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College Board transitions SAT AP exams to digital format from May

SAT AP exams to digital format

College Board transitions SAT, AP exams to digital format from May

Written By: Mehika Content Writer @ Tutorschool
March 31, 2025
SAT AP exams to digital format
The College Board has announced a digital format transition of the SAT and Advanced Placement(AP) exams from May 2025, leaving many stunned. This decision aims to improve accessibility, enhance security, and streamline the testing experience of students worldwide. The College Board, the entity responsible for administering the SAT and AP exams, will move away from traditional paper-based testing to the “Bluebook” digital testing application. This is done to ensure the continued security of exams and to provide an efficient testing system. Now, the students will take digital exams in the “Bluebook” app. AP coordinators and proctors will administer digital exams using the Test Day Toolkit web application. Paper exams in these subjects will only be available to students approved by the College Board to receive a paper exam for digital assessments. For maths, science, and economics exams that require graphing or symbolic notation, students will view free-response questions and prompts in Bluebook and write their answers in paper exam booklets. All schools, including schools and test centers outside of the United States, must administer these 28 AP Exams digitally. Late-testing exams in these subjects, if offered by the school, are also in digital format. From the 28 digital exams in 2025, the College Board has declared 16 to be fully digital, while 12 are to be hybrid(both online and offline). In fully digital subjects, students have to complete multiple choice questions(MCQs) and free response questions in Bluebook. All the responses will be submitted automatically at the end of the exam duration. In the hybrid digital subjects, students have to complete multiple-choice questions(MCQs) and view free-response questions in the Bluebook. Then they need to handwrite the free-response answers in the paper exam booklets, which are returned for scoring. 

Digital Subjects announced by the College Board

  • 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

Digital Hybrid subjects announced by the College Board

  • 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
  • AP Biology
 

Subjects with unchanged patterns announced by the College Board

  • 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
“Bluebook” digital testing application is user-friendly, smooth, and secure. The College Board will provide schools with wifi supporting devices. However, the exams are to be taken on Mac and Windows devices, iPads, and  Chromebooks, personal or school provided. Students need to be connected to the internet to start the test and, at the end, to submit their responses. If the internet drops during testing, students can continue their AP test without disruption. After the proctor starts the exam, Bluebook controls the exam timing so the exam responses are submitted automatically as soon as the exam ends. In case of a widespread internet outage for an extended period or another unforeseen issue that prevents automatic answer submission at the end of the exam, students have up to 4 days after the exam to find an internet connection and submit their encrypted responses.  The application also provides alternatives, such as extended time are provided in Bluebook. The College Board will provide students with ample opportunities to familiarize themselves with digital AP tests through test previews in the Bluebook app (available in January 2025), AP Classroom practice assessments that closely mimic the look and feel of Bluebook exams, video tours of Bluebook features and tools, and more. The testing logistics are quite similar to those of the paper AP tests. The exam can be monitored in classrooms, libraries, computer labs, etc.The digital format will be available at 35 AP test centres nationwide, including key locations in Delhii/NCR, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Chennai, ensuring widespread access. According to the College Board, the platform “Bluebook” is not new and is already in use for SAT exams. The first round of the SAT exams 2025 has been completed. The second round is scheduled on May 3 while the third would take place on June 7, 2025. The College Board has also released the SAT exam schedule for Fall 2025 and Spring 2026.
Sr. No. SAT Exam Date
1 23rd August 2025
2 13th September 2025
3 4th October 2025
4 8th November 2025
5 6th December 2025
6 14th March 2026
7 2nd May 2026
8 6th June 2026
For more detailed information, queries, preparation and practice material you can visit the SAT official website.

SAT Exam syllabus as followed by the College Board

  • The reading section includes passages from different genres like literature,history etc. These test students’ comprehension and analytical ability.
  • The writing and language section assesses students’ grammatical, imaginative and creative skills.
  • Mathematics section includes algebra,arithmetic,numbers,geometry,trigonometry and data analysis. It tests students’ problem solving skills and their speed.
  • The optional essay section is not compulsory but it checks students’ reading, writing and analytical skills.
 

General guidelines followed every year

The College Board has decided to follow the same rules and regulations that are followed each academic year. These are related to the exam delivery pattern and free response section.
  • The number of sections, number and type of questions, question choice (if applicable), and timing remain unchanged.   
  • Students can go back within a section or part to review or complete previous questions. Students may not return to parts within a section that have already been completed.  
  • Digital AP Exams allow students to highlight and annotate exam stimuli and questions, mark questions to revisit, and eliminate answer choices for the multiple-choice section. Students will be able to plan and outline on scratch paper provided by the proctor. 
  • AP calculator policies have expanded to include access to the Desmos graphing calculator within Bluebook, with the exception of AP Statistics.  
  • Reference materials, such as equations sheets and Java Quick Reference, will be available in Bluebook. (For AP Chemistry only, we’ll also be sending schools a printed handout of the periodic table that students can use on exam day).
Meenakshi Kachroo Chatta, Senior Director & Regional Head of the College Board, comments, “The AP Program empowers Indian students to engage with college-level coursework while still in high school, giving them a strong foundation for academic success. With the introduction of digital AP Exams, we are breaking down barriers and offering students a more flexible and accessible way to complete their AP Exams. This is a significant step forward, allowing students to harness technology and enhance their academic capabilities. The College Board remains committed to expanding these opportunities and ensuring students have the resources and support they need to unlock their full potential, excel globally, and succeed in the future.”

FAQs

1. Is AP Chinese digital?

AP Chinese is not digital for the year 2025. It will be conducted in the traditional paper format. The College Board has planned to make AP Chinese, AP Music Theory, AP French, AP German, AP Italian, AP Spanish, and AP Japanese digital eventually.

2. What is the difference between SAT and AP exams?

Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is a standardized test for college admissions. Its score ranges between 400-1600 and covers reading, writing, and mathematical skills.

Advanced Placement (AP exams) are taken after completing the AP course in high school. These assess college-level coursework, potentially allowing students to earn college credit or advanced standing. Its score ranges between 1-5.

Though different, both the exams are administered by the College Board.

3. Who is eligible for the AP exams?

AP exams are taken by students in grades 9 to 12, as well as those who are homeschooled or virtual-schooled. If a student is prepared, they can take the AP test even before starting 9th grade.

Recent secondary school graduates are also eligible for the exam. Students are allowed to take multiple AP exams in a year and should be below the age of 21 to appear for the test.

4. Does SAT matter for Harvard?

The SAT exam matters for admission into Harvard University but is not the only factor.

Students with high SAT scores (like 1500) are more preferred, but lower scores can be overlooked in case of academic excellence, extracurriculars, recommendations, or some personal traits.

Many universities, including Harvard, have adopted a test-optional policy since the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing students to decide whether or not to take the SAT exam.

5. Is AP more important than SAT?

Taking SAT or AP exams is subjective.

The sole purpose of SAT is to boost college applications, whereas the AP test shows a continuous academic record and college readiness.

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