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Image Projection for the AP® Art History Exam Administration
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| | The College Board, in consultation with the AP Art History Development Committee, considers on a periodic basis the possibility of switching from slide to digital image projection for the AP Art History Exam administration. Many AP Art History teachers use digital images in their classrooms already -- slide projectors having been relegated to the dust bin containing eight-track recorders and record players.
Although some teachers have requested that we make this transition, we believe it would be a disservice to the AP community to make the change at this time. Both the technology and the discipline itself are in transition; until these issues are resolved, the use of slides continues to be the best way to ensure equal testing conditions for all students.
Three obstacles prevent the transition to digital images on the AP Art History Exam:
- The degree of image quality and color variance introduced by using digital images with the current technology and computer types used in schools is too great to ensure that all students will see the same or similar images during the exam.
- All schools cannot afford the necessary equipment to administer the exam using digital images.
- The current technology and computer types used in schools may not permit us to guarantee to copyright holders that individuals will not use their digital images in ways that violate their copyright.
Image Quality and Variance
In order to ensure equal testing conditions, every student who takes the AP Art History Exam must see the same images in the same manner using the same type of image reproduction. Thus a transition to using digital images would require that all schools use digital projection equipment for the exam administration. Using digital images would remove the more or less even playing field that slides provide and replace it with a variable range of image quality, size proportions, and color capacity that different types of computer and digital projection equipment would generate. Unless we can specify these settings and capabilities precisely for both computer (hardware and software) and projector, the degree of variance will be unacceptable to guarantee equity in the exam administration.
Exam Administration Space Requirements
Although there is no way to guarantee to all students an absolutely identical viewing experience regardless of the technology or method of image reproduction (slides or digital) due to the vagaries of the space in which each school administers the exam, the greatest degree of uniformity in image projection and room conditions is essential. The AP Coordinator's Manual (sent to all AP Coordinators in the fall) provides clear instructions regarding the space and conditions affecting image reproduction. The pertinent pages are 28 and 29 (PDF pages 32 and 33) of the 2006 Manual.
 AP Coordinator's Manual 2006 (.pdf/2.7MB)
AP Coordinators and principals at schools that administer the exam must verify that they follow all of the exam administration instructions in this manual. The upcoming AP Course Audit also reinforces these same points to principals and teachers.
Art History Course Requirements
Additionally, schools are required to use testing areas to administer the AP Art History Exam that are separate from the classroom in which the course is taught. Classrooms that still use slides will find their portability to their advantage; classrooms that use ceiling-mounted digital equipment will be unable to administer the test under those conditions.
Costs Associated with Acquiring Digital Image Projectors
Because many schools still find the costs associated with projecting digital images prohibitive, using this equipment cannot become a requirement. Additionally, the precise specifications needed to ensure similar viewing experiences would impose additional financial burdens on schools that would need to acquire projectors and computers that have all the requisite hardware and software capabilities. Schools that use multiple rooms to administer the exam would especially feel this financial burden. For these schools, it is not a matter of inconvenience; it is a matter of cost.
Printed Inserts
Many teachers have requested that the College Board use printed color inserts in place of slides. Although printed inserts might reduce some of the problems inherent in both slides and digital images, they cannot guarantee the requisite color, quality, or detail. Moreover, the use of printed images is not standard practice in the corresponding college art history course. The AP Art History course and exam are designed to be equivalent to an introductory college art history survey and thus must utilize the same methods of instruction and assessment used in college classrooms. Because the AP Art History course is equivalent to an introductory college art history survey, the course and exam must follow the same instruction and assessment used in college classrooms.
Copyright Concerns
An additional concern is ensuring to the copyright providers that the images distributed to schools for the exam administration are not reproduced in ways that violate the copyrights. The College Board currently obtains limited-use copyrights for the use of slides and is authorized by the copyright holders to give the slides used in the AP Exam administration to teachers and schools for their educational use in the classroom. Because individuals can more easily manipulate digital images (as opposed to slides), we would need to be able to ensure to the copyright providers that we could "lock" the images to prevent users from downloading, acquiring, or manipulating them. While this does not present serious problems for some computers and operating systems, it may not yet be universally possible for all computers and operating systems -- a guarantee we would need to make to the copyright holders. This may not be an insurmountable problem, but it does require further exploration into various technological solutions and additional conversations with copyright holders. We are periodically reassessing this situation.
Current Slide Projector Resources
Given that Kodak will continue servicing machines until 2011 and other vendors have entered the market to sell projectors, we feel that it is not expedient to move from slides to digital images at this time. We recognize, however, that teachers and administrators may need general information about where to purchase and/or repair slide projectors and where to find replacement parts. To that end, we have posted on AP Central a list of resources. We welcome additions to this list; please send your comments to Allison Clark at aclark@collegeboard.org.
Slide Projector Resources
The College Board and the AP Art History Development Committee will monitor technology changes closely and will reevaluate this decision on a regular basis. As the discipline itself is in a state of transition, the College Board has decided, upon the recommendation of the AP Art History Development Committee, that the continued use of slides is the most equitable and best solution at this point in time. We appreciate your understanding during this time of transition.
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