Like last year, North Carolina is taking another step in removing potential barriers for students taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams. This upcoming spring, lawmakers have provided funding in order to pay for all students’ AP exams.
Taking AP classes helps to ensure that students cover similar topics that will be found in college-level courses. At the end of the school year, students can sign up to take AP exams. These are tests that consist of cumulative topics within an AP class and can help students earn college credit. A student must get a score of a 3,4, or 5 in order for colleges to consider their AP class as credit.
According to the Department of Public Instruction’s website, an average of 67,700 North Carolina students have taken AP exams in 2015, which increased about 18.4 percent more than the previous year. The percentage of students taking AP exams is expected to increase.
“AP exams are expensive. It definitely prevents some students from signing up for them,” said Shavonne Hairston, history teacher.
Signing up for an AP exam requires a $91 fee. For instance, say a student signs up for three AP classes per year for three years with the intention of testing for college credit. The student would have paid a total of $819.
“People are discouraged when they see the overall costs and are not even guaranteed college credit,” said Minu Thompson, junior.
Students in need of aid for the exams could get a $30 deduction, but this depended on the student’s state requirements as well as if their district participates in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program. The CEP provides low-income students with free lunch. However, CEP eligibility cannot determine a student’s eligibility for reduced exams; CEP-participating schools automatically make all students eligible for free meals. Community Eligibility schools and districts would need to evaluate each student individually to determine their eligibility for reduced exams.
“It’s good that AP exams are free because it would encourage more students to sign up for AP classes knowing they’ll be able to test for it in the end,” Hairston said.
Since this year’s AP exams are free, it is predicted that more students will be nonchalant on their tests; others will be unprepared.
“Of course, there are going to be negative outcomes of free AP exams; some students will take the exams less seriously,” Hairston said. “However, the end result is more positive than negative.”
Passing an AP exam could save money that would be spent on college courses. According to the College Board, 2015 college budgets average from $16,000 to $50,000 depending on the location of the college and the kind of institution. Students that have AP credit have the ability to save thousands of dollars in tuition.
“Earning credit from AP courses will have rewards in the end,” Thompson said.
