Achieving Equity
Fee reductions for low-income students
The U.S. Department of Education has notified states that they now have additional funds to cover the costs of 2012 AP Exams for eligible low-income students. For most states that receive federal funding, when combined with the increased College Board subsidy, these funds will make all AP Exams free for low-income students in May 2012. For these states, the funding breakdown is as follows:
- The federal contribution will be $53 per exam.
- The College Board contribution will be $26 per exam.
- Schools waive the $8 per exam fee they collect for their own uses.
- Accordingly, the $87 per exam fee is reduced to $0 per exam for low-income students, and there will not be a limit on the number of exams funded per student (i.e., the three-exam cap announced by the federal government earlier this year has been removed).
In some states, such as California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Texas, and Washington, students may still need to pay a nominal fee per exam – this is a state-specific decision. Principals and AP Coordinators in these states will be notified either via email from the College Board or directly from their state regarding any exam fee that students may still need to pay. State and federal AP Exam fee assistance information for 2012 will be updated with this information as soon as possible.
Please inform eligible students and their parents about the restored funding and encourage those who opted out of taking the exams due to loss of funding to reconsider taking the exams in May. If you have already ordered and received your AP Exams, you can place an additional order for students who will now be able to take the exam thanks to the restored funding.
To provide you with additional time to order regularly scheduled 2012 AP Exams, we have changed the extension exam-ordering deadline (for schools in the U.S., U.S. territories and Canada only) from April 13 to April 25. There will be no $50 late fee for orders placed by April 25 this year. If needed, you also have the option to order alternate exams for late testing until May 18.
Ensure equitable access to AP at your school
The College Board strongly encourages educators to make equitable access a guiding principle for their AP programs by giving all willing and academically prepared students the opportunity to participate in AP. We encourage educators to:
- Eliminate barriers that restrict access to AP for students from ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups that have been traditionally underserved.
- Make every effort to ensure their AP classes reflect the diversity of their student population.
- Provide all students with access to academically challenging coursework before they enroll in AP classes
Only through a commitment to equitable preparation and access can true equity and excellence be achieved.
Resources
There are a number of resources available to schools looking for ways to help expand access to AP.
- One Day Introduction to AP
- AP Student Curriculum Review
- Maine Mentoring Program
- Campus Wide Assessment Reading
- Boot Camp for AP Students
- AP English Success
- Ambassadors to AP
- Advanced Scholar Program
- Picture Books in the Secondary Classroom
- Pushing Underrepresented Students Higher
Spotlight on Success highlights the strategies schools across the country use to help underserved students succeed in rigorous course work and develop the content knowledge and critical thinking skills they will need in college.
Fee reductions for low-income students
The College Board provides a $26 fee reduction per exam for qualified students with acute financial need. Schools normally forgo their $8 rebate in these instances.
Due to reduced federal funding for the Advanced Placement Test Fee Program in 2012, there will be changes to the 2012 fee reductions available to qualifying low-income students from the College Board, state, and federal sources:
- The federal contribution to low-income students has been reduced to $38 per exam, with a cap of three federally subsidized exams per low-income student in 2012.
- The College Board contribution to low-income students will increase from $22 to $26 per exam, with no cap on the number of subsidized exams per low-income student in 2012.
- You must consult your state’s AP fee reduction policy to determine the student contribution, if any, for the May 2012 AP Exams. For most states, the combination of federal and College Board subsidies results in a:
- Fee of $15 per exam for low-income students for up to three AP Exams per student this year.
- Fee of $53 per exam for low-income students for the fourth, fifth, sixth and additional AP Exams they take this year.
- Georgia, New Mexico, Texas and the District of Columbia will be supplementing the federal and College Board subsidies with their own state or local funds, which will further reduce the AP Exam fees for low-income students in their jurisdictions.
Each state determines whether or not students qualifying for the College Board's fee reduction are eligible for additional fee reductions through federal and state grants.
Typically, the College Board posts each state’s AP Exam fee reduction policy in February at www.collegeboard.org/apexamfeeassistance. This year, some state fee reduction policies may be delayed. We are working with states to post their fee reduction policies as soon as possible.
AP Fellows Program
The AP Fellows program is an annual competitive grant program that provides scholarships for secondary school teachers to attend AP Summer Institutes. AP Summer Institutes provide an excellent opportunity for teachers to gain command of a specific AP subject and to receive up-to-date information on the latest curriculum changes. Scholarships are available to teachers from schools that serve minority or low-income students who have been traditionally underrepresented in AP courses. The $1,000 scholarships assist teachers with the cost of attending an AP Summer Institute. For a teacher to qualify s/he must teach at a school that meets at least one of the following criteria:
- Fifty percent or more of the student population must consist of traditionally underrepresented students of color (African American, Hispanic, or Native American)
- Fifty percent or more of the student population must consist of students whose average family income level is equivalent to, or below, the national annual average for a low-income family of four (approximately $36,000)
Application deadline: February 15, 2012
Applications are now being accepted at the following links:
- 2012 College Board AP Fellows Program for AP Summer Institutes
- 2012 College Board AP Fellows Program Recommendation Form
Cultivating AP in Small Rural Schools
Many small rural schools struggle with a unique set of challenges, including isolation, motivating students to pursue a rigorous academic curriculum, and limited numbers of teachers. Although small rural schools face obstacles in implementing and growing their AP programs, the College Board believes that a systematic approach to these challenges can broaden access to AP. Please visit the Cultivating AP in Small Rural Schools page for more information.