The College Board announced that
it will be making changes in the registration deadlines and fees for the
Advanced Placement (AP) program for the 2019-2020 school year. The AP program is a common way for high school
students to demonstrate their dedication to a more rigorous course load.
The College Board is moving the
registration deadline for AP exams from March to November. The College Board is
also adding a $40 late fee for missing the November deadline and a $40
cancellation fee to the $94 registration fee.
A petition started by a guidance
counselor in Wisconsin on change.org fighting against the changes states, “Now
the College Board has added an extra stress for all students, in particular
low-income students, by requiring them to register for AP exams in November, rather than in March.”
The College Board claims that the
earlier deadline will motivate students to study hard in their AP courses and
prepare for the exam. However there is a concern that students may not be
prepared to decide whether or not they will be prepared to score well in
November, when school is just beginning.
This especially becomes an issue
for lower-income students.
The costs of applications and
exams, not to mention the prep courses and other expenses regularly paid by
more privileged students, are widening the gap between opportunities to
students in different economic situations.
“Lower-income
students will have less accessibility to take these tests, leaving them with an
unfair disadvantage. Therefore, I don’t believe these fees should be
implemented,” said senior Frank M.
In contrast, some believe that
this policy is positive as it may influence students to plan out their
schedules and consider whether or not they truly want to be enrolled in a high
level class.
“It encourages students to plan
out their schedules more logically ahead of time and really think about which
classes they want to take opposed to enrolling in AP classes and then dropping
them after midterms,” said senior Carly T.
Although the College Board does
offer fee reductions to about $32, that price still may not be affordable to
some families.
“I also think that for lower-income
students there should be some sort of fee waiver so that economic factors do
not have to be considered when deciding whether or not to take these tests,”
said Carly.
This policy may also result in
more people signing up late because they don’t know if they’ll be ready for the
exam. They could also decide that the course is too difficult and cancel the
exam altogether. However, some believe the fee is unlikely to impact the amount
of students who initially enroll in AP courses.
“Ultimately, I don’t think this policy will impact enrollment at least in Commack, as I think that people don’t really consider the exam registration date or the fees, but rather the content of the course and how this will impact college admission,” said Carly.n
Sarah E.
Published May 2019