The schools have no control over the timing of the AP tests, it is set by the college board. However I don’t know if there is a firm cut off time or how that works. Typical time is supposed to be close to 3 hours, which should still allow for a break if they have 2 in one day.
Reading the AP Coordinator’s Manual on the AP website, AP policy is only that morning exams start between 8 and 9 am and afternoon exams start between noon and 1 pm. One would think that the school would want to give their students the best chance to succeed (and just be decent to kids) by putting enough time between the two exams for food, bathroom breaks, and mental recovery (i.e., start at 8 am and 1 pm). Sorry to hear your D didn’t get that break time, @SunnyFlorida22 – I’d be angry, too.
@SunnyFlorida22 I am so sorry that happened to your daughter. I would have been beyond livid! My son is a Type1 diabetic and is on a 504 plan. I just assumed they would follow the 8am and 1pm. Your post has definitely pushed me to contact his school and verify. Sounds to me that the am teacher got off schedule somehow…still no excuse not to feed the kids and give them a full 30 minute lunch, even if that means the test goes past the school day.
@sunnyflorida I would be furious. My daughter had back to back AP exams in one day last year and they absolutely did give her enough time to eat lunch. Whoever coordinated the APs at your child’s school really dropped the ball on that and I would be furious.
IIRC, my d actually had more time than needed between the tests but they made her wait until they could officially start her. There is definitely a procedure for when that occurs.
@jellybean5 the kids at our school can elect to take the AP exam or not, but if they do take the AP exam they are exempt from taking the final exam for that class. So lots of seniors take the AP exam. I would say most kids choose to take it, because in essence it ends the class for them for that term ( they graduate soon after anyways).
For the juniors taking AP classes the teaches finds them busy work for the remaining time.
Our school always makes sure that the kids taking two tests in one day have time for lunch. Very shabby of your school’s coordinator indeed, @SunnyFlorida22. Schools do have some flexibility when they begin and are not required to begin promptly at 1 if another test finished late.
@RightCoaster my D just got home and I asked her about that. She said even if they take the AP chem exam, they still have to take the class final. I could see the way they have it at your school to give the kids incentive to do it.
For APUSH, D19 has the final on Wednesday, the AP test on Friday, and then still has to take the NY Regents exam. Overkill.
The lunch thing would sink her for sure. Thanks for letting us know because she may have a double day next year.
Hi, I’ll introduce myself and jump in here. I live in Southern VT and my DS19 is planning on studying computer science. He is a Canadian Citizen so University of Waterloo is one of his top picks (and I know how hard it is to get in, but he should have a pretty good chance) along with several of the “lottery” schools like MIT, Stanford, CMU… Mom and Dad are rooting for Canada from a financial perspective, and DS is on notice that he has to help pay if he chooses one of the pricier options (we’re in that awkward income range where we can’t afford what the schools think we can, but we can help him get loans beyond the federal loans – and given what they’re paying kids with CS degrees these days, he’ll be able to pay them back just fine).
I also have two older DSs, one who graduated from Cornell CS in 2015, and one who is (hopefully – it’s been a challenging year) about to graduate from University of Vermont MechE.
My DS wrote AP Chem today and is scheduled to take both Calc and CS next week on the same day. There are 2 other students with that same overlap. I’m fairly confident that the school will give them time to eat, but he has already said that he is definitely bringing lunch that day and not trying to deal with cafeteria lines.
@3SailAway same here on APUSH. The regents should end up fine. I’m not worried about the AP exam, it has little effect. The in class final could be horrid and make make her needlessly stressed about Friday though 
@mathmomvt we have another parent seriously considering a Canadian university @SwimmingDad (hope I got that right)
@mathmomvt we have that same overlap next week and I too am hopeful about lunch. I am glad it’s calc first in my son’s case, that works in his favor.
Sorry your S has had a tough year at UVM, I have a first year just finishing up. Fingers crossed on graduation, we will have a 5th year senior at Cal Poly with a December graduation so I feel your pain to some degree!
I asked my daughter about our school’s procedure for double testing and she said they are only allowed a 5 minute break between classes. I had no idea. Thats not even enough time to pee!
@mom2twogirls, the final is the one that “matters” and that she cares about, so it’s a shame that it comes first! Otherwise, the other two would be good practice and more potential learning.
Welcome, @mathmomvt! We love visiting your beautiful state.
@gallentjill, I hope your daughter doesn’t have a double day. 5 minutes is nothing! Can they eat a kind bar or something during the test?
My parents are coming to visit as D19 is preparing for her 2nd and likely last SAT, the spring show, finals, and her first admissions interview. She is their oldest grandchild and I’m afraid they are not going to get it! Must figure out how to prepare them for how busy and stressed she’ll be (not to mention me).
Awwwww. The APUSH teacher sent each kid a handwritten note to wish them good luck on Friday’s exam and to say that she is proud of their hard work. S19 was really happy to receive it in the mail today.
Welcome @mathmomvt ! I love Vermont. Attended sleep away camp there during childhood. Best summers of my life.
My D20 took the AP Chem this morning and she said they had to be there at 7:30 (she’s at boarding school). She was peeved that she still had to go to afternoon classes yet students with only afternoon exams got to skip morning classes. Not sure on the double situation there though.
My DS said they started Chem right at 8am so he’s pretty confident that he’ll have time to eat, even though they want to start the afternoon exams at noon. (It’s also a small enough group of kids taking AP CS that they will wait for them all to show up, within reason.) They do get to skip the rest of the day of an AP exam at our HS, whether morning or afternoon.
D had to leave the house at 6:45am for AP chem. She is sleeping next to APUSH textbook now.
@coolweather oh no. At least she’s got four more days until that test.
What time does she usually leave for school? Our kids leave at 7:00 every day!
@homerdog Usually 7:15-7:20 am. She has been busy with EC until last week.
My D had to go to school extra early for the AP chem today, it started at 8:00am. Normal school day starts at 8:45am. We are on a staggered schedule because of buses. Elementary is earliest, then middle school, then high school. Same buses pick up for each level. Where I grew up (Los Angeles Unified School District) we didn’t get buses, so all schools just started earlyish. It was so brutal when my kids were in elementary to get up early to walk to the bus stop by 6:40am! I am glad those days are over!
All of my D’s AP tests are at 8:00am. So I don’t really know how it goes if the kids have an afternoon exam. But since my D’s anatomy class had a test in first period today, my guess is everybody had to go to the morning classes if they had an afternoon AP exam.