“Students are more likely to stay engaged in class and tackle challenging topics head-on when they register in the fall,” College Board said. “[These] fees ensure that students don’t wait until the last minute to make a decision [to take an exam in May].”
Some also believe that an obligation to register in the fall will prompt AP students to grow in their studies early on in the year.
“[The College Board] believes that as students are committing to taking the test earlier on, they’ll make larger efforts for learning” said Vice Principal Elenz-Martin, “[By] having students [register] at the beginning of November, it will create a stronger impact on their learning and on their progress throughout the school year.”
Some students took the new registration date as a wake-up call to work effectively in their first semester in the AP classes.
“I’m definitely going to be a lot more focused on my work in the first semester” said senior Natalie Ku. “[Now] I don’t have a full… escape hatch [if I have to register early].”
However, some Aragon students and AP teachers do not agree with the College Board’s decision to move the registration deadline up.
“I think [the changes] are done to make more money,” said AP English Language teacher Victoria Daniel. “I think they are getting students at their most vulnerable time, which is at the beginning of the year, to sign up for [AP testing] ”
Some students voiced their worries on the impact earlier registration could have on finances and college applications.
“When you’re a senior, for example, you don’t necessarily know if [all the] colleges you applied for [will] accept your AP results as credits for college,” said junior Rumi Loghmani. “So if you get accepted into one of those college [through] early admission senior year and you’ve already signed up for the AP exam, it’s not like you can really back out because of the fact that the college doesn’t need it.”
Despite concerns from staff and students, Elenz-Martin and other faculty hope to support AP students with the early academic pressure.
“We really care about students learning and not feeling crazy financial stress and crazy academic and test pressure,” Elenz-Martin said. “We just want students to feel like they can be supported.”
With the registration changes, students and faculty will be forced to adapt to new time frames, fees and pressures.
