The price of AP tests has risen by four dollars from $89 to $93 this year due to the use of the Total Registration Program. The program helps organize registration as students sign up for AP tests online. Now teachers no longer need to hassle with spreadsheets, as everything is web based. Three Katy ISD schools have started using the program because of its handiness.
“Katy, Seven Lakes, and Cinco Ranch have began using the program,” AP Coordinator Laury Good said. “ We are also excited because it is a convenience for the students not having to carry around checks and cash.”
Good works with her secretary Kathy Beyer and the other ninth grade counselor Lisa McRae in order to choose proctors for the AP Tests and decide if they’re qualified.
“It’s a big job and we kind of have to break it down,” Good said. “The overlap between the End of Course exam and AP Tests is why the ninth grade is in charge of AP Testing.”
More students have begun to take AP classes for college credit as well as the positive effects it can have on GPA. Over the years scores on AP tests have not fluctuated as the most common scores are ones and threes. But more students are taking AP classes than before.
“The biggest change in my class isn’t that students are doing better or worse overall,” AP Psychology teacher Amy McConnell said. “It’s that substantially more students are taking my course and ultimately the AP test than just three years ago.”
The curriculum is scheduled to go through revisions as College Board has established a calendar it uses to sort through which classes need to be revised. AP Government and Politics teacher Kay Fenn covers different details to help out students but curriculum controlled by College Board stays consistent.
“My approach to teaching the content and the details that I cover and don’t cover fluctuates each semester based on the needs of my students,” Fenn said.
Students whose families meet the reduced lunch requirements take the AP Test at a reduced price of $24 compared to $90. Despite the expensive prices, junior Audriano De Souza believes the advantages of taking the test outweigh the negatives.
“AP exams are expensive and the price should be lowered,” De Souza said. “But they are much cheaper than college courses over the same material, so they are worth the money.”
