The Arizona Department of Education has teamed with the Governor’s Office of Education to provide partial test fee waivers for low-income students taking Advanced Placement (AP) tests, International Baccalaureate (IB) exams and Cambridge International Examinations in the spring of 2018. The interagency agreement was inspired by the Governor’s Achieve60AZ postsecondary attainment goal, which strives to ensure that 60 percent of working adults in Arizona have a certificate or college degree by 2030. Since students exposed to higher learning opportunities such as advanced placement classes, dual enrollment and early college experiences are more likely to pursue a postsecondary education, this initiative intends to increase the number of college graduates, as well as create a more diverse, knowledgeable and innovative workforce in Arizona. ADE will contact schools offering IB, Cambridge A-Level and Cambridge AS-Level exams directly regarding specific next steps on how to access these resources to support their students in March 2019.
Note: The AP Exam fees have changed for 2019.
For public school students who qualify for the College Board fee reduction of $32 per exam, the state of Arizona will pay:
$22 per AP Exam (except AP Seminar and AP Research Exams)
$70 per AP Seminar Exam and AP Research Exam
The final fee for any AP Exam (including AP Seminar and AP Research Exams) for a qualifying student is $31.
What the School Must Do
Your school’s AP coordinator should take the following steps:
Before the exams:
Determine the total number of students in your school who are eligible for fee reductions for low-income students.
Determine the total number of exams they will take.
Enter these numbers on the AP Exam Ordering website before ordering exams.
After the exams:
Fill in the "Option 1" circle on each qualifying student's registration answer sheet.
When generating your invoice online, enter the total number of exams taken by qualifying low-income students.
Send $31 to the AP Program for each AP Exam, including AP Seminar and AP Research Exams, taken by qualifying low-income students.
The College Board will bill the state directly for $22 per AP Exam (except AP Seminar and AP Research Exams) per qualifying student, and $70 per AP Seminar Exam and AP Research Exam per qualifying student.
You must generate and submit your invoice by the deadline of June 15, 2019.*
AP coordinators do not need to submit a copy of their invoice to the state, so no "State Copy" of the invoice will print. Please do not send a copy of your invoice to the state.
*At the completion of your AP Exam administration, you must generate and submit an invoice online, print a hard copy, and mail the completed invoice with payment to the AP Program in the envelope provided with their exam shipments by June 15, 2019. If you fail to submit a copy of your invoice by June 15, 2019, your Arizona state funding could be revoked and you could be billed for the full cost of the exams.
Congress funded the Title IV, Part A block grant at $400 million in the federal fiscal year 2017 budget. Congress recognized the importance of this block grant and provided $1.1 billion for Title IV-A in FY18 and $1.17 billion in FY19. States and districts may use Title IV, Part A funds for the following AP-related activities:
Providing funding to cover part or all of the cost of AP Exam fees for low-income students in all schools (not just Title I schools)
Increasing student access to, and improving student achievement in, postsecondary level instruction and exams, including AP
Funding specific AP courses/exams
Under the special rule in section 4107(b) of the ESEA, an LEA may use FY17 funds to cover part or all of the fees for AP, IB, or other accelerated learning examinations taken by low-income students in both the 2016-2017 school year and 2017-2018 school year. https://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/essa/essassaegrantguid10212016.pdf Reference: Non-Regulatory Guidance, Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants See the Title IV-A website for more information.
