Starting in May 2025, 28 AP Exams will make the shift to a digital format, replacing the traditional paper-based format. These digital exams will be administered through the College Board’s Bluebook App.
Of the 28 exams transitioning to a digital format in 2025, 16 will be fully digital, and 12 will be in a hybrid format.
Which AP Exams Are Going Digital?
For fully digital exams, students will complete all questions (multiple-choice and free-response) within the Bluebook app. These subjects include:
- 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
For hybrid digital exams, students will take the multiple-choice section digitally, but free-response questions (like essays or math problems) will be handwritten in paper booklets.
This applies to the following exams:
- AP Biology
- 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
The following exams will remain unchanged for 2025, but will shift to the digital Bluebook format in the future:
- 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
What to Expect from Digital AP Exams in 2025
The content of the actual AP Exams, including number of sections, number and type of questions, question choices (if applicable), and timing will remain the same for most digital AP Exams. See below for the courses with changes.
Students who have used Bluebook for the PSAT or SAT will already be familiar with many of the built-in tools available for digital AP exams. These include the ability to highlight and annotate text, mark questions to revisit, and eliminate answer choices. Students can go back within a section to review or complete previous questions, but may not return to sections that have already been completed. Proctors will be allowed to provide students with scratch paper.
Reference materials, such as the periodic table, equation sheets, and Java Quick Reference, will be available in Bluebook. AP calculator policies are unchanged. At this time it is unclear whether students will be able to use the built-in Desmos calculator for the 2025 AP Exams.
Test Specific Changes
Here are the changes/updates to the AP course framework and exams effective this year:
AP Chemistry
Minor updates have been made to the AP Chemistry course framework for the 2024-25 school year. The scope of the course and the sections, numbers and types of questions, timing, and percentages of units and skills assessed on the AP Chemistry Exam will remain the same.
AP English Language and Composition
Starting in 2025, AP English Language and Composition multiple-choice questions will have four answer choices instead of five.
AP English Literature and Composition
Starting in 2025, AP English Literature and Composition multiple-choice questions will have four answer choices instead of five.
AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based
Starting in the 2025, the AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based course framework will have eight units (compared to seven). The exam will undergo significant changes, including a shorter multiple-choice section. Students will now have 80 minutes to complete 40 multiple-choice questions (MCQs), compared to the previous 90 minutes for 50 MCQs. Multi-select questions have been removed entirely. The number of free-response questions (FRQs) has been reduced from five to four, with new question types introduced. Additionally, the time allotted for the FRQ section has increased from 90 minutes to 100 minutes.
AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based
Starting in the 2025, the Fluids unit of AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based will move into the AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based course framework. The exam will see the same changes as AP Physics 1. The exam will undergo significant changes, including a shorter multiple-choice section. Students will now have 80 minutes to complete 40 multiple-choice questions (MCQs), compared to the previous 90 minutes for 50 MCQs. Multi-select questions have been removed entirely. The number of free-response questions (FRQs) has been reduced from five to four, with new question types introduced. Additionally, the time allotted for the FRQ section has increased from 90 minutes to 100 minutes.
AP Physics C: Mechanics
There are no major changes to the AP Physics C: Mechanics course framework, just revisions that parallel the updates to AP Physics 1 and 2. The Exam format and timing has been extended to a full exam session. The exam no longer shares the same session in the exam schedule as AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism. There will be 40 multiple-choice questions, an increase from 35, and the section will increase from 45-minutes to 80-minutes. Multiple-choice questions will have four answer choices instead of five. There will be four free-response questions (FRQs) — an increase from three — featuring all new question types. Additionally, the time for the free-response section has increased from 45 minutes to 100 minutes.
AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism
There are no major changes to the AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism course framework, just revisions that parallel the updates to AP Physics 1 and 2. The Exam format and timing has been extended to a full exam session. The exam no longer shares the same session in the exam schedule as AP Physics C: Mechanics. There will be 40 multiple-choice questions, an increase from 35, and the section will increase from 45-minutes to 80-minutes. Multiple-choice questions will have four answer choices instead of five. There will be four free-response questions (FRQs) — an increase from three — featuring all new question types. Additionally, the time for the free-response section has increased from 45 minutes to 100 minutes.
AP Psychology
The AP Psychology course and exam has been updated for the 2024-25 school year. New this year, AP Psychology will be listed as a science course as well as a social science course. The revised course framework features five content units instead of nine, and key terms for each unit that better focuses the course scope. In addition to the exam being administered digitally this year, the AP Psychology exam will also see four answer choices instead of five for multiple-choice questions and two new free-response questions (FRQs).
Preparing for the 2025 AP Exams
The College Board expects to release test previews for all digital AP Exam subjects throughout the year on the Bluebook app. Students can access free online practice exams, quizzes, and other teacher-created assessments in AP Classroom.
The College Board will continue to update its website with more information throughout the year.
Private Tutoring and AP Exam Prep Courses
Over 35 of our tutors and teachers score the AP exams for the College Board, and they know exactly what each AP Exam demands. We offer online and in-person AP Exam prep courses and private tutoring.
Our private tutors are available to work with AP students throughout the year in all AP subjects. Our spring courses focus on the exact content, strategies, and time management skills required for success and confidence on test day. The course schedule will be posted in January.
To find your perfect tutor, click the button below:
