16 EDITORIAL
New FCPS policy causes
AP EXAMS to become a financial burden on
HIGH ACHIEVING STUDENTS
Advanced Placement (AP) testing has long stood as a staple of American education by providing students with opportunities to broaden their academic horizons and save thousands of dollars in college, as select scores can substitute in for class credits at the collegiate level. FCPS has been a consistent supporter of the system, offering a myriad of courses not provided in other regions of the US and paying for students to take the worldwide exams near the end of the school year. FCPS believes that “each student is entitled to an excellent education that meets his or her individual needs” and works to “prepare all students for the world of the future by giving them a broad spectrum of opportunities to prepare for education and employment beyond high school.” However, such beliefs and missions are being directly contradicted by new county policies setting fees for advanced students. After frequent rumor that such a change would be enacted, near the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year FCPS announced that there would be new high school extracurricular activity and AP/International Baccalaureate (IB) testing fees, limiting students to the opportunities they pride themselves so highly on offering. Pertaining to Hayfield, extracurricular activities, which are classified as “athletics and clubs for which no academic credit or grade is awarded,” will now come with a yearly $50 extracurricular fee, while students must now pay $93 per test when they reach a quota of six APs over their high school career. According to FCPS, they opened
the collection of extracurricular fees on Oct. 16, 2017, yet the collection of said fees (at Hayfield specifically) has not been enforced, making them anything but a hinderance to after school activity participants. However, the same cannot be said for AP testing fees.
heavily on building their knowledge and reaching success in numerous APs when planning for their futures. High school, senior year in particular, is far from cheap, and the AP fees are only adding an extra level of financial stress of public school and a possible collegiate future. With senior dues, SAT/ACT testing, parking, college applications and more, students do not need any more financial burdens. FCPS reminds students that just exams, not classes, are being billed, however, it would be pointless to go through a year of a challenging, collegelevel course and not take the exam, sacrificing a shot at looking better on a college application and saving sizeable amounts of money in the future. While not all AP students will be affected, as FCPS will still be covering six exams, those taking more do not deserve to be punished financially for
Numerous AP exam prep books. Photo by Maggie Markon.
AP course selection and scores have proved instrumental in the college application and acceptance process, and Prepscholar recommends students take between seven and 12 AP courses for highly selective (top 20) schools, four to eight for selective (top 100) schools and one to five for less selective schools. While these numbers are based off of generalizations on what and when schools offer AP classes, it cannot be argued that advanced scholars rely
their dedication to their studies and academic futures. Billing information will be sent directly to students in April 2018 and it is unrealistic to believe that any changes will be made to the fee system regardless of any and all student protest, but that does not mean that it shouldn’t be challenged. Students should not be subjected to higher levels of college related stress in a place where it is not necessary.