The AP Studio Art Exam consists of two components:
Digital images and commentary uploaded by students and submitted to AP by the AP Coordinator, via the AP Studio Art Digital Submission Web application
Physical portfolios: the Quality section (five actual artworks) for Drawing and 2-D Design portfolios, assembled and mailed to the AP Program
Note: The 3-D Design portfolio has no physical component and is submitted entirely online.
The Digital Submission Web application will become available in mid- to late January 2010. AP Studio Art teachers and Coordinators will receive an email from the AP Program at that time indicating that the application is available.
How you first access the Web application will vary depending on whether you used the application last year. Accessing the Web application as soon as possible after it becomes available is crucial, because your students need access information from you before they can set up their own access and upload images. For more information about access procedures, view this demo, and follow the instructions outlined there.
Your role
Your role as an AP Studio Art teacher includes the following tasks:
If you are new to digital submission or have changed schools since last year, set up or update your access to the Digital Submission Web application as soon as possible after the application becomes available. (View this demo for more information about access procedures.)
Pass on access information (including your school code and Teacher Key) to all AP Studio Art students as soon as possible after the Web application becomes available
Guide students in choosing the correct portfolio type (i.e., Drawing, 2-D Design, or 3-D Design). Selecting the correct portfolio type is very important, as it impacts how the portfolio is scored.
Review students' work
Confirm that your AP Coordinator provides students with information from their AP Student Packs (their AP numbers and a list of college codes) in April
Establish and communicate a firm deadline for your students to forward their finalized digital portfolios to you. (Generally, this should be done as soon as possible after students receive their AP numbers from the Coordinator, or by sometime in late April.)
As soon as possible after they are forwarded to you (and well in advance of May 7, 2010), forward all digital portfolios to your AP Coordinator, who submits them to the AP Program for scoring
If needed, assist the Coordinator in designating separate class sections for portfolios (if your school has more than one AP Studio Art section)
If needed, assist with the physical portfolio assembly session for any 2-D Design and Drawing students
Note: Your participation in digital submission as a teacher is encouraged but not required. If you are unable to participate in the digital submission process, notify your AP Coordinator immediately, and your students can submit their digital portfolios directly to him or her.
Timeline for Studio Art Teachers
Before January 2010
Work with your students to capture digital images of their artworks that adhere to the image recommendations and requirements outlined at the bottom of this page.
Talk to your students about the digital submission process and point them to this page and to the student version of this Web demo.
Access the Web application as soon as possible after it becomes available. Follow the appropriate instructions in this demo for accessing the application.
Pass access information (including your school code and Teacher Key) to Studio Art students as soon as possible.View this demo for more information.
Encourage students to begin uploading images as soon as possible after accessing the application, so that you can monitor the development of the portfolios throughout the spring. (Images can always be deleted or rearranged later).
Establish and communicate a firm deadline for students to forward finalized digital portfolios to you (ideally, as soon as possible after the Coordinator provides students with their AP numbers and college codes, or by sometime in late April), so that you have enough time to review them for the last time and forward them to your AP Coordinator.
Confirm with your AP Coordinator the date by which you will forward students' digital portfolios to him or her.
Make sure that students have successfully set up their access to the Web application and that they have chosen the correct portfolio type (i.e., 2-D Design, 3-D Design, or Drawing) in the application.
Confirm with the AP Coordinator the number of portfolios your students will be submitting so that a sufficient quantity of portfolios is ordered.
March and April 2010
Continue to provide guidance to students as they work on completing their portfolios.
Confirm that the AP Coordinator provides the following information to students from their AP Student Packs by sometime in April:
their unique AP numbers
list of college codes
They will need this information in order to finalize and submit their portfolios to you.
Ensure that students submit their final digital portfolios to you by your established deadline.
May 2010
Forward students' completed digital portfolios to the AP Coordinator as soon as possible after students forward them to you, and well in advance of May 7.
After you forward portfolios to your Coordinator, sign back in to the Web application occasionally to view the portfolios' statuses to ensure that your Coordinator forwards all digital portfolios to the AP Program by 8 p.m. ET on May 7. Only Coordinators can take this final step, and only portfolios that have a "Sent to AP" status at the time of the deadline will be received by the AP Program and scored.
On or before May 7, the AP Coordinator will work with you to ensure that 2-D Design and Drawing students have assembled the Quality sections (the five actual artworks) of their portfolios. The Coordinator will ship the physical portfolios containing the Quality sections to the AP Program before the close of the next business day following the school's last regularly scheduled AP Exam.
For More Information
This page offers just a brief overview of the portfolio submission process. More information is available for teachers from the following sources:
For a step-by-step guide to the digital submission process, access procedures, and using the Web application, view this demo.
Answers to frequently asked questions about digital imaging and digital submission are available on the FAQs page.
Full instructions on all features of the Web application are available in the application help text.
Technical Requirements and Recommendations
Coordinators, students, and teachers will need access to a computer with an Internet connection to access the Digital Submission Web application. In addition, students or their teacher(s) will need access to a digital camera to capture images of their artworks.
To effectively access the AP Studio Art Digital Submission Web application, schools and students will be required to use the recommended operating systems and browsers. Users will not be restricted to specific hardware configurations; however, it should be noted that slower response times may result from using older computer hardware.
Software Requirements:
Operating System (one of the following):
Windows XP Home or Professional
Windows Vista Home, Business, Premium, or Ultimate
Mac OS 10.4 or higher
Web Browser (one of the following):
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 and 7.0
Firefox 2.0 or 3.0
Safari 2.0 or 3.0
Requirements and Recommendations for Students' Digital Images:
All images must be submitted in JPEG format (file name extension .jpg) and RGB color mode. We recommend using files that are 72 pixels-per-inch (ppi) because a higher resolution does not add clarity when viewing images on a computer screen.
Recommended image sizes:
Landscape orientation:
Recommended maximum size: 780 x 530 pixels (10.83 x 7.36 inches)
Recommended minimum size: 480 x 480 pixels (6.67 x 6.67 inches)
Portrait orientation:
Recommended maximum size: 530 x 780 pixels (7.36 x 10.83 inches)
Recommended minimum size: 480 x 480 pixels (6.67 x 6.67 inches)
Note: The image sizes above are recommendations. Students' image sizes may be different.
Maximum file size: Files cannot exceed 3.0 MB per image. (Students' image files will likely be considerably smaller than that.)
Free Disk Space:
Drawing and 2-D Design Portfolio: Based on the maximum file size of 3.0 MB and a total of 24 digital images per portfolio, each student would need a maximum of 72 MB of free disk space per portfolio.
3-D Design Portfolio: Based on the maximum file size of 3.0 MB and a total of 38 digital images, each student would need a maximum of 114 MB of free disk space.
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