The College Board has been arguing about it for years, and it’s

the first to no longer be penalized for wrong answers; instead, their score will be based on the amount of correct answers.

            “[I disagree with it] in part, because it no longer allows them [students] to practice that mentality for the SAT,” said AP English teacher Amy Kostrewa. “I think that if they are going to be taking all these standardized tests, the more consistency the better.”

When seniors were informed of the AP change, they were agitated that this change did not apply last year. “If I would have not gotten points taken off I probably would have guessed more and most of them probably would have been right,” said senior Sean Higgins who took AP History/English last year.   

According to the College Board website, “In AP classrooms, the focus is not on memorizing facts and figures. Instead, you'll engage in intense discussions, solve problems collaboratively, and learn to write clearly and persuasively.” By taking AP classes you become better prepared for college and are put in a different learning environment. Another advantage of taking AP classes is the ability to earn college credit if the student’s exam score meets the college’s requirements for AP scores.  

For decades, the College Board has insisted that a penalty for wrong answers is necessary to prevent students from “random guessing,” but the College Board had a change of heart and decided that no penalty is better. It will be comparable to the way the EOC and ACT are taught, AP students will now be told to answer all questions rather than omitting questions. This changes how AP instructors will teach the test.

“It will affect the way we learn multiple choice. It actually removes the burden for a lot of skills that I have to teach regarding when to guess. Now, I don’t even have to cover it,” said Kostrewa, who expects 75 to 85 percent of her AP English students to take the AP test.

According to USA TODAY, 2.9 million AP exams were taken last year but 41.5 percent (2 in 5 students) failed it.

 ­“I feel like everyone’s scores are going to go up now,” said junior Gelly Lieth who is a current AP English/US History student.

AP test takers have always been taught that if you can eliminate two answers you should take a guess. But the College Board insists that removing the penalty will not affect scores. Instead, courses will be redesigned to have "an increased emphasis on conceptual understanding and discipline-specific skills, resulting in fewer and more complex multiple-choice questions."

“I think the change will have a positive impact on students. It’s hard to leave a question blank or decide how many to omit when you have time constraints,” said AP English teacher Melinda Barnhardt. “Hopefully the change will make them [students] feel better.”