Recently, AP and IB forms have been due in order to sign up and pay for tests. And although the tests themselves aren’t the problem at the moment, the mere cost of them have left students shocked.
Each IB test costs $135, so for students in the IB program this really adds up. As I gave my form to my parents to sign, the total cost for all my tests was $675. This great sum of money, when adding in the IB and AP tests I have already taken, has a total of close to $1000! This feels quite ridiculous, and other students feel the same way, specifically seniors who’ve had to take 6 or more AP and IB tests.
“I definitely think that the expenses restrict students from even being able to participate in these programs,” said senior Zander Davis. “It creates a sense of exclusivity, which is very restricting.”
Senior Lena Abbott agrees, and says that it doesn’t reflect the goals of the IB Program. “IB is supposed to be an inclusive program, and with these prices it doesn’t stand for this.”
“If you’re in the IB program, the cost of these tests really rack up throughout two years, and it’s really inconvenient for some people.” adds senior Ava Hanson.
AP tests, although cheaper, still have steep prices for students. Each AP test costs $99, so students who take a mix of AP and IB classes are still charged quite a lot just to take a 3 hour test on a random Tuesday in May.
Why is it so expensive?
So, why are these tests so expensive? Some justification to these prices are the fact that specialized academic panels create new, rigorous tests each year, and college faculty and high school AP teachers travel to manually grade writing portions. This travelling requires compensation for food and housing, which can become very expensive for CollegeBoard and the IBO.
Specifically, with IB, additional examinations are taken via Internal Assessments or Individual Orals, which must be crossed-marked by global external examiners. Schools themselves have to pay for IB training and compliance fees for the IBO to be certified as an official International Baccalaureate school.
Why should you even take AP/IB tests?
Many students look over the price of these tests due to the benefits they receive with the chances of gaining college credit. Colleges that accept both IB and AP credit can allow students to skip any foundational classes and go straight into university as a sophomore or even junior in college!
A single college credit at a university costs between $300-$500, so in the grand scheme of things the tests you can take for credit are half of this price, saving families thousands of dollars. Fee reductions, although less common, are also available to students who need it.
Even though there is justification for these prices, I’m still confused on how it costs over $100 to take a test that thousands globally also have to pay for. How much of this money is “extra”, where the IB Organization and CollegeBoard can profit off of and not use it for the tests themselves? Are they overcharging us, or do they really need this much money to fund their exams?
