(Washington, DC) The U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced that it awarded the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) $141,334 to help low-income public school students take advanced placement tests. 

“Our goal is to eliminate as much financial burden as possible of our low income students,” said State Superintendent Jesús Aguirre. “The Advancement Placement Test Fee Program  encourages students who have successfully completed an AP class to take the corresponding exam without fear of cost.This program allows low-income  students to demonstrate their competitiveness and readiness at the postsecondary level.”

The grant money will support OSSE’s AP Test Fee program, which encourages students who have successfully completed AP courses to take the corresponding exams without the pressure of paying the $89 exam fee. A partnership between OSSE, the College Board and ED, the program seeks to increase the number of students who earn high enough scores to receive college credit while still in high school.

According to the College Board, over the last decade, the number of students who graduate from high school having taken rigorous AP courses has nearly doubled, and the number of low-income students taking AP has more than quadrupled. In 2013, 3,535 public school students took advanced placement tests in the District. Nearly 26% of those were low-income.

OSSE will work to identify DC students attending public or public charter schools who are eligible for the exam fee assistance through free and reduced price meals enrollment. 

For more information on this topic, please contact OSSE’s Office of College and Career Readiness at (202) 741-6413.