In the spring of 2023, the SATs switched from paper to online testing in an application called Bluebook. The test’s questions became adaptive to each individual student, providing harder questions as a student answers correctly, and easier questions if a student answers incorrectly.

Following this modification, CollegeBoard announced that in May of 2025, most Advanced Placement exams will be online in Bluebook, too. This change has occurred for many reasons. In the past few years, the number of cheating attempts on exams has increased tremendously. Additionally, students have attempted to bring stolen exam materials to their tests. The new online exams will provide students with the ability to type short and long responses.

While most AP exams are switching to fully online, some courses are hybrid, meaning that they have the option of being online or paper. These courses consist of mostly math and science classes, including statistics, physics, biology, calculus, and more. However, it is a possibility that in the future these courses may also become fully online as CollegeBoard tests out this new format. 

This switch raises discussion for Pelham students about how this change will affect them. “I think that there will definitely be a shift in the atmosphere. However, I don’t think that this change will drastically change students’ scores as opposed to paper exams,” says junior Catherine Lyons.  “Students still take only paper tests for the majority of their classes. Switching to online for just the final can feel sudden and students may feel unprepared and not used to this new format,” says junior Charlotte Zale.