Jump to content

Menu

I found an AP testing site!!!!


Recommended Posts

It's the little things.....

 

After having every other door slammed in our faces, we were resolved to have to travel ten hours for dd to take the AP Latin exam.  Ten hours.  And only after cashing in serious favors, name-dropping, and taking a pinkie swear to not tell any other homeschoolers that they were going to allow it AND to never ever ask them again in the future.  I had never felt comfortable that they were actually going to come through for us when it came time to register.

 

There is a small semester school about 2.5 hours from our home that dd has shown interest in attending her 11th grade year.  She visits the website from time to time.  Today she mentioned that she saw on the website that they will proctor AP exams for current students who may be studying an AP subject independently.

 

On a whim, I sent an email.  This school did not hit my radar before because it does not offer Latin and is in another state. I did contact all of the schools in that state that offer Latin and ALL schools within a two hour drive from us.  I don't know why it didn't occur to me before to try this one little school.

 

They are going to allow it!  We can drive down there that morning.  No hotels.  No elaborate travel.  They are used to dealing with "complicated" student situations since ALL semester school students tend to have "complicated" registration situations.

 

No one IRL understands this struggle so I had to share!

  • Like 18
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am so glad to hear you've found a place for your daughter to take the exam!  I wish the College Board would offer AP exams the way they offer subject tests.  It is ridiculous how difficult it is to find a place to take the exam when you're not traditionally schooled.

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

All they had to do is at least ask the schools to accommodate kids who live in the district. We all pay taxes. I know that might now fix all the problems since not all districts offer all the tests, but it would be a start! And they (college board) would be making money while at it.

 

Happy for you to find an accommodation!

Edited by Roadrunner
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is the single worst thing about homeschooling. The worst.

 

That reminds me, I need to do the same thing for dd's 4 tests this year.

I keep putting it off, even justifying that maybe there's no need to actually take an AP exam. It's the learning that counts, right? I'm so nervous. I don't even have the right clothes to wear when I drop by each school soon. Ish. I had decided to just do it before 10/15. Well, here we are.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I understand.

 

I live in a major metropolitan area with scads of schools that teach Latin, and I had to call dozens of schools, both public and private. In some cases I had missed the November/December deadline, and in some cases their demands were unacceptable. One wanted $150, a criminal background check, and for me to stay on campus the entire time. I finally found one through a cottage school director that I had emailed a few times when i was looking for more advanced local classes for my teens. That contact led to a very sympathetic public school guidance counsellor, but I had to get in the car and take the form and check that day. Thankfully it was only an hour away.

 

Thankfully the others were AP's that were available at the local high school. I had fought multiple times with the head of the guidance department over the PSAT and APs, and actually took my son's SAT scores after he started college into one meeting to show him on paper that homeschoolers can indeed do a decent job. He had been very nasty to me in the past, saying that I couldn't possibly be preparing my kids properly for college. So I showed him that my son's scores were overall better than ANY of the students in his school. I knew because there were no National Merit students that year at that school. And after that he was completely lovely. My youngest said he asked her multiple times when they were setting up if he could do anything to make testing easier and even checked with her afterwards to make sure things went well.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I knew people here would understand.  I really don't understand why the college board will not fix this problem.  Because it has caused so much stress, dd will not be taking any other AP classes.  Lesson learned!

 

They won't fix the problem because we aren't a priority. In the scheme of their overall business model, we're just a blip, and they really don't care. I once ranted at a second-level supervisor about how they say on their website that homeschoolers can contact schools in March for registration, but nearly all of the schools I contacted had earlier deadlines, several even in NOVEMBER. The supervisor told me that they weren't responsible for school policies, as if that excused the incorrect information on the website. I decided to drop it because I had other irons on the fire, but so frustrating.

 

Contrast that with the National Latin Exam. They are VERY accommodating and developed procedures to accommodate us. Different scope and different exam, but it shows something.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm on a roll apparently, 0 out of 10. Really, some people are rude about not being able to help. For some reason I really thought Proof School would say yes. Resuming on Monday....

I think Lowell was the one that came through for AP Chinese a few years ago. My district already said no outsiders but they really have no space because of the AP room requirements that tables are 5 feet away from neighboring tables. That means a class of students taking AP exams would have to spread across two classroooms or use the auditorium (multipurpose hall) as one of the test rooms. My district’s high schools are overcrowded.

 

We’ll just use one of the two private test sites near us as usual. They don’t open registration early so we can wait to decide in March.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think Lowell was the one that came through for AP Chinese a few years ago. My district already said no outsiders but they really have no space because of the AP room requirements that tables are 5 feet away from neighboring tables. That means a class of students taking AP exams would have to spread across two classroooms or use the auditorium (multipurpose hall) as one of the test rooms. My district’s high schools are overcrowded.

 

We’ll just use one of the two private test sites near us as usual. They don’t open registration early so we can wait to decide in March.

That's our last option, driving to your area. I don't think we have private sites here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm sorry you're having troubles. Have you tried talking to any of the school principals, especially in your school district, to see if they can especially accommodate you? Sometimes that might help, someone from higher up - rather than going through the lackeys that administer the AP exams. Also you could make an appt with the superintendent of your local school district too... they can be really nice.

 

Last year, we found one local high school (not our school district) very open and helpful to hosting us. But they only offered 2/3 that we were looking for.

 

Then we went on a search about 1 hour radius to find a school to host us for the last. I emailed everyone I could from the AP ledger that showed offering the test, and I got quite a few positives back. Many private schools, mostly.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm so happy for you! DD had a bit of trouble finding the Music Theory AP, but it worked out in the end. I was clueless, it was all her hard work to nail down a spot. 

 

A friend had a very difficult time finding a school that was giving the Italian AP exam. 

 

A small private school was great for us for the PSAT. What a relief to find something so close to home and have it be the place your dc might attend in the future. 

 

:)

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm sorry you're having troubles. Have you tried talking to any of the school principals, especially in your school district, to see if they can especially accommodate you? Sometimes that might help, someone from higher up - rather than going through the lackeys that administer the AP exams. Also you could make an appt with the superintendent of your local school district too... they can be really nice.

 

 

 

 

I don't know if this was in reference to me or others who posted with troubles.  But I wanted to say that, yes, I did go higher up in our local district.  All the way to the superintendent.  The end story is that my local district has a policy to not do anything to help homeschoolers unless they are legally required to do so.

 

Our bigger problem is that we are 10 hours from the closest school that offers the AP class we need the test for.  So we are asking schools to give a test they don't already offer.  Apparently, that is a hard sell.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I found a school that will charge $200 which includes the exam fee itself. I'm still waiting for 2 other replies.

 

Is this a reasonable fee? Do schools or private sites usually charge $100 to administer it? I know it takes effort and time on their part. Maybe I’ll have to be more selective on which AP exams for her to take in the future.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I found a school that will charge $200 which includes the exam fee itself. I'm still waiting for 2 other replies.

SIL (Los Altos) charged $120, Legend (Cupertino) charged $125

 

SIL was full for calculus BC when we want to register so we went with Legend. I expect an annual fee hike but in the range of $10 to $15 more than this year.

 

The student exam fee is $94 for 2018 exams.

 

ETA:

Lydian would be nearer to you as a backup choice. I didn’t ask how much as it’s too far for us.

Edited by Arcadia
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I found a school that will charge $200 which includes the exam fee itself. I'm still waiting for 2 other replies.

 

Is this a reasonable fee? Do schools or private sites usually charge $100 to administer it? I know it takes effort and time on their part. Maybe I’ll have to be more selective on which AP exams for her to take in the future.

 

The one I found has a $75 proctoring fee.  Dd will be the only person taking an AP exam at that location that day so I think it is reasonable.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I found a school that will charge $200 which includes the exam fee itself. I'm still waiting for 2 other replies.

 

Is this a reasonable fee? Do schools or private sites usually charge $100 to administer it? I know it takes effort and time on their part. Maybe I’ll have to be more selective on which AP exams for her to take in the future.

 

2 public HSs and 1 private school all charge just the standard $94 AP exam fee for us. We're in CA. But they only will administer the tests they offer. So if this is a proctoring fee for a test they don't normally offer, then yes, I would expect an extra fee. None of ours offer that service as far as I can tell thus far.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm sure there are other subjects like Latin that few schools offer.  My locals were not going to help because, as I have now learned, all are hostile to homeschoolers.  I am sure there are reasons for this that I do not have the context to understand.  When I started looking for districts that offer Latin, I learned that we are far far FAR away from any that do.  10 hours driving distance far.  We are very much geographically isolated and rural so there simply are not a lot of options available to us.  Most school districts within a 5 hour radius of us do not offer AP at all.  I naively assumed that some school within a reasonable drive would help us out.  Now I know at is not the case and will plan accordingly in the future.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm sure there are other subjects like Latin that few schools offer.

AP Chinese is a difficult exam logistics wise because it is computer based. The private test sites that are willing to host for a fee can only take as many candidates as they have laptops for even though they have the room space. That is one exam I have to register early for if my kids want to take it. That would also be the exam that I can understand private centers charging more for proctor fees for the added inconvenience.

 

“The exam is administered on a computer. The student reads on the screen, listens through headphones, types using the keyboard, and speaks into a microphone.†https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-chinese-language-and-culture/exam?course=ap-chinese-language-and-culture

Link to comment
Share on other sites

AP Chinese is a difficult exam logistics wise because it is computer based. The private test sites that are willing to host for a fee can only take as many candidates as they have laptops for even though they have the room space. That is one exam I have to register early for if my kids want to take it. That would also be the exam that I can understand private centers charging more for proctor fees for the added inconvenience.

 

“The exam is administered on a computer. The student reads on the screen, listens through headphones, types using the keyboard, and speaks into a microphone.†https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-chinese-language-and-culture/exam?course=ap-chinese-language-and-culture

No wonder one school told me all the schools that can't offer AP Chinese exam to their students sign up at their school. And another school wanted to make sure it was a simple administration of a paper test.

 

I should first ask whether they can accommodate us for a modern language and for computer science before I sign up for classes in 2018

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I should first ask whether they can accommodate us for a modern language and for computer science before I sign up for classes in 2018

AP Computer Science A is paper based and simple to administer. AP German requires submission of MP3 files so that is another layer of work for the proctors.

 

“Digital Audio Submission

Beginning with the 2017 AP Exams, all speaking responses must be recorded digitally in MP3 format and submitted online using the Digital Audio Submission (DAS) portal. This new process replaces cassette tape and CD submission. Access DAS portal help and FAQs on our Submitting Audio page.†https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-german-language-and-culture/exam?course=ap-german-language-and-culture

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...