set up.
Also, consider lighting, ventilation, and how quiet the location is.
Slide 13 — Seating Students: Approved
This slide shows examples of approved seating plans.
To begin, look at Plan 1.
This is an approved seating plan for elevated seating.
As you can see the students are spaced five feet apart side to side, as well as 5 feet apart
front to back with one row of empty seats dividing students.
Plan 2A is an approved seating plan for level seating.
Again, as you can see, the students are spaced five feet apart side to side.
They are seated directly next to each other with no empty desks between them, but there is
still the minimum of five feet of distance.
Plan 2B is also for level seating and is also approved. Again, you can see students are
seated five feet apart.
However, in this example, the students also have an empty desk between them.
Regardless of whether there is an empty desk or not, there must always be a minimum
distance of 5 feet.
Plan 3 is an example of an approved seating plan using tables.
In this example, the school is using a large testing tables with multiple students seated at
the same table.
This is approved, as long as the students are seated a minimum of five feet apart.
Tables of different sizes may also be used as long as the students are always separated by a
minimum distance of five feet.
Slide 14 — Seating Students: Not Approved
This slide shows examples of prohibited plans.
These seating arrangements are not approved.
The illustration on the left shows students seated at the same large square table.
The problem is they are not all facing the same direction.
Under no circumstances is this approved.
The middle illustration shows students seated around a round table.
Again, regardless of the distance or size of the round table, this is not approved.
Round tables may not be used for testing, period.
The illustration on the right shows students are sitting at individual desks.
The problem here is they are facing each other.
Regardless of distance or type of desk or table used, students must all face the same
direction.
Slide 15 — Scrambled Multiple-Choice Sections
The AP Program provides schools in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S.
Virgin Islands with scrambled multiple-choice sections for Calculus AB, Calculus BC, and U.S.
History exams during the regular-testing window only.
Scrambling the multiple-choice section reduces the risk of students copying from one
another.
This allows schools to seat students no less than four feet apart.
If needed, this enables schools to test more students in fewer testing rooms.
Students taking Calculus AB, Calculus BC, and U.S. History exams during the late-testing
period must be seated no less than five feet apart. The late-testing versions of these exams
do not have scrambled Multiple-Choice sections.
When ordering these exams, schools automatically receive an equal amount of the
scrambled versions.
So, if the order is for 100 U.S. History exams, the school receives 50 of “Version A” and 50
of “Version B,” packaged in alternating order.
Distribute the exams in the order in which they are received.
Slide 16 — Mandatory Seating Charts
All schools must complete a seating chart for every exam they administer.
Schools retain the seating charts for a minimum of 6 months. Some states and districts
require a longer period of time.
Do not return the seating charts with the exam shipments unless requested.
This policy was prompted by several large-scale AP Exam seating violations. Sadly, these
violations resulted in many students having their AP Exam scores canceled.
Having seating charts expedites the investigation of a reported incident.
It also allows for potential retesting to be done as quickly as possible.
The state of California signed a bill that requires seating charts.
It is possible that other states will follow suit.
A sample seating chart is provided in the AP Coordinator’s Manual.
Schools may also create their own version.
Either the 11-digit serial number of the exam or student’s full names are required on the
seating charts.
Slide 17 — Administration Incidents
An administration incident is any disturbance or circumstance that potentially affects student
performance.
Some examples are exam interruption or student misconduct.
There could also be an equipment problem, student illness, or power outage.
Sometimes it can be serious, such as a schoolwide emergency.
Other times, it can be something smaller like a problem with exam materials.
Be sure to check the AP Coordinator’s Manual to determine whether or not an Incident
Report Form is required.
Slide 18 — Incident Report Form
The IR must be completed by both the Coordinator and proctor.
Note that the exams, answer sheets, and Incident Report Form should all be returned in the
IR envelope as part of the shipment.
And of course, be sure to keep a copy of any completed Incident Report Form.
Slide 19 — Incident Report for Extra Paper
As of last year, an Incident Report form must be completed for any students using extra
paper during an exam.
Only one Incident Report form is required if a school has multiple students using extra
paper for the same exam.
Slide 20 — End of “On Exam Day”
Thank you for viewing this session of the AP Coordinator’s Tutorial.
For more information about the AP Program and AP Coordinators, please visit the other
tutorial sessions.
As an AP Coordinator, please make it your goal to provide a top-notch testing environment
and exam administration for your students. Strive to give your students the best opportunity
to maximize their academic abilities.
Know that the work you do behind the scenes does make a positive difference.
Thank you so much for your support of the AP Program, and best of luck to you this school
year!