Students are failing AP tests because the College Board can’t handle HEIC images

I do not understand this huge criticism against college board for this. My daughter took 5 AP exams this time and we got multiple remainders from her teachers and AP board that HEIC will not work.

Here is the relevant FAQ: <quote> Can student submit an HEIC file of a photo of their handwritten work? Recent iPhones and iPads save photos as HEIC files. HEIC photo files can’t be submitted “as is” in the online exam. They must be converted to an accepted file format. Here are two ways students can do that: Update their Apple device settings before the exam so that their photos will be saved as .jpeg files: Settings > Camera > Formats > Select “Most Compatible” OR Resave the HEIC file as an accepted file format: the easiest way to convert an HEIC file is for students to email it to themselves using the iPhone or iPad Mail app. The attached image will automatically be converted to a JPEG. </quote>

I guess we think it is too hard for an AP student to actually read and follow instructions.

Thank you for this - reading through the comments, I've been actually quite surprised that the general opinion seems to side with the students. The article suggests that the allowed image formats were clearly defined. Normally, if I were to take this test, I would definitely make sure that I am meeting the technical prerequisites.

Of course, you can argue that not everyone is familiar with the technicalities of image formats. But then again, let's not forget that today's students are "digital natives", so I assume they both now about JPEG and PNG and also about their phones.

However, if I now hear that this point was explicitly addressed in relevant FAQ's, all of the above really becomes irrelevant in my opinion, because it really doesn't leave much in terms of excuses.

At college, every test came with certain rules. For this exam, you're allowed to use any auxiliaries except computers. And stuff like that. You must write in permanent ink. etc. Images must be in one of the following format: ... IMO is just along the same lines.

There is an old principle in jurisdiction: ignorantia juris non excusat - basically stating that it's your responsibility to know the rules.

On the other hand, the article mentions that a demo test did accept (renamed) HEIC files. If you test your setup and are told it works fine, you shouldn't need to dig through FAQs.

I would argue this falls under the equally old jurisdictional principle of estoppel or detrimental reliance.

If the system accepted the files, then what was the problem?

Per the article, the "demo" test accepted it, but the actual exam did not.

Perhaps the demo did something dumb, like check the file extension but not whether the file could actually be opened.