College Board Needs to Do More to Make SAT/AP Exams Affordable

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:00:49 PP here. PP, if you read my post, you'd realize my DCs won't receive AP designation if they don't take the exam. So yes, in my DCs case, taking the exam does make the class valuable.

But once they've been accepted to college does that designation mean anything? Your DC is taking the exact same class whether or not its got a label on it. Some of the private schools don't even use the AP designation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No problem with AP in Fairfax County. The County pays the fee and the class preps the student.

Our HS has an online SAT prep course provided by the HS. There are plenty of ways a poor student can prep without taking some of the snake oil sales type of SAT prep classes that abound in this affluent area. IME, it s the affluent parents that seem to be duped by them more than the poor parents. The poor parents don't have enough time to obsess about them.

You do realize that this is likely the last year that the county will pay AP/IB fees, don't you? It's the hot-button topic in the budget debate right now.

So, we start to end up with a bi-furcated school system - one for the rich and one for the poors. Nice! So much for education as the leveler for equal opportunity - or the school systems could collect an extra $5 - $10 on top of the fee from the students who can pay to pay for those who can't.

[Anonymous]

A bifurcated system isn't the end of the world if the public system performs well. It all starts with accountability.

At the college level even the public option is too expensive. We need to have free or nearly free college options like most European countries. People will have to learn to accept that options will be determined by testing and the spots given to the best students. College can no longer be a four year party, the focus should be on academics and the posh campus lifestyle must go.

You aren't going to get rid of the existing schools, but they will starve when serious students have a no cost/ low cost academically focused option.

Impossible you say? I say easily done in 10 years with technology and political guts and leadership.