Education Department Supports Advanced Placement Courses for Low-Income Students with Award that Pays Test Fees
Thousands of students from low-income backgrounds will have access to Advanced Placement (AP) tests under grants to states announced today by U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige. Eighteen states, the District of Columbia and Guam applied for the AP Incentive Program grants and will share in $6.5 million to encourage students from low-income backgrounds to prepare for and take AP tests.
“College entrance exams reveal that young people who take challenging classes, such as Advanced Placement courses, perform better than their peers regardless of their family or financial background,” Paige said. “Taking the harder classes is one of the keys to academic success. These grants can help encourage students to challenge themselves and help our schools to close the achievement gap between students from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers.”
In order to be eligible for the grants, states were asked to describe:
- the fees the state will pay with award funds and how many students are expected to benefit;
- how low-income students will be identified and deemed eligible;
- how the availability of test fee payments will be promoted through high school teachers and counselors; and,
- how the effectiveness of the program will be measured within each state.
Factors that affect the amount states receive for the incentive grants include the number of eligible students and the intensity of outreach efforts, particularly in urban areas. In rural areas where such classes are not typically available, the grants may be used to offer online AP courses to students.
In addition to the benefits AP courses offer by strengthening high school achievement, most colleges and universities award college credit to students who pass advanced placement tests—saving tuition costs and allowing such students to be accepted more readily by the college of their choice.
The AP fee payment grants to states are authorized by the Higher Education Amendments of 1992, Title XV, Part G. Grant funds per state were made on the basis of Census Bureau counts of poor children ages 5-17 used under the Title I program for disadvantaged children.
Following is a list of states, contacts and grant amounts.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT INCENTIVE PROGRAM AWARDS
CALIFORNIA
Sacramento California Department of Education
Contact: Ron Fox, (916-323-6134) $800,000
DELAWARE
Dover Delaware Department of Education
Contact: Mercedes Ferrari, (302-739-4885) 276,750
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA District of Columbia Public Schools
Contact: Heather Sondel, (202-442-5648) 273,646
FLORIDA
Talahassee Main Florida Department of Education
Contact: Thomas Baird, (850-922-4678) 548,783
GUAM
Hagatna Guam Department of Education
Contact: Eloise Sanchez, (671-475-0444) 34,140
IOWA
Des Moines Iowa Department of Education
Contact: Roseanne Malik, (515-281-3199) 19,250
KENTUCKY
Frankfort Kentucky Department of Education
Contact: Nancy LaCount, (502-564-4772) 206,500
MASSACHUSSETS
Malden Massachusetts Department of Education
Contact: Richard Salus, (781-338-6252) 73,140
MARYLAND
Baltimore Maryland State Department of Education
Contact: Carolyn Cooper, (410-767-0336) 284,480
MISSISSIPPI
Jackson Mississippi Department of Education
Contact: Wendy Tucker, (601-359-2586) 276,617
NORTH CAROLINA
Raleigh North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Contact: Wandra Polk, (919-807-3816) 306,144
NORTH DAKOTA
Bismarck North Dakota Department of Public Instruction
Contact: Anita Decker, (701-328-1718) 11,000
NEW JERSEY
Trenton New Jersey State Department of Education
Contact: Robert Higgins, (609-777-0800) 479,536
NEW YORK
Albany New York State Education Department
Contact: Mary Daley, (518-474-8773) 860,000
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma City Okalahoma State Department of Education
Contact: Christy Ehlers, (405-521-4287) 483,640
PENNSYLVANIA
Harrisburg Pennsylvania Department of Education
Contact: Thomas Persing, (717-783-1330) 150,000
SOUTH DAKOTA
Pierre South Dakota Department of Education
Contact: Jim Hauck, (605-773-4712) 7,650
VERMONT
Montpelier Vermont Department of Education
Contact: Bud Meyers, (802-828-5101) 143,378
WEST VIRGINIA
Charleston West Virginia Department of Education
Contact: Donna Miller, (304-558-7880) 251,021
WISCONSIN
Madison Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Contact: Leonard Kavajecz, (715-682-2363) 998,854
TOTAL: $6,484,530
