How exactly does the AP testing process work for homeschoolers?

[EKT]

I live near Columbus, OH and I am trying to find an AP Art History testing site for my daughter for May 2023. My local school district welcomes homeschoolers, but it is small, so unfortunately, they do not offer APAH. They told me to try nearby districts. The next closest district told me they "do not accommodate students outside their district." I'm only getting started, so I'm trying to be optimistic that other schools will respond, but...it feels like a bad omen. 

I've got a handful of other schools that are next on my list; if they turn me down, I will have to start pursuing schools that are a couple hours away (near Cleveland and Cincinnati, respectively). I would love to hear from others who have been successful at getting AP testing for their kids. Can you please describe the process? Once the school agrees, do they order the test for you? Do you need to make a student account on the College Board website or do anything on your end? How do you pay for the test? (Do you pay the College Board directly, or do you pay the school? Do you pay by check, or online, or what? Do you get any kind of confirmation that a test was indeed ordered for your child?) Did you get more than one school to commit? (I guess I'm very worried that a school will tell me yes now, but then forget or change their mind in the fall, and then I'll be in trouble. Obviously, I plan to follow up in the fall, but...I'm wondering if I should find 2 or more schools now, in case one flakes out?) 

My daughter would really love to take the PA Homeschoolers AP Art History class, but I'm very hesitant to sign her up for a $700 course and then not be able to take the test next spring! (Won't it look terrible to colleges for her to take an AP-approved course and then NOT take the exam?) 

Sorry for my rambling; I am feeling frustrated and wondering if APs are worth the trouble. Thanks for any experiences you can share.

[Farrar]

Several things...

One, it does NOT look terrible to colleges if she doesn't take the exam!!! In fact, just taking the class is a huge boon in admissions. The AP exam score can also be a boon, but they understand that lots of students don't send scores. And you can write in your school profile about the limited availability of AP testing sites. It's fine. Have her take the class if it's the right class for her. Don't have her take it if it's not.

The payment is handled by the school where you take the test. They decide what to charge and how you pay it. It can be very individual. Some schools tack on a fee, but it's usually a small one.

The school will give your student an exam code. They do need a College Board account. It will let them access some prep materials and later get their scores. The class will also give your student a code that lets them access these materials. So if you don't have a site, that's not a big deal on that front. The school will handle ordering the exam. Your student basically just shows up at that point.

[EKT]

13 minutes ago, Farrar said:

Several things...

One, it does NOT look terrible to colleges if she doesn't take the exam!!! In fact, just taking the class is a huge boon in admissions. The AP exam score can also be a boon, but they understand that lots of students don't send scores. And you can write in your school profile about the limited availability of AP testing sites. It's fine. Have her take the class if it's the right class for her. Don't have her take it if it's not.

The payment is handled by the school where you take the test. They decide what to charge and how you pay it. It can be very individual. Some schools tack on a fee, but it's usually a small one.

The school will give your student an exam code. They do need a College Board account. It will let them access some prep materials and later get their scores. The class will also give your student a code that lets them access these materials. So if you don't have a site, that's not a big deal on that front. The school will handle ordering the exam. Your student basically just shows up at that point.

Thank you for sharing all of this, Farrar; it is really helpful. I honestly didn't know that the AP class on a transcript could look "good" on its own (without the test). Obviously, I will continue pursuing a testing site, but it makes me feel a little more at ease about signing up for the course. 

The rest of the info is likewise helpful. I really appreciate it!

[mjbucks1]

We live in a suburb of Columbus, too!  Our two oldest took multiple AP exams with our local district.  The high school used to proctor the exams for us, even if they did not offer the exam.  However, now we have a new vice principal and they have stopped proctoring exams if they do not offer the class.

I have several friends in the area that have been searching for schools where there kids can take AP exams.  I know AP Art History is one that is not offered at many schools.  Maybe try Columbus School for Girls or Columbus Academy (I could not tell with CSG, but it look like it is offered at Academy).  You can also check the private Christian schools, but it seems many do not offer as many AP exams (except for the all boys school, St. Charles).  Also, be willing to pay more for a proctoring fee.

You register and pay through the school.  I made sure I was very proactive before the test time to make sure our children did not miss any important info before the test date (and that they arrived at the correct time and place).  One year the school did forget to order the exam for my son, but he took it on the make-up date.  

Praying you have some luck!

[EKT]

4 minutes ago, mjbucks1 said:

We live in a suburb of Columbus, too!  Our two oldest took multiple AP exams with our local district.  The high school used to proctor the exams for us, even if they did not offer the exam.  However, now we have a new vice principal and they have stopped proctoring exams if they do not offer the class.

I have several friends in the area that have been searching for schools where there kids can take AP exams.  I know AP Art History is one that is not offered at many schools.  Maybe try Columbus School for Girls or Columbus Academy (I could not tell with CSG, but it look like it is offered at Academy).  You can also check the private Christian schools, but it seems many do not offer as many AP exams (except for the all boys school, St. Charles).  Also, be willing to pay more for a proctoring fee.

You register and pay through the school.  I made sure I was very proactive before the test time to make sure our children did not miss any important info before the test date (and that they arrived at the correct time and place).  One year the school did forget to order the exam for my son, but he took it on the make-up date.  

Praying you have some luck!

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences; it's helpful to hear how it's worked for you, especially since you're in the Columbus area! (FYI: Bexley High School is the one that turned me down so far.)

Do you happen to know: In Ohio, is this just up to the discretion of the school districts? Are there any laws and rules in place regarding this? Testing issues aren't addressed in the state FAQs. 

Finally: I'd love to know how you went about signing up for any PSATs/SATs/ACTs. My local district has to provide us access to those, right? Did you just call your local high school to sign up for those tests? (My daughter won't need to take them until 2024, but now that I've got testing issues on the brain, I figure I should find out how those work.) Thank you so much for any details you are able to provide! I appreciate the help so much. 

[Farrar]

PSAT = You must take through the school. If your school allows access (sounds like Ohio's law does, which is like Maryland and Virginia's) then it's the same process as the AP exam, but no fees typically.

SAT and ACT = You sign up through the College Board/ACT yourself. All testing sites are open to all students. Sites do not bar homeschoolers. The process for registering a homeschool student is exactly the same as registering any other student.

The only PSAT that matters is the one fall of junior year because it's the National Merit qualifying one. It is NOT worth taking unless your student will do exceptionally well. There is nothing special about the PSAT in terms of practice. It's a waste of time for most students except as practice. So as a homeschooler, it's usually pointless unless your kid will score really well.

[NittanyJen]

2 hours ago, EKT said:

I live near Columbus, OH and I am trying to find an AP Art History testing site for my daughter for May 2023. My local school district welcomes homeschoolers, but it is small, so unfortunately, they do not offer APAH. They told me to try nearby districts. The next closest district told me they "do not accommodate students outside their district." I'm only getting started, so I'm trying to be optimistic that other schools will respond, but...it feels like a bad omen. 

I've got a handful of other schools that are next on my list; if they turn me down, I will have to start pursuing schools that are a couple hours away (near Cleveland and Cincinnati, respectively). I would love to hear from others who have been successful at getting AP testing for their kids. Can you please describe the process? Once the school agrees, do they order the test for you? Do you need to make a student account on the College Board website or do anything on your end? How do you pay for the test? (Do you pay the College Board directly, or do you pay the school? Do you pay by check, or online, or what? Do you get any kind of confirmation that a test was indeed ordered for your child?) Did you get more than one school to commit? (I guess I'm very worried that a school will tell me yes now, but then forget or change their mind in the fall, and then I'll be in trouble. Obviously, I plan to follow up in the fall, but...I'm wondering if I should find 2 or more schools now, in case one flakes out?) 

My daughter would really love to take the PA Homeschoolers AP Art History class, but I'm very hesitant to sign her up for a $700 course and then not be able to take the test next spring! (Won't it look terrible to colleges for her to take an AP-approved course and then NOT take the exam?) 

Sorry for my rambling; I am feeling frustrated and wondering if APs are worth the trouble. Thanks for any experiences you can share.

Have you tried private schools? Our local districts are often really bad about working with homeschoolers here in Delaware, while across the border in PA they are often quite accommodating to anyone in their district boundaries. However, we have always had very good luck with a variety of local private schools. 

I think Farrar answered a lot of your questions already, but just in case…

You pay the school, and the school orders the test for you. Most schools have a testing coordinator who handles everything and will communicate with you directly. Schools probably won’t commit to anything just now, but they aren’t out to trick you, either. But you will have a specific contact person to follow up with in the fall. At this stage in the game, it’s fair to line up more than one school that is likely to offer the test— just establish their registration deadline, and during their test registration time, you pick one school to register and pay. This year as in previous years, the College Board has had some special accommodations for homeschoolers, including a later registration deadline without incurring fees, so if something falls through, you may still be able to get your backup school to order you a test. But don’t order a test at more than one place; the school that orders a test for your student will also register them with an exam only code, and the College Board will notice (and get unhappy) if they try to register for the same exam in more than one school per year— from their perspective, that sounds fishy, rather than prudent.

Your student will also have a College Board account for a classroom only code for the course (issued by the instructor of the course) and it will be super helpful. The College Board classroom area has improved dramatically over the past couple of years, with much better quality and much better organization to yearlong exam prep videos and questions and information. It’s a goldmine of information!

If you are taking a course through PA Homeschoolers and have difficulty registering for an exam, you should definitely have your student communicate this to the instructor in a timely fashion; they might be able to help you locate an accommodating school (no promises, of course, but there is a fair chance).

Good luck!

Jen

AP Statistics/PA Homeschoolers

Honors History of Science/PA Homeschoolers

 

[mjbucks1]

9 hours ago, EKT said:

Finally: I'd love to know how you went about signing up for any PSATs/SATs/ACTs. My local district has to provide us access to those, right? Did you just call your local high school to sign up for those tests? (My daughter won't need to take them until 2024, but now that I've got testing issues on the brain, I figure I should find out how those work.) Thank you so much for any details you are able to provide! I appreciate the help so much. 

For the PSAT, I always contacted our local school in the summer.  They usually register the kids in August when they have their schedule pick-up days.  There is a fee (it was around $18 in the past, but it might have gone up).  I always had our kids start taking the test in 9th grade for practice, even though it does not count for national merit until their junior year (and my oldest was NMF).  Taking the PSAT was never a problem.

As far as ACT/SATs go,  you just sign up for those through College Board (SATs) or ACT.  You can pick your testing site, which can be anywhere that is convenient for you.  It doe not have to be your local high school.

As for Ohio law, allowing for AP testing is up to the discretion of the school as far as I know (I am pretty positive this is the case at least for tests the school does not offer).  I am so sad our school has a new vice principal in charge of testing at our school.  The other two were SO ACCOMMODATING to homeschoolers.  They told me it was their job to help educate ALL children in the district, even if they were homeschooled!

Good luck finding a school.  Like Farrar said, it will still look good on a transcript to take the course even if your daughter can not take the exam (and you can explain why she could not take the exam when applying to colleges).  But I really hope you can find a school that will allow it.    

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Ultimately we had better results approaching private high school, unless there was an explicit legal requirement for public school to allow homeschoolers to test. 

A few years ago, College Board shifted test registration to fall. High schools can still do late registration and are specifically asked to do so for homeschoolers, but many are (understandably) reluctant to submit another round of test orders for non-enrolled students. 

I often had good results by asking someone saying they couldn't help to suggest a school that might be open to outside registrations. 

[EKT]

You ladies are amazing; this information is so incredibly helpful. Thank you so, so much. I will keep you posted on my progress!

[Dmmetler]

A private girl’s high school was very supportive here, but that was pre-COVID.