The 2021 exam schedule provides three testing dates (Administrations 1, 2, and 3) for each subject between early May and mid-June.
- In Administration 1, all exams are paper and pencil*, administered in school.
- In Administration 2, half of the subjects are paper and pencil*, administered in school, and half are digital, administered in school or taken at home.
- In Administration 3, most subjects are digital, administered in school or taken at home.
*Includes Chinese and Japanese Language and Culture exams. As always, these exams are computer based and administered in schools.
Schools make all decisions about which exams are offered. Students won’t be able to choose exam dates on their own. Beginning in early March, AP coordinators will be able to assign students to Administration 2 and/or 3 exams, if needed.
Update (May 21 2021): Another testing window—Administration 4—is available in June for students who were scheduled to test during Administration 3 and require a makeup digital exam, or for students who were unable to test during Administration 3 due to a conflict. Review the Administration 4 schedule and details here.
Start Times
- As always, paper and pencil exams and Chinese and Japanese exams have local start times and can begin up to 1 hour after the official start time (i.e., 8–9 a.m. local time for morning exams, 12–1 p.m. local time for afternoon exams, and 2–3 p.m. local time for Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism).
- However, digital exams have synchronous start times worldwide, and automatically begin at the same official start time everywhere: 12 p.m. EDT and 4 p.m. EDT.
Exams with Digital Portfolios
We’ve extended the deadline for final digital submission of AP Art and Design portfolios and AP Computer Science Principles (CSP), AP Seminar, and AP Research performance tasks to Thursday, May 20, 2021, 11:59 p.m. EDT, to support students and teachers impacted by delayed school start dates. The AP Seminar end-of-course exam will be administered during the three administration windows.
|
8:00 a.m. Local Time |
12:00 p.m. Local Time |
2:00 p.m. Local Time |
|---|---|---|---|
Monday, |
United States Government and Politics |
Physics C: Mechanics |
Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism |
Tuesday, |
Calculus AB |
German Language and Culture |
|
Wednesday, |
English Literature and Composition |
Japanese Language and Culture (computer-based) |
|
Thursday, |
United States History |
Art History |
|
Friday, |
Chemistry |
European History |
|
8:00 a.m. Local Time |
12:00 p.m. Local Time |
|
|---|---|---|
Monday, |
French Language and Culture |
Macroeconomics |
Tuesday, |
Seminar |
Latin |
Wednesday, |
English Language and Composition |
Microeconomics |
Thursday, |
NO EXAMS SCHEDULED |
|
Friday, |
Biology |
Chinese Language and Culture (computer-based) |
Monday, |
Comparative Government and Politics |
Statistics |
*Exams previously scheduled for Thursday, May 13, will now be given on Monday, May 17.
|
12 noon Eastern Daylight Time |
4 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time |
|---|---|---|
Tuesday, |
English Literature and Composition |
Computer Science A |
Wednesday, |
European History |
Art History |
Thursday, |
United States Government and Politics |
Psychology |
|
8:00 a.m. Local Time |
12:00 p.m. Local Time |
|---|---|---|
Friday, |
Italian Language and Culture |
Chinese Language and Culture (computer-based) |
|
8:00 a.m. Local Time |
12:00 p.m. Local Time |
|---|---|---|
Monday, |
Calculus AB |
Physics 1: Algebra-Based |
Tuesday, |
Chemistry |
Physics 2: Algebra-Based |
|
12 noon Eastern Daylight Time |
4 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time |
|---|---|---|
Wednesday, |
English Language and Composition |
Computer Science Principles |
Thursday, |
Biology |
Environmental Science |
Friday, |
Comparative Government and Politics |
Microeconomics |
Note: If you have a conflict that prevents you from being able to test on an Administration 3 date or you experience an issue during Administration 3 testing, makeup digital exam dates are available during Administration 4. See details.
|
12 noon Eastern Daylight Time |
4 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time |
|---|---|---|
Tuesday, |
English Literature and Composition |
Computer Science A |
Wednesday, |
European History |
Art History |
Thursday, |
United States Government and Politics |
Psychology |
|
8 a.m. Local Time |
12 p.m. Local Time |
|---|---|---|
Friday, |
Italian Language and Culture |
Chinese Language and Culture (computer-based) |
|
12 noon Eastern Daylight Time |
4 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time |
|---|---|---|
Monday, |
English Language and Composition |
Computer Science Principles |
Tuesday, |
Comparative Government and Politics |
Microeconomics |
Wednesday, |
Calculus AB |
Physics 1: Algebra-Based |
Thursday, |
Chemistry |
Physics 2: Algebra-Based |
Friday, |
Biology |
Environmental Science |