Skip to content Back to Top

Advanced Placement (AP) Fee Reduction Program

Making advanced courses accessible to every student seeking more rigorous courses

The Advanced Placement courses provide rigorous course work to prepare students for higher education or to simply challenge their knowledge. These classes can be used for college credit or advanced placement in a program. This program allows students with financial need to take the exams at a reduced cost.

How It Works

Beginning with the AP Exam administration in May 2017, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) eliminates the dedicated federal funding program Alaska has used in past years to subsidize AP Exam fees for low-income students. This does not mean federal funding for AP Exams for low-income students is no longer available. Instead, states and districts will need to use the new funds available through Title IV to provide an AP fee reduction for low-income students. This use of Title IV funds is allowed with ESSA, and we encourage taking advantage of this funding to ensure exams are affordable for your low-income students.

In their continued commitment to providing AP access to all low-income students, the College Board will increase their contribution to $31 per exam taken by a low-income student. As a result, your schools will be responsible for only the remaining $53 per-exam fee for exams taken by low-income students. ESSA explicitly allows states and districts to use the Title IV funds to cover all or part of the $53 per-exam fee.

Please visit the College Board’s ESSA website for more information and the specific steps you can take to determine whether your district will provide subsidies for low-income students in the academic year 2016-2017 and after.

We encourage you to communicate your decision to the families of low-income students in your district as soon as possible so that they can plan accordingly.

Important Dates

  • None at this time.

Contact Us

International Baccalaureate (IB) Fee Reduction Program