This editorial does not represent the opinion of all Outlook editors.
Part I: There are many considerations that ought to inform students’ decision to test or not to test
The Outlook’s editorial staff had a long discussion this month, in which we tried to answer a question: Should students always take the AP test(s) for AP class(es) they are enrolled in?
As a team, we were unable to arrive at a consensus for or against. But we were able to arrive at a conclusion:
The question—to test or not to test—is an individual question. Every student is in a different situation and needs to make the decision for him or herself. But while it would be inappropriate to advocate an umbrella policy for every AP student, we agree that there are certain considerations that all students must take into account when determining whether or not to register for the $89 College Board-administered test following the completion of an AP course.
The first major consideration is understandably personal: How will this affect me? Why does the test matter for me?
For non-seniors, AP test scores can be used on college applications to show mastery in a specific subject. While grades in a class can appear subjective on a college application—the rigor of an AP course is different school to school—the AP test is standardized, and therefore AP scores provide a more objective barometer for college admissions boards to perceive a student’s mastery of a chosen subject.
For seniors who have already gained admission to institutions of higher education, AP tests can place them out of certain courses in college, allowing them to meet their graduation requirements more quickly and take more challenging courses. In some cases, the college credit garnered from AP tests can allow a student to skip a semester or more of college, allowing them to save money on tuition.
However, not every center of higher education accepts AP test scores for credit. Those who plan to attend such institutions are understandably more hard-pressed to find a reason to take an $89 test. With no credit being offered, AP test scores pose no obvious benefit for a student.
But there are still factors that must be taken into consideration. It is important to remember that the college a student goes to their freshman year may not be the college that he or she gradtuates from—many students transfer from college to college each year. If a student transfers to a new college, that college may accept AP credit. Furthermore, transferring requires an admissions process—AP test scores can again be useful in demonstrating mastery of a subject.
But besides personal considerations, there are other, less-obvious, holistic considerations: students ought to think about how their decision whether or not to take the AP test might affect their high school.
The College Board will not say outright whether or not AP scores reflect the quality of schools and teachers, but it is clear that AP scores are used to help organizations such as the US News and World Report create their high school rankings. When making the decision of whether or not to take an AP test, students should consider the effect that their scores would have on Aragon’s (and their teachers’) reputation.
AP tests are expensive. It would be wrong to say that every student ought to take AP tests. But we believe that every student should take the time to consider all the impacts of his or her decision.
Part II: Students who are taking multiple tests ought to be held to a more generous standard of qualification for financial aid
The registration fee for an AP test is $89. That is no small sum of money, and can indubitably pose a burden on some students—especially on students who plan to take multiple tests.
Ninety dollars for one test is a lot of money. It seems like too much. But although The Outlook would like to advocate for lower prices, we recognize that there are many costs involved in offering an AP test: the questions need to be developed, the tests need to be printed, the proctors need to be paid, and the graders need to be flown out from around the country to score the completed tests.
But while we will not advocate lowering the price of AP tests in this editorial, we will advocate lowering the threshold for which students can qualify for a reduced AP test price.
As of now, a student’s family annual income must be below 185 percent of the poverty threshold to qualify for a fee reduction. This figure comes from the qualifications standard for the Federal Free or Reduced Price Lunch Program (the qualification of which is also 1.85 times the poverty threshold).
This means that for a student of a family of five, his or family must make less that $51,005 a year to qualify for a reduced price. A student from a family of four would require and annual income of less than $43,568. An only child would need less than $36,131.
The threshold seems reasonable if a student is only taking one test. But the qualifications become a much larger barrier if a student wishes to take multiple tests. Let us regard a hypothetical example: If a student came from a family of four that had an annual income of $37,000, they would not qualify for any price reduction. If that student signed up for five tests, they would need to pay $445 total for all of his or her tests. This accounts for a little over one percent of his or her family’s annual income. While that doesn’t sound like much, $445 is 14.4 percent of a family’s monthly income. For a family earning an income at such a level, one percent of annual income is a large sum of money. 14.4 percent of a month’s income is essentially crippling (at least for the period immediately before and after the test). While five tests is well above the normal amount of tests a students take, it is such high-achieving students that are being underserved by the lack of opportunity offered to them if they come from families who are less than financially comfortable.
Because of this, we believe that the “185 percent of the poverty threshold,” is not sufficient. If a student plans on taking more than one test, there should be additional considerations to see if they qualify for a reduced price. Simply put, it should be easier to get financial help if you are taking multiple tests.
