Advanced Placement (AP) courses provide high school students with the opportunity to take college-level courses in high school. DeKalb County School District contends:
- Students who successfully complete an AP course are more likely to graduate high school and graduate from college.
- The district’s purchase of an AP exam for students will provide greater access and equity for students.
The State of Georgia covers the cost for one AP exam for students who are served by Free & Reduced Lunch (F/R Lunch). The administration is asking the DeKalb School Board to pay for an additional exam for students not on F/R Lunch at $83/exam and students that qualify for F/R Lunch who pay $53/Exam.
1,994 F/R Lunch Exams @ 53.00 each = $105,682
2,275 Regular Lunch Exams @ 83.00 each = $188,825
Total = $294,507
AP Exam Cost Estimate Sheet
Related Posts
Mar 6, 2016 – March 7, 2016 – Board approves Purchase of AP Exam for all students
Mar 6, 2016 – AP Exams – Tax Dollars
Correlation is not Causality
It is more likely that students who voluntarily choose to take AP courses and exams are the types of students that are already better prepared and highly motivated. Success in college perhaps is not attributed to the AP class and exam themselves, but to the personal characteristics that led them to participate in the class to begin with.
AP Exam Scores
AP exams are graded on a five-point scale where a grade of 3 is considered a C. In 2015 only 16% of the students from Title I schools received a C or higher on their AP Exams while 60% of the non Title 1 students earned a C or higher. 56% of the money this year ($166K of the $294K) is ear marked for the non Title I schools.
AP 2011 – 2015 Score Summary
Number of Exams Taken and Percent Scoring 3 or Higher
| 2010-2011 | 2011-2012 | 2012-2013 | 2013-2014 | 2014-2015 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | TI | # Taken | % Passed | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | |
| SYSTEM | 8,160 | 31.7% | 8,375 | 35.3% | 7,660 | 38.0% | 7,530 | 39% | 7,451 | 41% | ||
| GEORGIA | 106,211 | 52.2% | 116,703 | 53.9% | 142,011 | 55.4% | 136,843 | 65% | 142,587 | 55% | ||
| ARABIA MOUNTAIN | 4 | 1128 | 7.3% | 1003 | 13.0% | 553 | 20.0% | 396 | 29% | 311 | 28% | |
| CEDAR GROVE | 5 | Y | 233 | 6.4% | 217 | 7.4% | 179 | 4.0% | 181 | 20% | 262 | 12% |
| CHAMBLEE | 1 | 982 | 70.1% | 1028 | 69.3% | 1006 | 74.0% | 975 | 72% | 1,062 | 73% | |
| CLARKSTON | 3 | Y | 92 | 14.1% | 173 | 11.0% | 257 | 8.0% | 252 | 11% | 193 | 10% |
| COLUMBIA | 5 | Y | 320 | 5.0% | 308 | 1.9% | 251 | 6.0% | 296 | 6% | 152 | 19% |
| CROSS KEYS | 1 | Y | 176 | 29.5% | 161 | 31.1% | 164 | 36.0% | 206 | 26% | 241 | 23% |
| DeKalb Early College | 3 | Y | 20 | 40.0% | 16 | 56% | 27 | 41% | ||||
| DEK SCHOOL OF ARTS | 2 | 196 | 54.6% | 228 | 47.4% | 260 | 59.0% | 266 | 71% | 252 | 70% | |
| DRUID HILLS | 2 | 423 | 50.8% | 525 | 51.2% | 505 | 47.0% | 521 | 53% | 552 | 45% | |
| DUNWOODY | 1 | 888 | 50.8% | 991 | 49.5% | 799 | 58.0% | 874 | 60% | 958 | 67% | |
| ELIZABETH ANDREWS | 2 | Y | 27 | 3.7% | 29 | 0.0% | 27 | 0.0% | 18 | 0% | 16 | 0% |
| LAKESIDE | 2 | 1077 | 49.8% | 1170 | 58.5% | 943 | 66.0% | 968 | 61% | 1,154 | 57% | |
| LITHONIA | 4 | Y | 189 | 10.1% | 175 | 11.4% | 180 | 8.0% | 186 | 12% | 189 | 11% |
| M. L. KING | 4 | Y | 230 | 12.6% | 257 | 12.8% | 253 | 15.0% | 194 | 3% | 213 | 3% |
| MCNAIR | 5 | Y | 120 | 0.8% | 123 | 3.3% | 108 | 2.0% | 67 | 2% | 75 | 0% |
| MILLER GROVE | 4 | Y | 166 | 12.0% | 178 | 13.5% | 213 | 9.0% | 218 | 7% | 118 | 14% |
| REDAN | 3 | Y | 194 | 9.3% | 193 | 8.3% | 197 | 4.0% | 127 | 12% | 98 | 15% |
| SOUTHWEST DEKALB | 4 | Y | 450 | 36.2% | 415 | 40.2% | 492 | 57.0% | 438 | 43% | 372 | 33% |
| STEPHENSON | 3 | Y | 369 | 17.6% | 341 | 16.1% | 288 | 14.0% | 347 | 12% | 341 | 13% |
| STONE MOUNTAIN | 3 | Y | 77 | 29.9% | 114 | 30.7% | 108 | 35.0% | 128 | 35% | 122 | 21% |
| TOWERS | 5 | Y | 260 | 2.3% | 164 | 4.3% | 135 | 1.0% | 143 | 3% | 161 | 2% |
| TUCKER | 2 | Y | 540 | 16.3% | 582 | 19.4% | 702 | 15.0% | 713 | 17% | 581 | 20% |
“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
I wonder if the District has any data on the correlation between the grades of students who take the AP class and the scores they make on the AP exam. If not, maybe they should start looking at this.
I do not think it is a good use of money, the state’s or the District’s, to pay for AP exams for students who aren’t passing the AP course.
I understand that it is problematic to check grades for block schedule students who are taking the AP course in the spring semester, because AP exams have to be ordered near the beginning of March and thus the students haven’t gotten to “midterm” yet. But just because a problem is difficult doesn’t mean it should be ignored.
The consistent single digit AP exam “pass” rate at Elizabeth Andrews High, McNair High, and Towers High, and the recent precipitous drop in AP exam “pass” rate at M. L. King, Jr., High are very distressing.
I wonder who is in charge of the AP program in DCSD. The DCSD website no longer even has a link to the Superintendent’s Organization. Maybe that is part of the problem.
But, wait a minute! I thought the newly improved and coming into the light area supt. Dimpdon (of bow tie fame, literary contempt, and now in a state of euphoria due to his recent “enlightenment” about “discipline”) had changed everything around at Towers and “cleaned up” Towers. Isn’t that why he was bumped back up where he once was? It’s funny how things work in DeKalb but not very.