List of 11 frequently asked questions.

• -EXAM DAY- What breaks will be scheduled during the exams?

  Follow these guidelines and policies during the break between your AP Exam sections or any unscheduled breaks.
  
  

  During the break between Sections 1 and 2 of your AP Exam, or during any other unscheduled breaks, you are not allowed to consult textbooks, notes, teachers, or other students, and you may not use any electronic or communication devices, like your cell phone, for any reason.
  
  

  You may not leave the building at any time during the exam administration, including during a scheduled break.

  Remember, during breaks or after the exam, you must not communicate anything about the content to anyone, including your classmates and teachers.

• -EXAM DAY- My NSCD student is enrolled in an AP course; are they required to take the associated AP exam?

  CLICK HERE for the upper school course designations section of the curriculum guide; this page includes information about AP course requirements. 

• -EXAM DAY- What should I bring on exam day?

  Before exam day:

  • Check with the school or center where the exam is being administered to find out what room the exam is being administered in.
  • Plan to arrive well before your exam’s scheduled starting time.

  Be sure to bring these:

  • No. 2 pencils for your multiple-choice answer sheet. (Students outside the U.S.: bring HB or No. 2 pencils.)
  • Pens with black or dark blue ink for completing areas on the exam booklet covers and for free-response questions in most exams.
  • An acceptable calculator if your AP Exam allows the use of a calculator.
  • If you don’t attend the school where you’re taking the exam: a current government-issued or school-issued photo ID. (Authorized test centers outside the United States may require Additional ID.)
  • Your College Board SSD Accommodations Letter if you are taking an exam with approved testing accommodations.
  • A watch that does not have internet access does not beep or make noise and does not have an alarm.
  • A ruler or straightedge only if you are taking an AP Physics Exam. Protractors are not allowed.
  • For digital AP Exams: A testing device that meets AP Program criteria.

  Don't bring these:

  • Electronic equipment including phones, smartwatches, fitness trackers, wearable technology, cameras, recording or listening devices, or any other type of electronic or communication device.
    • Digital recording devices meeting AP Program criteria are allowed only for the AP French, AP German, AP Italian, AP Spanish Language and Culture Exams and the AP Music Theory Exam.
    • Computers that meet AP Program criteria are allowed for the AP Chinese and AP Japanese Language and Culture Exams.
  • Books, reference guides, notes, compasses, protractors, mechanical pencils, pencils that are not No. 2, correction fluid, dictionaries, highlighters, or colored pencils.
  • Scratch paper: Students are prohibited from bringing scratch paper to the AP Exam. For AP Chinese and AP Japanese Exams, scratch paper will be provided.
  • Watches that beep, make a noise, or have an alarm.
  • Computers or calculators that are not approved.
  • Reference guides, keyboard maps, or other typing instructions.
  • Earplugs.
  • Clothing or shoes with subject-related information.
  • Food or drink.
  • Clipboards.

  A student observed with any of these prohibited items during testing or breaks may be dismissed from the exam, the device may be confiscated, the student’s score may be canceled, and no retest may be permitted.
  
  

  Follow any specific health and safety protocols for the exam room that your school may have in place. AP policies allow you to bring hand sanitizer to the room, but it must be placed under the desk, not on the desk. Following your school's current requirements, you may use any other PPE (such as masks).
  
  

  Details about required and prohibited items are in the?AP Exam Terms and Conditions. We’ll let you know when the 2024 AP Exam Terms and Conditions are available and will send you reminders about reading the terms ahead of the exam administration. 

• -EXAM DAY- My student receives testing accommodations. How do we confirm that the College Board has approved them?

  CLICK HERE for information about the College Board's dates and deadlines related to accommodations.
  
  CLICK HERE to learn about requesting accommodations through the College Board.
  
  CLICK HERE for information that explains what accommodations are and how they're used in College Board standardized tests.

• -LATE TESTING- What is the College Board's policy regarding late testing?

  Alternate AP Exam policies

  
  Some circumstances may make it necessary for students to test late. To preserve the security of AP Exams, the AP Program develops alternate forms of each exam for late testing. Regularly scheduled exams can’t be used for late testing.
  
  

  If a school administers late-testing exams, students must test on the scheduled late-testing dates at the scheduled times. If a school fails to follow AP security procedures and doesn’t administer the alternate exams on the specified dates at the specified times, scores for those exams will be canceled.
  
  

  NOTE: All late-testing AP Exams are paper, including subjects with a digital option, with the exception of AP African American Studies. 

  
  Late-Testing Circumstances

  
  A reason needs to be indicated in AP Registration and Ordering when switching an exam order to a late-testing exam date. When the cause of late testing is beyond the school's and the student's control, there’s no additional fee—most reasons for late testing don’t incur a fee.  
  
  

  Some reasons may incur an additional $40 per exam late testing fee, such as retesting due to security violations.  

  
  The late-testing reasons allowed without incurring an additional fee are:

  • Academic contest/event
  • Athletic contest/event
  • Conflict with IB or Cambridge exam 
  • Conflict with nationally, province-, or state-mandated test 
  • Delayed shipment
  • Disabilities accommodations issues
  • Emergency: bomb scare or fire alarm
  • High school graduation
  • Language lab scheduling conflict
  • Makeup AP Exam due to an incident during the initial exam
  • Religious holiday/observance
  • School closing: election, national holiday, or natural disaster
  • Serious injury, illness, or family tragedy
  • Strike/labor conflict
  • Student court appearance
  • 2 or more AP Exams on the same date at the same time

• -REGISTRATION- When is the AP Exam registration?

  AP Exam registration generally happens during the first two weeks of the first semester each year. AP Instructors will ask their students to log in on the College Board website and register for their course and the related exam.
  
  This registration step is the only action students need to take to complete their AP Exam Registration.
  
  CLICK HERE to access information about joining AP course sections.

• -SCORES- When are the AP Exam scores available?

  The Exam scores are available mid-summer. Your student will be given more instructions on how to access the score around the time of the Exam. You can also find more information about this on the College Board website.

• -GENERAL- Quick links

  • AP Exam Terms and Conditions
  • Exam Security Policies
  • AP Exam Calculator Policies
  • Reporting Ambiguous or Incorrect AP Exam Questions

• -GENERAL- Are non-NSCD students allowed to take AP exams at NSCD?

  NSCD will only accept AP exam registration from NSCD students. The School does not allow non-NSCD students to participate in their AP exam administration.

• -GENERAL- Do teachers design their own AP courses?

  The AP Program (College Board) does not supply syllabi for AP courses. They supply a detailed set of expectations about what content a college-level course in that subject should cover. AP teachers design their own syllabi with these standards in mind. (They can also choose to use existing, approved syllabi.) College Board reviews each course design through the AP Course Audit process before authorizing schools to call the course “AP.”
  
  

  The fact that teachers design their own AP courses—within guidelines that ensure that each course meets standards for college-level instruction—makes AP flexible and accessible for students and schools.
  
  

  Learn more about the AP Course Audit.

• -GENERAL- Fast facts

  • AP courses are available in seven subject categories.
  • Each AP course is modeled on a comparable introductory college course in the subject. Learn how AP courses are developed.
  • Each course culminates in a standardized college-level assessment or AP Exam.
  • AP Exams are given in May each year at testing locations all over the world.
  • The AP Course Audit must authorize schools to offer approved AP courses and use the “AP” designation.