Students were hunched over their desks, eyes flicking from the questions on their computer screen to the free-response question (FRQ) booklet. There, they anxiously scribbled down answers as the built-in timer slowly counted down on the Bluebook app. For the 12 AP exams that were administered in a hybrid format, this was the scene as students completed the FRQ section of their exam.
With only nine digital AP exams offered during the 2024 AP season, May 2025 marks the first year that the College Board offers exams in a hybrid format. The exams that utilized this new format in 2025 were AP Biology, AP Calculus AB and BC, AP Chemistry, AP Macroeconomics and Microeconomics, all of the AP Physics subjects, AP Precalculus, and AP Statistics.
These hybrid exams consisted of a digital multiple choice section and digital free-response questions that were viewed in Bluebook. However, rather than answering these free-response questions in the app, students submitted their answers in a paper booklet, with designated areas for each part of the free-response section.
“It’s hard for me to imagine what a fully digital AP Calculus test would look like (typing equations and such) and feels like a lot of the time would go towards formatting answers,” said MHS AP Calculus AB teacher Erin Hommowun. For many of these subjects, the hybrid option offered the ability to digitize the multiple choice questions while still allowing students to write more complex equations and create graphs during the free response section to showcase their work. In the FRQ booklets, graphics such as graphs and diagrams were provided for select subjects, including AP Biology, AP Chemistry, and the AP Physics exams.
Lucilia Schieldt, the AP exam coordinator for MHS, explained that while the precise reason the shift to digital and hybrid AP exams was accelerated is up for discussion, the College Board stated their “primary reason for shifting was ‘increased security concerns and a rise in exam content leaks.’”
In 2024, there was a large cancellation of AP exams when students were caught leaking test materials that ended up being part of an international system to get information in exchange for money. At the time, it was anticipated that testing organizations would have a greater shift towards digital exams—such as with the adaptive digital SAT—to increase the security of their test information.
Schieldt is also in charge of the arrival of paper booklets for the school. “I have to count every exam booklet MHS receives for each AP subject to make sure we got the accurate amount that we ordered,” she explained.
This year, the increased number of hybrid exams made that job easier with a smaller number of booklets. With less to distribute prior to testing, the digital questions saved a lot of time on exam days.
“[It is] much, much cheaper for the College Board to not have to print as many, package as many, and ship as many [exams],” Schieldt said. “These reasons were not mentioned in their communications, but I think they play a factor.”
However, the exams required more technological support with the digitization of certain parts of the test. This required more attention to the internet and the power supply of students’ computers to ensure that the exam ran smoothly.
“I was very surprised they decided to enforce all exams either to be digital or hybrid digital after previously advertising to schools the option to gradually shift to digital testing to avoid any major technology issues,” Schieldt said. “It seemed very sudden.”
MHS teachers have also expressed concern over the reliance on technology for students’ answers rather than paper: “[I] worry that technical errors (power outages, software malfunctions) could negatively impact students,” Hommowun said.
To accommodate for this increased technology use, the College Board has incorporated reminders for students, saying that disconnection from the internet won’t affect the ability of students to progress through their test. On their website, they stated, “If a student’s computer runs out of battery, they can simply plug in, restart their device, and pick up where they left off—all their work will be saved, and they won’t lose testing time.”
The hybrid format not only requires the use of computers for the multiple-choice, but also the ability of students to navigate the Bluebook app and get accustomed to testing online. Hommowun said that the AP Calculus teachers at MHS didn’t significantly alter their teaching methods to accommodate to the new format.
“This will be a reflection question we talk with our classes about,” she explained. “Next year, we are playing around with the idea of doing more of the quizzes on AP Classroom that we’ve traditionally given on paper in class.
Indeed, research has found that information is easier to recall during the exam when the study environment is most similar to the testing environment. The “cues” given by the environment—such as the smell of coffee if studying in a coffee shop—will trigger the brain’s ability to remember information learned in this environment. Similarly, testing online for digital parts of a hybrid exam or digital exam could simulate the environment and increase recollection of information.
Despite this, digital tests have been shown to yield lower results for students as compared to paper tests.
“I do struggle with the idea of making pedagogical shifts to appease a test when it isn’t always in agreement with how I believe brains learn,” Hommowun said. “There is always room for improvement though!”
