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Several of the schools we've used closed registration by mid Feb. even in Virginia where they were pretty homescho friendly locally, there was about a two week window to register and pay that was well over by March 1.

 

I have usually started in January or February with calling around to identify willing schools. This year I plan to line up spots in the fall at least for Latin because only one local school offers it. (Meaning one school in the state.) Fortunately they were helpful last year so I'm hopeful.

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I've told the story here before about our travails with Latin in 2014.

 

We live in an area with a good number of schools that give it, but when I called, their deadlines had already passed in December and January. I was going by what the College Board said on their website, and it was WRONG.

 

I think I called nearly every public and private school in our metropolitan area and beyond before I found one that agreed to give it. The one we ended up with was over an hour away in a much more rural area and had been giving any test to folks from a local cottage school whether their own students took or not. That was actually the last year they did that though. They sent me a letter in June 2014 that they were only going to be giving the tests that they were already giving and only to in-district homeschooled students from that point forward.

 

Thankfully no problem with this round because the ones we need line up with what the local high school is already giving. But I did call this week, and they said to call in December because they're focused on PSAT registration right now. 

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The College Board should really provide open "test centers"  in affiliation with perhaps local community colleges (which have these facilities already) for AP, SAT subject matter tests in medium to large cities.  They would charge a sitting fee to pay for the proctor and room.  High schools with small AP programs could opt to use these test centers as well.

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The College Board should really provide open "test centers"  in affiliation with perhaps local community colleges (which have these facilities already) for AP, SAT subject matter tests in medium to large cities.  They would charge a sitting fee to pay for the proctor and room.  High schools with small AP programs could opt to use these test centers as well.

 

Yes, I agree for the APs but not the SAT II's. There shouldn't be an issue with homeschoolers taking any SAT II as long as it is on the schedule. Some of them like Latin are only offered a few times a year.

 

Taking SAT II's isn't as much an issue because you register online with the College Board just like the regular SAT and have nothing to do with the high school other than showing up. The proctors just seem to have a list of names and tests that they track that day. When my oldest took his Latin SAT II, he said that the other kids that were doing it with him were all from the prep schools. He only knew that because several chatted with him afterwards about where he had taken Latin. The local public schools offer Latin, but don't go far enough for the SAT II.  

 

When you register for an AP, you register with the high school. That's the issue.

 

We did CLEP tests at the community college, and it was easy. We registered online with the College Board, and then made an appointment with the community college. They usually do CLEP tests Friday mornings as long as it is not right before the semester starts when they are swamped with placement testing or at the end of the semester when they giving proctored finals to the online students.  They charged $30 for proctoring.

 

One of the private schools I called about AP testing now wants $250 for outside students as a proctor fee, and for the parent to be on campus during the entire exam. That's pushing the limits IMHO.

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Arranging AP exam locations is so stressful! Oddly enough, the one exam I never could find a location for was World History...our local schools only offer it every other year, and we are in a geographically isolated place, so the only option would have been flying out of state.

Schools here tend to alternate World and Euro.

 

I learned (too late) that the high school we're zoned for alternates Comparative Government and Politics with US GoPo. We are off-cycle :rolleyes:

 

(Of course, I don't know if that high school allows outside students. I probably would have raised a stink at City Council and school board meetings if they didn't allow dd, considering how rare the exam is...)

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If you are calling for Comparative Government, I am right there with you. The first of the year, may even be too late for some of the schools in our area. March is definitely way too late.

 

Last year three schools 45-75 minutes away appeared on the Course Ledger for Comp. I have no idea if they actually offered the exam or not. I sure hope so...

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Yes, I agree for the APs but not the SAT II's. There shouldn't be an issue with homeschoolers taking any SAT II as long as it is on the schedule. Some of them like Latin are only offered a few times a year.

 

Taking SAT II's isn't as much an issue because you register online with the College Board just like the regular SAT and have nothing to do with the high school other than showing up. The proctors just seem to have a list of names and tests that they track that day. When my oldest took his Latin SAT II, he said that the other kids that were doing it with him were all from the prep schools. He only knew that because several chatted with him afterwards about where he had taken Latin. The local public schools offer Latin, but don't go far enough for the SAT II.  

 

When you register for an AP, you register with the high school. That's the issue.

 

one consistent policy would be nice for all testing

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Last year three schools 45-75 minutes away appeared on the Course Ledger for Comp. I have no idea if they actually offered the exam or not. I sure hope so...

 

I found the course ledger to be nearly useless in 2014. Several schools told me that they put in paperwork for as many as possible "in case" but hadn't given some of them in years.

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I found the course ledger to be nearly useless in 2014. Several schools told me that they put in paperwork for as many as possible "in case" but hadn't given some of them in years.

I had the same issue in Hawaii. I ran into schools with AP Euro on the books that had shifted to being IB schools with no intention of AP exams outside languages. I couldn't find a single public school doing Euro on my island. Kauai might still have had one. That was with the state DOE coordinator for AP helping me find a site. (She was able to connect me with a helpful private school.)

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I called a few schools and the one that allows for homeschoolers said they open signup for their students first in the beginning of April!! and then allow homeschool students to signup mid April. Does this seem ridiculous? The test we want is on May 6th. Should I just keep calling starting in like December?

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