tazinib1 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 My 17yr old son just advised me this morning, on the way to school no less, that I have to pay for him to take his AP (advanced placement) tests this year. So I asked him: Let me get this straight, you are in 3 AP classes that you enrolled in this year, but at the end of the year, in order to take the final tests, you have to pay? Yes Dad...it costs $80 per test and I have 3 tests. Could you please sign this paperwork acknowledging that you know and will pay? It will cost $240 altogether..can you write me a check today? Needless to say, I was rather upset. Not at my son, and I made it clear during my verbal barrage directed toward the school system and the Governator. Thank god he's a High School Academic All-American and he'll be getting a scholarship (crosses fingers). How on earth do the powers that be expect a normal working Joe to afford this crap? Its ridiculous!! Paying the school system to take a final exam? I have NEVER heard of such a thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinatieri Is God Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 "going"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
driveby Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 I paid for those tests as well here in Houston. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KICK A$$ BLASTER Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 You have to pay for these test in Idaho as well...FWIW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cre8tiff Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 And in Illinois as well. (Doesn't include a kickback to the govenor, though) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazinib1 Posted December 9, 2008 Author Share Posted December 9, 2008 Well where the hell have I been then. He's been in AP since he was a freshmen. Am I just now noticing there is a cost? Maybe cause its so close to Christmas. I wonder if I've been blindly signing and paying for these things for 3 years now, only to now notice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millerx Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 you think it's just the school system going in the crapper?!? the rest of your state is pretty screwed up as well. there is a reason why everything costs so much in California. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Agent Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 I hope my kids are stupid so I don't have to pay for that crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cre8tiff Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 I hope my kids are stupid so I don't have to pay for that crap. It's all in the genes, so I'd say you're off the hook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Agent Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 It's all in the genes, so I'd say you're off the hook. Thank gawd. And if they're smart, I'll be having a sit down with the wife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westvirginia Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 You could just homeschool your kids instead of sending them off to the fedgov indoctrination centers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemess2 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 i'd paid for them as well..here in pa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTed46 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Smack your kid and tell him he dont need no stinking test Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Czarina Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 These tests are above and beyond the courses. Taking and passing these AP exams will give him college credit. They're administered by those good folks who bring you SAT exams as well. When I took it, they scored you on a 1-5 scale. If you got 3 or better you'd get the credits. I took the AP English exam coming out of HS and was given 6 credits to apply for Freshman English in college. BTW, I didn't take the fru fru AP English class either, though most of my friends did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 "going"? I for one am shocked. Calif has always been such a hotbed of brilliance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazinib1 Posted December 10, 2008 Author Share Posted December 10, 2008 These tests are above and beyond the courses. Taking and passing these AP exams will give him college credit. They're administered by those good folks who bring you SAT exams as well. When I took it, they scored you on a 1-5 scale. If you got 3 or better you'd get the credits. I took the AP English exam coming out of HS and was given 6 credits to apply for Freshman English in college. BTW, I didn't take the fru fru AP English class either, though most of my friends did. Thats exactly what my son told me earlier this evening. Apparently, his high school has been funded for the AP tests since he was a freshmen until this year. As a senior, he has 18 college credits at this point in time. Can somebody tell me how to build a flux capicitor so I can go back and do high school again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montster Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 My 17yr old son just advised me this morning, on the way to school no less, that I have to pay for him to take his AP (advanced placement) tests this year. So I asked him: Let me get this straight, you are in 3 AP classes that you enrolled in this year, but at the end of the year, in order to take the final tests, you have to pay? Yes Dad...it costs $80 per test and I have 3 tests. Could you please sign this paperwork acknowledging that you know and will pay? It will cost $240 altogether..can you write me a check today? Needless to say, I was rather upset. Not at my son, and I made it clear during my verbal barrage directed toward the school system and the Governator. Thank god he's a High School Academic All-American and he'll be getting a scholarship (crosses fingers). How on earth do the powers that be expect a normal working Joe to afford this crap? Its ridiculous!! Paying the school system to take a final exam? I have NEVER heard of such a thing. for what it's worth, in 1990 and '91 the tests were $65. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millerx Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 (edited) Thats exactly what my son told me earlier this evening. Apparently, his high school has been funded for the AP tests since he was a freshmen until this year. As a senior, he has 18 college credits at this point in time. Can somebody tell me how to build a flux capicitor so I can go back and do high school again. That's great about your kid and how well he has done in school. Seriously. I know I would be extremely proud. My questions as a concerned citizen, though, are whether or not giving college credits (especially this many credits) in high school is good for our society? Are we cheating the educational system by not forcing them to take the full load of courses for a degree at the actual institution that is providing it? Are they getting the proper instruction from a teacher versus a professor? In turn, does this help or hinder the American workforce? And is this just another way Americans have come up with to avoid the excessive (and sometimes prohibitive) costs of getting a 4-year degree? Edited December 10, 2008 by millerx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i_am_the_swammi Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 Thats exactly what my son told me earlier this evening. Apparently, his high school has been funded for the AP tests since he was a freshmen until this year. As a senior, he has 18 college credits at this point in time. Which won't save you a dime if he ends up going to school on a full-ride. I guess the best way to look at it is, that with 18 credit already under his belt, he'll only need 3.5 years of college to earn a bachelor's degree, so he'll be out working 6 months fast than you normally might have expected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montster Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 That's great about your kid and how well he has done in school. Seriously. I know I would be extremely proud. My questions as a concerned citizen, though, are whether or not giving college credits (especially this many credits) in high school is good for our society? Are we cheating the educational system by not forcing them to take the full load of courses for a degree at the actual institution that is providing it? Are they getting the proper instruction from a teacher versus a professor? In turn, does this help or hinder the American workforce? And is this just another way Americans have come up with to avoid the excessive (and sometimes prohibitive) costs of getting a 4-year degree? first off, if you have taken an AP course and get a 4 or 5 on the test, you aren't cheating the educational system. you can't luck into a 4 or 5. you have to know the material, or you don't get a good grade, and therefore no college credit. secondly, the college credit you're awarded likely will be for the low 100-level courses (Physics 101, English 101, etc.), many of which exist solely to satisfy some minimum requirement (a basic science class for a liberal arts degree, for example) or to Josh Gordon out those who can't hack it. in my experience, AP physics was a hell of a lot harder than the Josh Gordon-out beginning physics class i had in college. and my high school physics teacher had to handle only about 30 kids, not 150. Which won't save you a dime if he ends up going to school on a full-ride. I guess the best way to look at it is, that with 18 credit already under his belt, he'll only need 3.5 years of college to earn a bachelor's degree, so he'll be out working 6 months fast than you normally might have expected. not necessarily. i entered college with 29 credits, changed my major three times and graduated in 5 1/2 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 You could just homeschool your kids instead of sending them off to the fedgov indoctrination centers... $240.00 doesn't even start paying for the psychological help he'll need to prepare him for the real world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Czarina Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 first off, if you have taken an AP course and get a 4 or 5 on the test, you aren't cheating the educational system. you can't luck into a 4 or 5. you have to know the material, or you don't get a good grade, and therefore no college credit. secondly, the college credit you're awarded likely will be for the low 100-level courses (Physics 101, English 101, etc.), many of which exist solely to satisfy some minimum requirement (a basic science class for a liberal arts degree, for example) or to Josh Gordon out those who can't hack it. in my experience, AP physics was a hell of a lot harder than the Josh Gordon-out beginning physics class i had in college. and my high school physics teacher had to handle only about 30 kids, not 150. not necessarily. i entered college with 29 credits, changed my major three times and graduated in 5 1/2 years. Yeppers. The 6 credits I got covered Freshman writing/lit 101, 102. Interestingly, I got a 4 on the exam by writing a lengthy essay about the allegory in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Which isn't interesting in and of itself, however, I'd never read the play. As luck would have it, my boyfriend HAD read the play (he was a college freshmen) and so I was roughly familiar with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazinib1 Posted December 11, 2008 Author Share Posted December 11, 2008 (edited) $240.00 doesn't even start paying for the psychological help he'll need to prepare him for the real world. How true. But didn't you know that, at age 17, he already knows how the world operates? I never ever thought I would say this...but I can't wait for that phone call from his college dorm room when a real problem rises its ugly head and he's unable to resolve it without dads advice. Beyond that, I'm extremely proud of him and what he's accomplished. Thanks god I didn't raise a thug wanna be who's future is deciding weather or not he wants top or bottom bunk. Edited December 11, 2008 by tazinib1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Czarina Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 How true. But didn't you know that, at age 17, he already knows how the world operates? I never ever thought I would say this...but I can't wait for that phone call from his college dorm room when a real problem rises its ugly head and he's unable to resolve it without dads advice. Be careful what you wish for, Grasshopper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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