That would be a no-no in a California public HS. If an outside test is required, the District must pay for it. That is why the AP test is ‘optional’ in our district: a family can pay if they want to take the test. If they don’t want to take it, they can opt out.
(Much to the chagrin of our AP Gov teacher since several top kids who have Williams/Ivy/Stanford acceptances do not take the Gov test as their selected college does not provide any credit for it.)
Your kid is taking 7 AP tests in one year? Um wow.
@lookingforward the fee is 94 dollars, 9 dollars goes to the school. At our school this helps pay for subs to assist in proctoring the exams.
We forked over $800 in AP fees x Three kids. At our high school, taking the AP tests were optional. But all the kids took them.
Some schools accept the AP credits and some schools don’t. Most of my kids’ schools only accepted them for extra credits, so it did help them with their sophomore status.
I saw it as an advantage because it, somewhat prepared, my kids for the further increased academic levels expected of them at a college or university.
I’m currently paying a fortune in college fees, so $800, over four years of my child’s high school AP courses, was cheaper than paying for courses they had to take at undergrad and grad schools.
In our district the school system paid for the AP exams, and required students to take the exam - until this year. Now the school system only pays for the first 6 AP exams a student takes. Therefore they dropped the requirement that students take the exam, but if you don’t take it, you don’t get the one-point GPA boost for that class.
Did the student take AP classes as a junior? Was there an objection then, when you didn’t know which colleges would give credit?
In our high school students can’t take AP tests on the school premises. They have to pay $110 per exam and find a way to get to a testing site 17 miles away. If the student doesn’t have a car this involves the parents taking time off during the work week (multiple times if several exams are involved) to drive their student to and from the exam. Somehow money is found for the sports teams to have buses to get to their away games however.
I’m not sure that the exams provide meaningful results if a group of students are not motivated to study properly for them. Seniors know they will have final grades, will have graduated before AP results are posted. If student’s such as the OP’s son decide not to spend sufficient time studying for the exam then results could provide less than satisfactory feedback. I think a driving force might be that some HS rankings are in part based on the number of students taking AP classes/exams.
And many times that money is right from the parent’s pocket. The ‘pay to play’ fee for my daughter in California was $850. Public school.
While many selective colleges don’t give credit for AP classes taken in high school, a score of 4 or 5, can be helpful in placing in or out of s particular college course, leaving more room in the schedule for classes he wants to take. I get your frustration with having to pay, but I do think if kids sign up for AP knowing the exam is part of the course, then they should take it without protest.
@sybbie719 There are cases where it was a hardship for the family, but they didn’t qualify for the waiver. This is why my kids’ high school made the tests optional. They were required to take a final, which was modeled after the AP exam.
@Massmomm , this is where your high school
Could have and should have paid the fees. We have funds from our budget set aside because we know that while a family may not be eligible for free/reduced lunch to cost would be a hardship to the family and the school pays or discounts the price that the family has to pay and pays the balance.
My D16 graduated from public HS with 16 AP classes. It also had a policy that all students taking AP classes must take exams. Senior year DD was taking 6 AP classes and we knew that the school she is going to attend does not give any credits for AP except Calcilus BC. She spoke to her HS college counselor and she let her not to take any AP exams senior year. I don’t know if this is helpful, but it might be a good idea to talk to someone at HS and explain the situation.
Sounds like a Williams problem.
Thanks to all for an interesting discussion.
In answer to some questions posed:
The AP’s cost $94 each, as someone noted, Yes, this year S is required to take 7 AP exams. Yes, he took other AP exams in past years. Yes, at that time, I thought the exams might led to credit, because I did not know to which colleges he would be admitted. Yes, I am happy he will be going to Williams, regardless of no financial benefit from the AP’s. Of course, I am glad he enjoyed challenging classes this year… but taking or not taking an exam would not change that fact. And he will put effort into his tests; his personality would not allow him to do otherwise. I see no signs of senioritis; he has been working all day this Sunday on his schoolwork, work for an upcoming case for Mock Trial Club, etc.
I got annoyed this year, because the email that we need to register and pay for the AP exams came just a few days after I was part of a budget meeting in the district in which I work and learned that they pay for their students’ AP exams and consider that their legal obligation. I felt I was spending money I should not have to spend, and, in the case of the exams that will not even provide advanced course placement for him (some may but others definitely will not, as per the college website), for no benefit to my son.
I agree with the posters who said that the important thing is that my son is not bothered by taking the exams. Yes, he is level-headed… and a great kid all around!
I enjoyed the humor, like the toilet paper line!
I also appreciate the perspective some posters shared that the high school’s historical AP scores are part of the school’s profile, so S’s exam-taking is “paying it forward” for future applicants from his high school.
Thanks again. Have a nice day!
@twoinanddone
There was no bus option for us, paid or not. I remember that there was a legal challenge to these kinds of fees (AP and sports) on the basis that every child should have a access to a public education that was equal. Right now, if you don’t have parents willing or able to expend time and money the playing field is not a level one.
I’m glad AP exams are free in FL.
My son knew he would get no credit for 5’s at his future UG. I recall he asked to skip the last one, and I consented. I guess imdidnt think about the feedback to the teacher or the school ratings. It just seemed like such a hard week.
They do pay the fees, @sybbie719 , when kids can’t get waivers, but had some objections to the whole AP testing industry, I believe. They were even considering doing away with APs, but it’s a private Christian school, and they need to continue to attract full pay students who want to be competitive for the top colleges.
My kids did take most of the tests and scored 5s, so I know they covered the material in spite of the lack of testing requirement.
That is the rub; there is an expectation that people are writing their checks that they should get more than what they are getting in public school for free. You are right, if they do away with AP, they will lose a lot of families.
I remember Fieldston (NYC) doing away with teir whole AP curriculum in 2004.
Free or paid for by taxpayers?
Don’t underestimate the value to your son of getting placement credit that allows him to start course sequences at a higher level. It means he may have the option to take four or five more amazing higher level courses that he would not have gotten to otherwise. Your $600 dollar investment will probably pay for itself many times over.