AI Spurs College Board Redesign of 2 AP Courses - GovTech

Beginning in the 2027-28 school year, AI and machine learning will become part of the AP Computer Science Principles curriculum, while AP Seminar students will complete essays that count toward their AP scores in a secure environment without access to generative AI, the nonprofit said in a recent news release.

The two redesigns reflect the different ways AI is affecting each discipline: AI-related skills are becoming progressively more relevant to computer science, while in AP Seminar, students can use the technology to assist with research and writing, complicating how educators determine which work reflects students’ own skills.

Moreover, College Board’s changes reflect a tension highlighted in their internal research, published earlier this month, examining how AP teachers nationwide are responding to generative AI in the academic setting. According to surveys and focus groups conducted from April 2025 through June 2026, thousands of teachers expressed that AI literacy is becoming an essential skill, while simultaneously worrying about how the technology could undermine students’ critical thinking and independent work.

The resulting revisions to each course take markedly different approaches.

In AP Computer Science Principles, the news release said generative AI will be embedded across core course units, including lessons on machine learning, algorithm development, data ethics, human decision-making and the societal impacts of AI. Students will eventually put that knowledge into practice through a new assignment, the AI Create Project, which asks them to develop an application using AI.

AP's survey findings suggest teachers of the course broadly supported expanding its AI content, with more than 80 percent of them saying proposed AI-related material would be useful for students pursuing computer science.

The approach in AP Seminar, however, places greater emphasis on when students can use the technology. Students will still learn about appropriate uses of generative AI as part of the redesigned course, but they will not have access to the technology when drafting and editing essays submitted for AP scoring, according to the news release.

Among AP Seminar teachers surveyed, 68 percent rated instruction about ethical AI use as extremely helpful, and 62 percent said the same about teaching students to use AI as part of the research process. Fewer — 51 percent — gave that rating to using AI for academic writing.

Teacher feedback also pointed to difficulties with relying on technology to determine whether students used AI improperly: The College Board’s research described teachers encountering false positives from AI-detection software and students finding ways around digital monitoring systems. Thus, AP Seminar will instead establish conditions for scored writing in which students cannot access generative AI.

The research also found that teachers were more likely to use generative AI to support their own preparation than to evaluate students. As of September 2025, 63 percent reported at least sometimes using it to create or revise instructional materials and 41 percent for lesson planning. By comparison, 28 percent used it to provide student feedback and 15 percent for grading or assessment.

In addition, many teachers were still developing their own knowledge of the technology. Forty-six percent said they understood generative AI to some degree but still needed guidance, while roughly one quarter reported working in a school or district without a generative AI policy.

Alongside the course changes, the news release said the College Board is planning additional training for educators who teach the AP Computer Science Principles and AP Seminar, including updated AP Summer Institute programming and other professional learning tied to the redesigned courses.