HOUSTON, Texas — Millions of students around the world are taking Advanced Placement tests with hopes of earning college credit.
However, these AP tests are being done at home because of COVID-19, which has led to some issues.
The testing is normally done in a classroom and takes up to three hours. But this at-home version can take anywhere from 15-45 minutes depending on the subject.
Rebecca Vicary has been prepping for her tests all year.
“I felt really confident going into the tests like my biggest fear was maybe forgetting to study something,” Vicary said.
Her first two AP physics tests didn’t go as planned.
“Whenever I did the tests, the questions seemed really easy, like I was really confident in my answers. And then when I went to submit them, I got an error saying there was an issue with your submission, please try again,” Vicary said.
It's an issue Vicary and her mom didn’t see coming.
“She didn’t do anything wrong and it worked on the demo and it worked in between the two tests when we tried the demo again," Diane Vicary said. "And I just feel like no one is really taking responsibility for their end of the situation.”
Education consultant Ibrahim Firat with Firat Education said thousands of students are experiencing similar issues.
He said, “With the AP physics, AP government and AP calculus tests, server issues or delays, connection drops and broken links from the e-ticket, which allows the students to log onto the tests successfully.”
College Board, which administers the tests, said their servers never came close to crashing and less than 1 percent of the more than 1 million students who have taken the tests so far encountered technical difficulties.
Firat said they’re spinning those numbers and they aren’t taking responsibility for the glitches.
“Unfortunately, College Board has done nothing but to say it’s not us, it’s you, and that shows a lot of incompetence and uncare for the students and the families at this time,” Firat said.
He said it’s those students like Vicary who are stuck having to retake the AP tests again next month..
College Board said given the wide range of devices and browsers students are using, they anticipated a small percentage of students would encounter technical difficulties.
AP tests will continue through May 22.
ALSO POPULAR ON KHOU.COM
Great news if you watch TV with an antenna
KHOU has just upgraded its technology. If you were unable to receive KHOU with your antenna in the past, try again on channel 11.11. You may have to rescan your channels for it to work – if that’s the case, we’ve got some instructions at KHOU.com/antenna. If you already see KHOU on 11.1, you may now ALSO see it on 11.11 – it’s the exact same programming. We’re really excited to be able to bring our KHOU 11 News, CBS shows and sports, Wheel of Fortune, Ellen and Great Day Houston to more homes around the area. If you’re still having trouble, please contact us here and we’ll try to get you set up.