The U.S. Department of Education has awarded Texas more than $2.6 million in grants to help low-income students take Advanced Placement tests.
“The cost of an AP exam is $91 and this grant knocks $16 off that price,” said Debbie Ratcliffe with the Texas Education Agency.
“We have other fee subsidies through the state, the local districts, and the College Board itself. So by the time all those fees are added together, those fee waivers, the cost of the exam can drop from $91 to only $7 for our low income kids.”
More and more kids are taking the tests.
“Last year 43 percent of your test takers came from low income families and they took about 98,000 AP tests,” said Ratcliffe.
New legislation requires colleges to award course credit to students who score a 3, 4, or 5 on the test, which can mean it will literally save Texas families millions of dollars in college costs.
