Just fwiw, every college that DC applied to this year allowed student to self-report AP scores in the Common App, and will only require official report later, if admitted and seeking credit. So your kid doesn't have to report any scores that he or she doesn't want to, unless you have an outlier college, and you don't have to pay for all those reports! (The first is free.) It was nice to save the money and avoid the hassle as college apps were going out.

Also note: pretty sure that if you cancel a score, it is deleted, but if you "withhold" any scores, you have to pay a fee per score, per college. And I think if you go ahead and send the report through the college board, the school can see how many tests you took, even if you "withheld" the score, which is something to keep in mind. But if colleges let you self-report and don't require the official AP report as part of admissions, another reason to just self-report.

It will be interesting to see what happens to scores if everyone is expected to take the exam. There were already students who slept at their desk during AP exams.

Anonymous wrote:In terms of getting credit for an AP course at a particular college...
Don't minimize the value of getting credits that don't necessarily get you out of a required course in college. My eldest is at UMD and all her APs got her enough credits to make her almost 3/4 of a year ahead on credits which means she gets priority on stuff like registering for classes over kids in her year who have fewer (or no) credits from AP tests.

This. I went through MCPS in the late '90s and with all the APs, I had almost a whole extra year's worth of credits at UMD.

No. Many years ago, there was a teacher I knew of at a W school who would brag about all their students getting 5s on the AP test in certain years. Behind the scenes they were directly pressuring students who they believed would not get a 5 not to take the test.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was done for equity reasons, and it makes sense. It won't be cut from the budget.

It was unnecessary, though, as fee waivers were always available for low income students.

As someone already noted it was a Blueprint requirement.

That doesn't change my opinion that it was unnecessary.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was done for equity reasons, and it makes sense. It won't be cut from the budget.

It was unnecessary, though, as fee waivers were always available for low income students.

Feel free to lobby for higher income tax or property tax.

?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Starting this year, since its paid for by the county, MCPS pushes every kid who takes an AP class to take the AP exam. No idea what happens if your kid resists or declines.

One of my daughter’s teachers told her that she has to pay for the test if she DOESN’T take it. I told her to ignore that since it has to be BS.

There is a fee if you do not cancel by a certain date.

Colleges know if you're taking AP courses, and the lack of reported AP test scores is apparent. Whether they take that into account will vary.

I've had two kids go through college admissions so far. Neither reported their AP test scores-- colleges don't even know whether they took the exams. (They both got a mix of 3s, 4s, and 5s-- if they'd had all 5s or even >60^ 5s they probably would have reported.).

So on one hand, there's no problem sitting for the test because you don't need to report it. (So why wouldn't you?). But on the other hand, there's really not much penalty for not taking, either, since many, many people don't report their scores anyway.

Anonymous wrote:Is the test fee still covered if the student signs only for the test without enrolling in the course?

No

In terms of getting credit for an AP course at a particular college...
Don't minimize the value of getting credits that don't necessarily get you out of a required course in college. My eldest is at UMD and all her APs got her enough credits to make her almost 3/4 of a year ahead on credits which means she gets priority on stuff like registering for classes over kids in her year who have fewer (or no) credits from AP tests.

Is the test fee still covered if the student signs only for the test without enrolling in the course?

Anonymous wrote:Depends on whether the school system is held accountable for their grading practices. A "3" on the AP Test equates to a college "C". Some school systems don't want to be called out on grade inflation and therefore would rather not require the AP Exam.

Btw, "to save money" is a ridiculous reason. It's a drop in the bucket compared to what you will be paying - for college.

Well, include MCPS in that list of districts not being held accountable for its grading system. There are plenty of MCPS kids who take AP classes and get A's and B's in the class, but can't muster a 3 on the corresponding exam.

SOURCE: https://www.thesentinel.com/communities/mcps-and-the-blueprint-for-maryland-s-future-to-cover-ap-exam-fees-for-students/article_6b9c23f6-5a3e-11ee-8ac5-9baa3f0652c0.html

The new expectation is that students enrolled in an AP course during the school year must also take the corresponding exam, Miller wrote.