College Board takes on AP glitches

Three days after the College Board began giving Advanced Placement exams virtually, they sent out a statement expressing regret that some students have run into technical issues.

“We share the deep disappointment of students who were unable to complete their exam — whether for technical issues or other reasons,” the College Board stated. “We’re working to understand these students’ unique circumstances in advance of the June makeup exams.”

Any student who encountered an issue during their exam will be able to retest, the statement continued.

In the first three days of the two-week testing period, AP students took 1.47 million exams. Unlike traditional AP exams which are taken in school, students took these tests at home on computers, cellphones and other devices.

College Board data shows the vast majority of students successfully completed their exams, with less than 1 percent unable to submit their responses.

Students in Stratford and Shelton were among them.

“Some students told us they had trouble cutting and pasting their responses,’ a College Board spokesman said.

Others had outdated browsers. Some indicated they didn’t remember seeing a screen telling them they completed their exam. And some got incorrect codes to request a retake.

The College Board, which runs the test, said they have since made the completion screen more prominent and are encouraging students to take a screen grab of the page so they have a record of their exam.