madteaparty Posted December 11, 2017 Share Posted December 11, 2017 I've contacted the right person at our local high school about homeschooled DS taking AP test I know the school is administering this May. The person responded that she's never encountered this issue before (!!) and will contact and wait to hear from college board. I'm about to call and follow up, but considering this level of cluelessness (she's also new on the job), does anyone have any tips in terms of admin speak? There's other options but I'm not willing to explore them yet since my local district, to which we pay taxes in the 5 figures each year is already administering the test. Any thoughts appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted December 11, 2017 Share Posted December 11, 2017 You could find the place on the college board site that says they encourage local schools to allow homeschoolers to take the tests there. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted December 11, 2017 Author Share Posted December 11, 2017 You could find the place on the college board site that says they encourage local schools to allow homeschoolers to take the tests there.Great. I didn't know this existed, will go look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted December 11, 2017 Share Posted December 11, 2017 They don’t have to provide the seat, sadly. Just forward them the College Board page and appeal to the educator in them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted December 12, 2017 Author Share Posted December 12, 2017 appeal to the educator in them. 😂 As if. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirabillis Posted December 12, 2017 Share Posted December 12, 2017 Doesn't matter a whit that you pay taxes to your local school district. It's their whim whether they let you take it there or not. My local PS would not last year - denied us. But after developing a relationship with the HS principal, we were able to get a special exception. But there were many other nearby local HSs and private schools that were happy to accommodate us. Find the school that welcomes you the best. It will be a better experience, taxes or not. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodGrief Posted December 12, 2017 Share Posted December 12, 2017 Locating an AP test site is the most stressful part of the homeschool high school year! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebastianCat Posted December 12, 2017 Share Posted December 12, 2017 If the person you spoke to was friendly about it, I'd continue to try to work with them to get a seat. You probably won't be the last homeschooling parent who will ask to take an AP exam at the school, and it would help their reputation to work through the first experience with someone (yourself) who is equally friendly and positive about it. This spring will be our first experience taking an AP exam at our local zoned high school, but I had a wonderful conversation with a guidance counselor who reserved DS a seat for the PSAT last fall and have the name and contact information for the person to contact about a seat for the AP exams now as well. What I learned was that (at least locally here - your location *could* differ...) the deadline to register for a seat for AP testing is March 2. I was told by the 1st guidance counselor that I should contact the guidance counselor in charge of AP testing by the first week in February to get our name on a list, because they order the tests the first week in March. Hopefully this is the same nationwide and will help in your quest to get a seat! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirabillis Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 Some like to know as soon as Nov or Dec... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yvonne Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 (edited) If the person you spoke to was friendly about it, I'd continue to try to work with them to get a seat. :iagree: Establishing a relationship with the person in charge of test registration at our public school went a long way for us. I always leave her office feeling amazed that someone like that still exists in our large, pretty anonymous school district. ETA: The assistant principal in charge of the actual test administration last year was a completely different story, but the test registration person has always been helpful, friendly, and competent. Edited December 13, 2017 by yvonne 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 So would you say it’s worth making an appointment and showing up in person at the school? Who would you make an appointment with? Principal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted December 13, 2017 Author Share Posted December 13, 2017 So would you say it’s worth making an appointment and showing up in person at the school? Who would you make an appointment with? Principal?In my case, I spoke to guidance back when I thought he was going back there. They were helpful in sharing what is taught in 9th etc if I had an interest in making 8th grade sequence so he could easily join in 9th. At that time I asked about AP exams, was told so long as school was administering, to contact XYZ vice principal as that's who orders APs. That vice principal resigned and this new one is giving me the runaround as she's never done it before. They are right now dealing with an awful emergency at the high school so I am letting them be a while. Even though I originally contacted them back in early November. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 So would you say it’s worth making an appointment and showing up in person at the school? Who would you make an appointment with? Principal? My district does AP registration through the online Total Registration system and pays for the high school students in their two high schools through a one time generous donation for funding AP exams. Students on free/reduced lunch has to register through the school counselors because the state pays for part of their AP exam fees. They have explicitly stated that they do not have space for outsiders and that juniors/seniors get priority. So even the freshmen/sophomores would be on a “if there are seats left†basis. Freshmen and sophomores aren’t allowed to take AP courses in school unless the principal or vice-principal approves. Both high schools have an enrollment of about two thousand students with about five hundred at each grade level. All the information is on the high school websites though for my district. E.g. “ AP exams are offered for subjects taught in our AP program at *****. Check the College Board website https://apstudent.collegeboard.org for alternative exam locations for any exam ***** does not offer. All registration and payments are processed through Total Registration online services: https://user.totalregistration.net/AP/*****†1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted December 17, 2017 Share Posted December 17, 2017 I've contacted the right person at our local high school about homeschooled DS taking AP test I know the school is administering this May. The person responded that she's never encountered this issue before (!!) and will contact and wait to hear from college board. I'm about to call and follow up, but considering this level of cluelessness (she's also new on the job), does anyone have any tips in terms of admin speak? There's other options but I'm not willing to explore them yet since my local district, to which we pay taxes in the 5 figures each year is already administering the test. Any thoughts appreciated! From advice on these forums, this is the language I use: Tell them my student doesn't attend their school, but we are members of the community. I'm willing to pay any proctoring and registration fees. My student doesn't require accommodations. My student is taking a College Board approved AP course. My student will be using their own school code, so her scores will not be included in your high school's statistics. Also, be super nice, expressing gratitude to them for extending this service to your family. Do not even hint that you will share this resource with other non-students in the area. (Some admins are willing to do a one-off favor, but not willing to open the floodgates, not only to homeschoolers, but students attending other schools.) Consider fresh baked cookies. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted December 17, 2017 Share Posted December 17, 2017 The school just needs available spaces. As long as they are expected to be full, you just ask where to pay and when. Most schools have a "school bank" that is open on very random times and hours (such as the 5 minutes between classes!) or lunch hour. So you really have to know when the bank is open. Usually once the student pays their system automatically assigns them a space for the test and that's that. Your student will enter the homeschool code though, NOT the student code. You can explain all of this to whomever you spoke to before. BUT what I would do having BTDT is call the main office and speak to the school bank :) They don't have an axe to grind and are much less likely to give you a hard time than counsellors who have power trip and ego issues. Believe it or not, Principals and vice principals are also much more easily approachable than teachers and counselors! We've had both the principal and vp welcome my son with handshakes and extend to him anything he wants to join :) Also, you will want to try it at the slightly less academic schools. The more academic ones may very legitmately not have space for your student. Lastly, once you pay and sign up DO NOT EXPECT emails!! THe emails are sent by the teacher or staff of the department or a special Testing group....my son showed up extremely early for his test just in case anything got changed and switched and we also called a few times to double check, as well as checking the website. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted December 17, 2017 Author Share Posted December 17, 2017 The school just needs available spaces. As long as they are expected to be full, you just ask where to pay and when. Most schools have a "school bank" that is open on very random times and hours (such as the 5 minutes between classes!) or lunch hour. So you really have to know when the bank is open. Usually once the student pays their system automatically assigns them a space for the test and that's that. Your student will enter the homeschool code though, NOT the student code. You can explain all of this to whomever you spoke to before. BUT what I would do having BTDT is call the main office and speak to the school bank :) They don't have an axe to grind and are much less likely to give you a hard time than counsellors who have power trip and ego issues. Believe it or not, Principals and vice principals are also much more easily approachable than teachers and counselors! We've had both the principal and vp welcome my son with handshakes and extend to him anything he wants to join :) Also, you will want to try it at the slightly less academic schools. The more academic ones may very legitmately not have space for your student. Lastly, once you pay and sign up DO NOT EXPECT emails!! THe emails are sent by the teacher or staff of the department or a special Testing group....my son showed up extremely early for his test just in case anything got changed and switched and we also called a few times to double check, as well as checking the website. I don't understand the school bank concept. This is a vice principal I'm dealing with. I do love the idea of making this an accomplished fact "hi, I'm here to pay for the AP" but I thought all that stuff was online.Also, it's supposed to be a decent enough school but the AP classes never fill. What does is something like photography 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted December 17, 2017 Share Posted December 17, 2017 I don't know but all the schools here have a school bank for other purposes, and they accept checks and cash for AP exams. Maybe they do that for parents that don't have credit cards to pay online? I have no idea. but you can ask about it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted December 18, 2017 Author Share Posted December 18, 2017 The way its done here is to call the guidance office and ask which gc is in charge of AP exams. Speak to that person and make arrangements...there is a written procedure with deadlines for payment and sign up. Its very common for students who study on their own or with an online instructor to take AP exams for courses not offered at the public high school. Private school students will also be asking for seats. I would do that this week; the deadline for us two years ago was early Jan. as there was paperwork for the staff to get in to the CB by a certain date, and they have their calendar pretty busy with senior college apps right now. Payment is very easy...go in to the school after dismissal and walk down to the the guidance office, hand check in envelope to sec or gc. Done. You know this is exactly what I did in terms of calling guidance, then the vice principal they directed me to and...crickets. But this week they had that awful issue here so I'm going to try again the next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted December 18, 2017 Share Posted December 18, 2017 You know this is exactly what I did in terms of calling guidance, then the vice principal they directed me to and...crickets. But this week they had that awful issue here so I'm going to try again the next week. If they had a crisis this week, I would wait until the new year to call since the staff may be in holiday mode this week and won't feel like dealing with anything extra. My public school has a deadline of the end of Feb for students to register for exams, but I had an issue a few years ago and the public school guidance counselor said that I did not have to let them know what tests to order until the beginning of April since that was the deadline that the CB had for ordering the tests. Good luck in finding a seat. My public school has been fantastic to work with - they even proctor exams when my kid is the only one sitting for the exam (and don't charge any extra, either.) It is too bad other homeschoolers have to scramble every year to find a seat. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted December 18, 2017 Share Posted December 18, 2017 If you know someone whose child is taking AP Exams, ask them if they still have their paperwork. It would have the payment deadline. :iagree: My public school lists the form that needs to be completed on their website, so you may not even have to track down a student who attends the school in order to get this info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted December 18, 2017 Author Share Posted December 18, 2017 By way of update, still haven't spoken with the Assistant Principal that orders the AP tests, but a very kind secretary sent me the letter from last year with a total registration link to register and pay online. Apparently sometime in the new year, the Assistant Principal prints out the list, orders the tests and voila. Could it really be this easy? stay tuned... PS this was last year's letter. They're still updating this year's. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 Ugh, just when I think I've got this counselor gig figured out. I called out local high school (very local. Neighborhood kids walk to it. I can see the school buildings from our house.) to find out their schedule for registering for AP. It took many calls to finally catch the correct counselor. She told me that their policy was that they would not permit homeschoolers to take AP tests. Except this is not a district wide policy. I've had kids sit for an AP exam at other district schools. And then she went on to explain that they also didn't allow homeschooled students to take the PSAT at their school. Except that my most recent graduate did in fact take the PSAT at the school I was calling when he was a junior in 2015. She seemed shocked to learn this. This is the same school that hasn't been able to return a signed copy of my notice of intent (submitted in July). Everyone I call to discuss that assures me that they will get right on it, but I never get it back. I understand seating requirements and space availability issues. I understand there is a registration fee for the test. I understand that they aren't required to offer exams that they aren't otherwise proctoring. I just really with they would follow the College Board's encouragement to provide equitable access to the exam opportunity. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted December 19, 2017 Author Share Posted December 19, 2017 Ugh, just when I think I've got this counselor gig figured out. I called out local high school (very local. Neighborhood kids walk to it. I can see the school buildings from our house.) to find out their schedule for registering for AP. It took many calls to finally catch the correct counselor. She told me that their policy was that they would not permit homeschoolers to take AP tests. Except this is not a district wide policy. I've had kids sit for an AP exam at other district schools. And then she went on to explain that they also didn't allow homeschooled students to take the PSAT at their school. Except that my most recent graduate did in fact take the PSAT at the school I was calling when he was a junior in 2015. She seemed shocked to learn this. This is the same school that hasn't been able to return a signed copy of my notice of intent (submitted in July). Everyone I call to discuss that assures me that they will get right on it, but I never get it back. I understand seating requirements and space availability issues. I understand there is a registration fee for the test. I understand that they aren't required to offer exams that they aren't otherwise proctoring. I just really with they would follow the College Board's encouragement to provide equitable access to the exam opportunity. Ugh. So what happened here is that I *inadvertently* seem to have gone around the person officially in charge and via the accidental help of this nice secretary, registered my kid for the AP. she sent me via email the registration instruction letter from last year which had a total registration link, and what do you know, unbeknownst to the assistant principal in charge, there's three options: students that go to the high school, homeschooled students, and students that go to other schools. It was a piece of cake to register and the assistant principal still hasn't returned my calls... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 Ugh. So what happened here is that I *inadvertently* seem to have gone around the person officially in charge and via the accidental help of this nice secretary, registered my kid for the AP. she sent me via email the registration instruction letter from last year which had a total registration link, and what do you know, unbeknownst to the assistant principal in charge, there's three options: students that go to the high school, homeschooled students, and students that go to other schools. It was a piece of cake to register and the assistant principal still hasn't returned my calls... I had been reticent to make a fuss about the lack of acknowledgement of the NOI, because I felt that I needed their cooperation with testing. However, since they claim to have a blanket policy not to consider allowing homeschoolers to test, I feel that there is little at risk. I called one of the big private schools and have a seat for my kid there. I will probably keep fighting the PSAT issue, because that is probably an incorrect statement and something that I feel is very important. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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