AP exams free next year?

[Anonymous]

Even putting $1000 on a credit card at 20%/yr s a better deal than any year of college. Financial aid for lower middle class isn't that generous.

The real risk is the wasted money from all the kids who will fail the AP tests. MoCo already has a 25% failure rate, sure to increase when tests are free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even putting $1000 on a credit card at 20%/yr s a better deal than any year of college. Financial aid for lower middle class isn't that generous.

The real risk is the wasted money from all the kids who will fail the AP tests. MoCo already has a 25% failure rate, sure to increase when tests are free.

This is what happens when you let anyone sign up for AP classes. Students should have a proven track record of academic success in previous honors courses prior to being allowed in AP classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even putting $1000 on a credit card at 20%/yr s a better deal than any year of college. Financial aid for lower middle class isn't that generous.

The real risk is the wasted money from all the kids who will fail the AP tests. MoCo already has a 25% failure rate, sure to increase when tests are free.

Agree.

My guess is that they will try this for one year. It will lead to an even higher failure rate, and they'll scrap the plan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even putting $1000 on a credit card at 20%/yr s a better deal than any year of college. Financial aid for lower middle class isn't that generous.

The real risk is the wasted money from all the kids who will fail the AP tests. MoCo already has a 25% failure rate, sure to increase when tests are free.

This is what happens when you let anyone sign up for AP classes. Students should have a proven track record of academic success in previous honors courses prior to being allowed in AP classes.

Don't even need that. Just need to give legit quarterly exams to show progress and qualify for AP exam. Nothing wrong with exposing whoever wants to the material, so long as they aren't disruptive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's ridiculous. Montgomery County is one of the wealthiest areas of the country. Why pay for AP exams for students whose parents can easily afford them?

Agree. Pay for AP exams for FARMS kids, and let everyone else pay for their own.

This. This is what I meant. Wealthy people, including the PP, can afford to pay themselves.

So pay for the people who pay no taxes and make people who pay taxes pay a second time

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even putting $1000 on a credit card at 20%/yr s a better deal than any year of college. Financial aid for lower middle class isn't that generous.

The real risk is the wasted money from all the kids who will fail the AP tests. MoCo already has a 25% failure rate, sure to increase when tests are free.

This is what happens when you let anyone sign up for AP classes. Students should have a proven track record of academic success in previous honors courses prior to being allowed in AP classes.

Don't even need that. Just need to give legit quarterly exams to show progress and qualify for AP exam. Nothing wrong with exposing whoever wants to the material, so long as they aren't disruptive.

When the teacher has to slow down the class because there are students in it who don't belong, it affects everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's ridiculous. Montgomery County is one of the wealthiest areas of the country. Why pay for AP exams for students whose parents can easily afford them?

I think you’d be surprised, if you stepped out of your bubble, that there are lots and lots of middle class families who I guess can make tough choices and find the money, but when your child takes multiple exams and maybe you have multiple children, it is not some small amount. The threshold to qualify for FARMS is very low poverty. There are lots of people above the threshold who aren’t wealthy and this eliminates a barrier for those students. I am tired of everyone assuming everyone is so wealthy. Everything has gone up in price and is so expensive. FARMS families get various supports (and also often get paid cash and may earn more than is reported) and middle and working class families just keep getting squeezed.

Working class families qualify for FARMS. For a household with 4 people (for example, 1 adult and 3 children), the maximum eligibility limit is $55,500. And families who qualify for FARMS are getting squeezed by the exact same things as non-wealthy families. People who think families who qualify for FARMS are living a plush life are welcome to reduce their income and try it out for themselves.

Yes, and a working class household of 4 earning $56,000 a year qualifies for nothing. You think they will prioritize hundreds of dollars for AP exams on that income? The juice isn’t worth the squeeze. Also, who said families who qualify for FARMS are living a plush life? That’s not what I said. My point was that there are plenty of families who earn too much to qualify for aid, but earn way too little to be able to afford optional things in this category. This is a lot of people in this county. They far outnumber the wealthy ones.

Why would a poor family prefer a $1000+ college class over a $100 exam fee?

Not every college accepts AP credits, from what I hear. I believe, not a whole lot of them do - but correct me, if I'm wrong.

Most still accept AP credit, however many don’t exempt or cover requires just allow the student to move to higher level. For example you can skip Freshman English for a higher level but are still required to complete the same number of English credits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's ridiculous. Montgomery County is one of the wealthiest areas of the country. Why pay for AP exams for students whose parents can easily afford them?

Agree. Pay for AP exams for FARMS kids, and let everyone else pay for their own.

This. This is what I meant. Wealthy people, including the PP, can afford to pay themselves.

So you'd rather pay to implement means-testing?

This has always happened... FARMS recipients paid little to none through a combination of College Board and district funding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's ridiculous. Montgomery County is one of the wealthiest areas of the country. Why pay for AP exams for students whose parents can easily afford them?

Agree. Pay for AP exams for FARMS kids, and let everyone else pay for their own.

This. This is what I meant. Wealthy people, including the PP, can afford to pay themselves.

So you'd rather pay to implement means-testing?

NP. They could just offer it for free to kids who receive FARMs.

"They" who? "Just"? The way it works now, each student has to register with the College Board for the AP test(s) or with the International Baccalaureate for the IB test(s), and then separately ask MCPS for help paying. How much additional work do you want to load on the counselors? Is the savings for FARMS-only vs. everyone worth it in order to satisfy your feeling that non-poor parents should be responsible for paying for the tests?

But this has been the system for years... it's making it free for all that is the change. There has been means-testing all along.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's ridiculous. Montgomery County is one of the wealthiest areas of the country. Why pay for AP exams for students whose parents can easily afford them?

I think you’d be surprised, if you stepped out of your bubble, that there are lots and lots of middle class families who I guess can make tough choices and find the money, but when your child takes multiple exams and maybe you have multiple children, it is not some small amount. The threshold to qualify for FARMS is very low poverty. There are lots of people above the threshold who aren’t wealthy and this eliminates a barrier for those students. I am tired of everyone assuming everyone is so wealthy. Everything has gone up in price and is so expensive. FARMS families get various supports (and also often get paid cash and may earn more than is reported) and middle and working class families just keep getting squeezed.

Working class families qualify for FARMS. For a household with 4 people (for example, 1 adult and 3 children), the maximum eligibility limit is $55,500. And families who qualify for FARMS are getting squeezed by the exact same things as non-wealthy families. People who think families who qualify for FARMS are living a plush life are welcome to reduce their income and try it out for themselves.

Yes, and a working class household of 4 earning $56,000 a year qualifies for nothing. You think they will prioritize hundreds of dollars for AP exams on that income? The juice isn’t worth the squeeze. Also, who said families who qualify for FARMS are living a plush life? That’s not what I said. My point was that there are plenty of families who earn too much to qualify for aid, but earn way too little to be able to afford optional things in this category. This is a lot of people in this county. They far outnumber the wealthy ones.

Why would a poor family prefer a $1000+ college class over a $100 exam fee?

dp.. a poor family will get a lot of financial aid for college. A poor family probably needs the $100 now. That's a lot for a poor family.

Then their child has taken an AP course, added rigor to their transcript, but they prefer to wait until he can earn credit with financial aid. Nothing is forcing them to pay for the exam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's ridiculous. Montgomery County is one of the wealthiest areas of the country. Why pay for AP exams for students whose parents can easily afford them?

I think you’d be surprised, if you stepped out of your bubble, that there are lots and lots of middle class families who I guess can make tough choices and find the money, but when your child takes multiple exams and maybe you have multiple children, it is not some small amount. The threshold to qualify for FARMS is very low poverty. There are lots of people above the threshold who aren’t wealthy and this eliminates a barrier for those students. I am tired of everyone assuming everyone is so wealthy. Everything has gone up in price and is so expensive. FARMS families get various supports (and also often get paid cash and may earn more than is reported) and middle and working class families just keep getting squeezed.

Working class families qualify for FARMS. For a household with 4 people (for example, 1 adult and 3 children), the maximum eligibility limit is $55,500. And families who qualify for FARMS are getting squeezed by the exact same things as non-wealthy families. People who think families who qualify for FARMS are living a plush life are welcome to reduce their income and try it out for themselves.

Yes, and a working class household of 4 earning $56,000 a year qualifies for nothing. You think they will prioritize hundreds of dollars for AP exams on that income? The juice isn’t worth the squeeze. Also, who said families who qualify for FARMS are living a plush life? That’s not what I said. My point was that there are plenty of families who earn too much to qualify for aid, but earn way too little to be able to afford optional things in this category. This is a lot of people in this county. They far outnumber the wealthy ones.

Why would a poor family prefer a $1000+ college class over a $100 exam fee?

Not every college accepts AP credits, from what I hear. I believe, not a whole lot of them do - but correct me, if I'm wrong.

You are wrong. Only the most elite colleges don't give credit.

[Anonymous]

Public universities in MD often give credit for a score of 3 whereas most private schools give credit for 4 and 5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even putting $1000 on a credit card at 20%/yr s a better deal than any year of college. Financial aid for lower middle class isn't that generous.

The real risk is the wasted money from all the kids who will fail the AP tests. MoCo already has a 25% failure rate, sure to increase when tests are free.

This is what happens when you let anyone sign up for AP classes. Students should have a proven track record of academic success in previous honors courses prior to being allowed in AP classes.

Don't even need that. Just need to give legit quarterly exams to show progress and qualify for AP exam. Nothing wrong with exposing whoever wants to the material, so long as they aren't disruptive.

When the teacher has to slow down the class because there are students in it who don't belong, it affects everyone.

No one "has to" slow down. That's a bad teacher who needs to do their job properly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's ridiculous. Montgomery County is one of the wealthiest areas of the country. Why pay for AP exams for students whose parents can easily afford them?

Agree. Pay for AP exams for FARMS kids, and let everyone else pay for their own.

This. This is what I meant. Wealthy people, including the PP, can afford to pay themselves.

So pay for the people who pay no taxes and make people who pay taxes pay a second time

That's silly, PP. Everyone pays taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even putting $1000 on a credit card at 20%/yr s a better deal than any year of college. Financial aid for lower middle class isn't that generous.

The real risk is the wasted money from all the kids who will fail the AP tests. MoCo already has a 25% failure rate, sure to increase when tests are free.

This is what happens when you let anyone sign up for AP classes. Students should have a proven track record of academic success in previous honors courses prior to being allowed in AP classes.

Don't even need that. Just need to give legit quarterly exams to show progress and qualify for AP exam. Nothing wrong with exposing whoever wants to the material, so long as they aren't disruptive.

When the teacher has to slow down the class because there are students in it who don't belong, it affects everyone.

No one "has to" slow down. That's a bad teacher who needs to do their job properly.

This is my neighbor’s biggest issue with teaching AP classes. She has students in some of her classes who cannot do the work because they read below grade level and have frequent absences. Because of the public school district’s obsession with equity, those students are allowed to sign up for her classes. She’s required to accommodate them which slows down the students who are prepared for the class.