The New 2021 AP Exam Schedule

CollegeBoard announced earlier this year that there would be multiple exam options available for remote vs. in-person schools, and they have recently released information on what the new extended schedule of AP exams for 2021 will look like. 

What are the different exam dates?

There will be three different test administration windows for the exams. Administration 1 consists of in-school-only exams and will occur between May 3rd and May 17th. Administration 2 of the exams are a combination of in-school exams and the online contingency exams and will take place between May 18th and May 28th. Administration 3 of the exams will also be a combination of in-school and online contingency exams taking place between June 1st and June 11th.

Who decides which administration window I’ll take?

Your school’s AP Coordinator will assign you to one of the three administrations of the exam. If your school is planning to be remote-only through the end of the year, it is highly unlikely that you will be taking the in-person version of the exam during Administration 1. Beginning in March, AP coordinators will start to assign students to Administrations 2 and/or 3 if necessary due to distance learning.

What will the digital contingency exam look like?

The digital contingency exam is the at-home computer-based version of the AP exam. These exams will not have a proctor and will be controlled through the AP app. Additionally, the digital exams will have one international test date and time per test administration. Because this may cause a conflict if you are taking multiple AP exams this year, it’s possible to be assigned to a different administration window than your peers at the same school. The digital contingency versions of the exams will also not allow students to move between questions or return to previous questions, and will consist of a different set of questions than the paper-and-pencil in-school exams.