By Reid Heavner,
Staff Writer.
Effective for the 2026 testing season, AP test prices were raised by $30, and later reduced by $29 following student outcry. To cover increased costs of providing tests, the College Board raised their prices by $1, and to cover the cost of hiring a test proctor, our school administration raised their price by $29. Responding to outrage and controversy around the price hikes, our school administration has decreased the price back down to $91, just $1 more than last year.
The initial price spike was prompted by the need for a test proctor. Last year was the first time that administrators were forced to cover the role of test proctor, and testing was noticeably less smooth. Having administrators working two full-time jobs at once was not reasonable and administrators were unable to focus their full efforts on the tests.
The solution for this year is hiring a dedicated test proctor. Since our district is in such a difficult financial crisis, the money to hire a proctor was originally supposed to come from $30 in additional fees added to AP test costs. This is what caused the initial $29 price increase, but many students and teachers responded with outrage. “I was very concerned when I heard about the price going up so dramatically, by essentially 20 or 30% without students having known that before signing up for AP classes this year,” said AP English Language and Composition teacher Hollis Fennen.
Responding to backlash following the price increase, our school administration found room in an already tightly strained budget to cover the cost of proctoring the exams. This means that test prices are firmly set at $91, the price that the College Board demands. Students from disadvantaged families can seek an additional price reduction to $62 per test as the College Board offers, or to $5 which would be covered by our school. Each test reduced to $5 would leave the school to pay $57, even when the student only pays $5. However, school administrators have commented that the funding to keep subsidizing these tests will most likely run dry by next year due to budget cuts.
Though the initial price increase was unfortunate, our school is thankfully dedicated to providing a professional and accessible testing environment for all students. This is exactly the kind of situation that a budget crisis makes difficult, but this year we have funding and support.
