Students planning on taking AP Exams this year could potentially earn $125 due to their performance on the exams.

If a student passes an AP exam, they receive an incentive check. The amount of money they receive depends on the score they earn on the exam.  

“AP tests are scored on a 1-5 scale. A score of three is considered passing. Any student who earns a 3 will receive a stipend of $125. Students earning a score of 4 or 5 will receive a $175 stipend,” said Assistant Principal Fred Unsicker.

The state of Indiana pays for the science, math and English exams.  The school currently pays for the remaining exams, such as Studio Art, Music Theory and United States Government and Politics. If a student passes an exam the state does not pay for, the school takes out the cost of the exam from their incentive check.

“Tests are not cheap; they’re about $85 a piece,” said Unsicker. “This stipend is a way of offsetting the cost of tests that the state isn’t paying for.”

However, not everyone approves of this system.

”Several AP students have asked us to modify how we do our incentives program,” said Unsicker. “We are looking to modify our grant and policy so all of the incentive money goes toward the student.”

Students who are taking the AP exams can expect to test May 4 through May 17. Each test is a scheduled for a certain date and time. For more information, visit https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/exam-dates-and-fees.

Story by Chandler Hinton