(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – A federal grant will help defray the cost of Advanced Placement (AP) examination fees for low-income students, the Kentucky Department of Education announced today.
The U.S. Department of Education’s AP Fee Waiver Grant was recently awarded to Kentucky. The state will receive $146,274 for the 2008-09 school year. Kentucky has received the grant in previous years, and over the last six years, the number of exams paid for by the test fee program has more than doubled.
The grant will enable students who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals to take an AP exam at no cost. This grant also covers International Baccalaureate (IB) registration and test fees for students meeting the free or reduced-price meal criteria.
Each AP exam costs $84. Students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals automatically qualify for the waiver, and their school counselors note their eligibility when ordering AP exams and submitting IB paperwork.
In 2007, there were 1,510 Kentucky students who qualified for free or reduced-price meals and who took an AP exam. This is an 11 percent increase from 2006.
KENTUCKY LOW-INCOME STUDENTS TAKING AP AND IB EXAMS
2002 AP - 982 IB - 0
2003 AP - 1,285 IB - 0
2004 AP - 1,637 IB - 0
2005 AP - 1,852 IB - 77
2006 AP - 2,237 IB - 128
2007 AP - 2,377 IB - 136
Kentucky has experienced several years of growth above the national average in all major AP statistical categories. In 2007, there were 13,246 students in grades 9-12 who took AP exams. This was a 14.3 percent increase from 2006. Kentucky students also had 9,913 exams with scores of 3-5 in 2007, which was a 10.6 percent increase from 2006.
The state’s long-range goal is for every high school graduate to be ready for postsecondary education and/or the workforce. This grant will assist the Department of Education in realizing this goal by removing barriers of access and opportunity for low-income and diverse students in public and non-public high schools.
The Advanced Placement program, managed by the College Board, is a cooperative educational endeavor between secondary schools and colleges and universities. AP courses provide avenues for motivated college-bound students to access challenging curricula and in many cases, even earn college credit while they are in high school. Currently, 34 AP courses are offered in Kentucky, including art history, biology, chemistry, English literature, United States history, physics and statistics.All Kentucky public high schools offer AP courses, either on campus or through the Kentucky Virtual High School.
The International Baccalaureate program, managed by the nonprofit International Baccalaureate Organization, is a full academic program encompassing an internationally standardized curriculum and rigorous internal and external assessments. The IB program typically operates alongside a school’s regular academic program. IB offers three levels of programs (primary years, middle years and diploma) for students ages 3-19. The diploma program, the only IB program offered in Kentucky, starts the junior year in high school. Five schools in Kentucky have been designated IB World schools: Atherton High (Jefferson County); Apollo High (Daviess County); Holmes High (Covington Independent); Tates Creek High (Fayette County); and Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville.
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