According to the Iowa AP Index, Advanced Placement (AP) courses were officially brought into Iowa high schools in 2008, along with the passing of the Senior Year Plus program, which was created in hopes of providing greater access to college credit and AP courses for high schoolers.
Liberty offers 20 AP classes as of May 1, 2025. These courses cover a wide variety of subjects such as English, Maths, Social Studies, Government, Politics, Art, Computer Sciences and more. Liberty students are given the option to take any of the AP classes, which are generally known as college courses, or they are allowed to continue taking the standard placement classes to graduate.
In previous years, testing was generally completed with the basics: a piece of paper and a pencil. However, as of May 2025, most AP testing will be digital through Bluebook software, whether it is hybrid testing or fully online. According to the College Board, this course of action is being taken to ensure higher exam security, avoid large-scale cancellations and respond to an increase in individuals exploiting exam content for profit.
As these changes are being made, teachers and students are learning how to prepare for the 2025 exams. Liberty’s AP Literature teacher, Kim Sleezer (she/her) is also a free response question (FRQ) grader for AP Literature & Composition exams, so she is able to provide insight with her scoring experience.
“For the FRQ specifically, I would say I’m excited for them because typing for two hours is easier (than writing), and I think students’ hands get tired when writing. It’s very hard to teach a student how to build stamina writing for two hours while keeping it clean with 47 and 52-minute classes,” said Sleezer.
The online tests should maximize time usage and efficiency for students, and help test scorers spend less time making out words or sentences during the grading process.
William Rumping, 11, also agrees that typing is more beneficial.
“I prefer online because my wrists start hurting in the middle of tests on paper. Especially if they are writing tests,” said Rumping.
Along with maximizing efficiency, during the multiple choice question (MCQ) portion of the test, the section needed to answer the question will be highlighted or outlined, instead of searching the whole page to find what is needed for the question. This change is similar to the change in Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP) testing, changing from paper to online. Students should have a similar feel when taking the AP exams.
“I think that the tools provided to help annotate and take notes work well and are a good substitute. I don’t like how, in math and science courses, the equation sheets and calculators are formatted. I find that feature harder to use than the traditional equation sheet on paper and calculator,” said Isaac Greazel, 11.
Students and teachers all have different views on the new exam style.
“I despise it. It doesn’t really cater to or care about anybody who doesn’t like paper tests,” said Rumping.
Greazel has taken multiple AP tests of both formats.
“I have taken AP tests both online and on paper. I prefer the online because it allows me to work faster and feel less stressed. It also allows me more time to double-check my answers,” he said.
Although the future is unknown for the efficacy of testing with the new software, Liberty students still plan to take AP classes and exams to better their education.
