Big Changes are Coming to AP Calculus Test!
As of the 2024-25 school year, the College Board made a big announcement in shifting AP Exams to the Bluebook digital testing application. Here are the important changes:
- All questions will be presented digitally on the Bluebook app.
- The multiple choice questions will be presented and answered digitally.
- Free response questions will be presented digitally but answers must be submitted handwritten in the answer booklet.
- A built-in Desmos graphing calculator will be available as an option for AP Calculus AB/BC. Students may choose to bring and use their graphing calculators if they prefer.
These changes have a significant impact on how some questions can be approached and mastering them should be mandatory homework for any serious AP Calculus student. To my disappointment, most AP Calculus classes in the Bay Area have failed to adjust their curriculum to account for these changes. For example, AP Calculus students may not realize that traditional classroom-taught strategies involving marking up a question on paper (such as sketching cross-sections for a solid of revolution) will require them to re-copy the question or re-draw the region on scratch paper during the AP Exam.
What is the advantage?
I believe the most advantageous of these changes for students is to utilize the built-in graphing calculator on the exam.
Desmos provides a guardrail for some common graphing calculator errors such as failing to convert to radians mode or selecting an improper window to graph a function. Quoting directly from the College Board, “If students will be using Desmos on exam day, they should use it throughout the school year.” Anecdotally, I have not heard from a single one of my students this year about their Calculus class allowing or encouraging the use of Desmos.
Working with an AP Calculus Test Prep expert is a great way to get familiar with the latest updates to the AP Calculus test, identify gaps in traditional classroom instruction, and master the nuances of the exam to maximize a student’s score.
