←back to thread

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

(www.theverge.com)
669 points danso | 3 comments | 20 May 20 19:36 UTC | HN request time: 0.016s | source
Show context
azinman2 ◴[21 May 20 19:49 UTC] No.23264065[source]▶
It’s amazing to me that so many are blaming Apple. Despite the fact that this site is all about new technology (so ironic!), uploading a photo from an iPhone isn’t exactly an edge case. They should have tested this, and apparently they did enough to send a tweet about it.. as if that’s enough. Clearly the college board dropped the ball in adequately informing people of their not-great workaround, instead of either specifying the accepted types directly in the web page’s input tag (as many have pointed out, and thus would have just worked correctly in the background), or by accepting and converting HEIC files themselves. At minimum, they should have put their suggested settings changes into the webpage itself before you started, and/or given a practice website to make sure it worked correctly.

College board owns this process, and it’s their job to make sure the setup works correctly for all students, including those who might not all be technically inclined.

replies(9): >>23264295 #>>23264621 #>>23264723 #>>23265113 #>>23266025 #>>23266115 #>>23266239 #>>23267071 #>>23267301 #
_snsh ◴[21 May 20 22:26 UTC] No.23266239[source]▶
This whole blame game is weird. Could the college board have handled this better or have a better upload mechanism? Sure. Could apple be more clear about the way they are storing and transferring photos? Sure, finder on my macbook actually does worse in handling .heic files than my windows 10 desktop unless I sync using photos.

But if I got this right the upload page stated the accepted file formats, why should they accept anything else? Sure, there are workarounds to handle uploading .heic files and automatic conversion works in certain cases but why should they care? The onus is on the user to ensure his submission is correct.

EDIT: I just tried .heic files on my Surface and had to install an MS store app to actually be able to open .heic files in full resolution.

https://www.microsoft.com/de-de/p/heif-bilderweiterungen/9pm...

EDIT2: I guess for me it boils down to, why should we coddle the applicants? Being able to understand the conditions of a test is not an unreasonable hardship. From that I gathered the website stated the accepted file formats. The uploader source suggests it did refuse certain file formats. There are technical solutions for this/these problem(s) and of course it would be nice if every system would be perfect. But it would also be nice if people would just work within the given constraints of a system.

replies(3): >>23266291 #>>23266709 #>>23268746 #
ummonk ◴[21 May 20 23:11 UTC] No.23266709[source]▶
Is this for comment real? Why should being tech savvy enough to jump through esoteric technical requirements be part of the test?
replies(2): >>23266753 #>>23268527 #
1. gfxgirl ◴[22 May 20 04:03 UTC] No.23268527[source]▶
Ever see a student get scolded for not using a #2 pencil? Can't use a pen. Can't use a marker. Can't use a #9 pencil. Must be a a #2 pencil.

Ever fill out a government form that must be done in non erasable black or blue ink. A pencil is unacceptable. A red pen, green pen, purple pen is unacceptable. An erasable pen is also unacceptable.

Not saying users should have to know what a .JPG from an .HEIC but just saying there is plenty of precedent of technical requirements for things in real life. I've had forms rejected at the immigration office for using the wrong type of pen an I've been in classes where students didn't have the correct type of pencil and caused issues.

replies(2): >>23268944 #>>23275211 #
2. jiqiren ◴[22 May 20 05:33 UTC] No.23268944[source]▶
ok but what if you're told this 'technical requirement' in a tweet while taking the test? and you don't even use twitter?
3. ummonk ◴[22 May 20 18:18 UTC] No.23275211[source]▶
#2 pencils are standard student equipment. As are iPhones.

And government forms also come with pens to fill them out.