28 AP exams are going digital from May 2025

By Leonard Lim
Domestic Affairs
28 AP exams are going digital from May 2025

A preview version of the multiple-choice section of the AP World History: Modern exam on College Board's Bluebook app on Aug. 3. ZFJ/Alvin Wu

Aug. 1 (ZFJ) — The College Board has announced that, starting May 2025, 28 AP Exams will have their standard paper testing discontinued. Instead, these exams will be administered digitally through the Bluebook app. All schools and test centers will have to administer these exams digitally, though paper exams will still be available to select students approved by the College Board.

The acceleration to digital testing was done to further protect the integrity and security of AP exams. In the past year, the College Board has seen a rise in test compromises, and they believe the move to digital exams will prevent the risk of compromise associated with shipping paper exams to millions of schools worldwide. The following exams will become fully digital, meaning that both multiple-choice and free-response questions will be completed and submitted through Bluebook:

  • AP African American Studies (U.S. schools only)
  • AP Art History
  • AP Comparative Government and Politics
  • AP Computer Science A
  • AP Computer Science Principles
  • AP English Language and Composition
  • AP English Literature and Composition
  • AP Environmental Science
  • AP European History
  • AP Human Geography
  • AP Latin
  • AP Psychology
  • AP Seminar
  • AP United States Government and Politics
  • AP United States History
  • AP World History: Modern

Not all AP exams will become fully digital though. Students taking math, science, or economics exams that require graphing or symbolic notation will write out their answers in paper exam booklets, although they will be viewing their free-response questions in Bluebook. Reference materials, such as the periodic table, equation sheets, and Java Quick Reference, will also be available in Bluebook. The following exams will become partially digital:

  • AP Biology
  • AP Calculus AB
  • AP Calculus BC
  • AP Chemistry
  • AP Macroeconomics
  • AP Microeconomics
  • AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based
  • AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based
  • AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism
  • AP Physics C: Mechanics
  • AP Precalculus
  • AP Statistics

The following exams will remain unchanged for 2025, but the College Board plans to transition these exams digitally in the future:

  • AP 2-D Art and Design
  • AP 3-D Art and Design
  • AP Drawing
  • AP Chinese Language and Culture
  • AP French Language and Culture
  • AP German Language and Culture
  • AP Italian Language and Culture
  • AP Japanese Language and Culture
  • AP Music Theory
  • AP Research
  • AP Spanish Language and Culture
  • AP Spanish Literature and Culture

Exams can be taken on Mac and Windows devices, iPads, and school-managed Chromebooks. The College Board will also provide schools with loaner devices and Wi-Fi support if needed. Internet connection will only be required at the start of tests and at the end for submitting responses. However, in the case of an unforeseen issue that prevents answer submission at the end of the exam, students will have up to four days to find an internet connection to submit their responses.

Students will be able to familiarize themselves with the digital AP exams through test previews in the Bluebook app, AP Classroom assessments that mimic the feel of Bluebook exams, and video guides. The amount of proctors, testing location, and exam requirements will not change.

References