A change in the registration process for Advanced Placement (AP) exams means an earlier deadline for U.S. students who are taking challenging, college-level AP courses and are planning to take the optional exams in the spring. (Students who pass an exam with a 3 or higher on a 5-point scale can earn college credit or exempt certain college courses.)
College Board, which administers the AP program, has moved up the registration deadline, and GCPS AP students have until Nov. 10 to register for exams for all first semester courses. Students taking single-semester courses in the spring, including AP government and economics courses, will register between Jan. 6 and March 8.
GCPS pays the registration fee for the first AP exam for all Gwinnett students currently enrolled in an AP course. The student is responsible for the $10 non-refundable registration fee. Each additional exam registration is $94. Students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch pay only the $10 fee for any exams for which they register. Gwinnett students register and pay for AP exams on MyPaymentsPlus and must confirm that they will pay a $40 cancellation fee per exam if they miss or skip an exam.
“As a school district, we want to ensure that, in the future, we continue our trajectory of increasing the number of students who show mastery on AP exams with a score of 3, 4, or 5,” says Dr. Keena Ryals-Jenkins, accelerated programs and gifted director. “These results have shown evidence of being aligned to future college and career success.”
In Gwinnett, AP exams for 2019–20 are scheduled between May 4 and May 15. More than 13,900 of our students typically take one or more AP courses each year, including about a third of all seniors. Of those students, more than 80% choose to take an AP exam and about two-thirds of test-takers earn a 3 or better. Based on student interest, high schools in the district offer more than 30 AP courses in core subjects, languages, computer science, and the fine arts.