Due to the reduced federal funding, AP exam prices for low income students has increased from $5 per exam to $15 for the first three exams and $53 for any additional exams. This decision is only one of many that have created obstacles for under resourced students and their families.
In addition to the extra money the students are required to pay, students were notified on March 19 and many are expected to pay their dues by March 23.
“I never saw this coming, and in a time of economic crisis, it’s going to be a hard hit for many families”, stated Isaiah Yoon, junior, at Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies (LACES).
In an effort to financially assist families, LACES College Counselor, Judith Perez, is offering methods of payment to match the financial situation of various families. “It’s never going to be easy for many students and it’s important that the school helps the students to the best of our extent”, said Perez.
However, it is expected for thousands of affected low income students across the nation to cut down on the number AP exams they will be taking in May. Teachers are also becoming increasingly worried to the fact that some students may not be able to take AP Exams they have been preparing all year long.
“The financial situation is getting worse and worse and it’s gravely jeopardizing the education of countless students”, claimed Seth Miller, a LACES mathematics teacher. With no end in sight to the serious degradation in the quality of public education, students, teachers, and schools are becoming ever more worried about the uncertain future.
Daniel Lee
Daniel Kangmin Lee is a 12th grader at LACES High School and a returning student editor for the JSR program.
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