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As coronavirus COVID-19 and Louisiana state mandates have students at home, high-schoolerstaking Advanced Placement classes are shifting to a new kind of test.

What's normally a 3-hour-15-minute test on paper is going to be 45 minutes long and taken online.

"We've practiced all year on paper; this is a different way of doing things," said Jordan Gaspard, who teachesteaches AP Language and Composition at David Thibodaux STEM Magnet Academy in Lafayette.

The online exams are "free-response," in which students write in their answers. Students will have the option to write their responses by hand and submit a photo, or they can take the test on any device computer, tablet or smartphone, according to CollegeBoard, the company that administers the tests.

"Based on the number and length of school closures, it's clear that the usual way AP Exams are given at schools wont be possible," according to CollegeBoard.

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We're in uncharted territory, and I think they're making the best of a bad situation. The good thing is they are not testing any skills (that would be taught) beyond March.

The company said colleges support this solution and have longaccepted a shortened AP Exam for college credit when groups of students have experienced emergencies.

For each Advanced Placement subject, there will be two different testing dates, which have yet to be released. The full exam scheduleand additional testing information will be available by April 3.

"We're in uncharted territory, and I think they're making the best of a bad situation," Gaspard said. "The good thing is they are not testing any skills (that would be taught) beyond March."

Schools in Louisiana are closed, but teachers like Gaspard are making sure their students are ready for the test by emailing students with links to free resources and practice tests from AP and CollegeBoard. He is going over skills three times a week through Google Classroom.

MORE: 'It's my hope schools can resume' this year;officials makecontingency plans

These aren't required, as the Lafayette Parish School System is not giving assignments or tests while schools are closed. But teachers are making resources available, whether they be for fourth-grade math or the AP English compositionexam like Gaspard's juniors.

His students can take advantage of free, live review sessions via the AP YouTube channel. AP teachers from across the country go over skills like "identifying the rhetorical situation in a pre-20th century text," which students could see on their exam.

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Keagan Peterson, who teaches AP Government and AP History to sophomores at Lafayette High, was focused on getting resources to her students before the district's directive or CollegeBoard's videos.

"We hadn't finished three units before we left," Peterson said. "So I was really focused on pushing that content to students and practicein Google Classroom."

MORE: ACT date rescheduled from April to June due to coronavirus

For more of her students, these are their first-ever Advanced Placement classes, which earns them college credit if they take and pass the AP exam.

It's a college class, so you get a very hard-working student. The content is difficult. The pacing is difficult. Expectations are pretty high.

"It's a college class, so you get a very hard-working student," Peterson said. "The content is difficult. The pacing is difficult. Expectations are pretty high."

She said some of her students are doing their own research and investigation to get ready for the test. Some are watching the livestreams on YouTube and Facebook to practice while also gettinga connection to others in a classroom.

MORE: Louisiana sends SOS for ventilators; may extend coronavirus stay home order

Peterson has watched some of the CollegeBoard classes and has recommended them for her students. The classes are starting with content she had covered already.

"They're doing a great job giving guided practice," Peterson said. "It is part content and part review."

A big focus in the classes is on free response questions, which will be the totality of the shortened test this year. Peterson has practiced free response in her classes, but as one part of a mix of questions.

"That (practice) is invaluable right now," Peterson said. "If you are lacking in FRQ, there's a lot less wiggle room."

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Coronavirus: Advanced Placement students can still take exams, but they'll be different - Daily Advertiser