Advanced Placement and Industry Certification Exam Fee Pilot Programs: Conclusions and Policy Considerations
December 2015
Author: Amanda Klefehn
Public Chapter 351 (2013) created a two-year pilot program to pay the cost of Advanced Placement (AP) and Industry Certification exam fees at pilot schools across the state. The state appropriated $200,000 for the program, which was designed and administered by the Tennessee Department of Education. The program consisted of the AP Exam Fee pilot, which included the AP Math pilot (fees paid for AP math exams) and the AP Knox County pilot (fees paid for all AP exams), and the Industry Certification Exam Fee pilot. Each pilot had the same goals: increase course enrollment, increase exam participation, and increase exam success. Public Chapter 351 also required the Comptroller’s Offices of Research and Education Accountability to report on the effectiveness of the pilot program and either make recommendations regarding the potential statewide expansion of the pilot or suggest that more study is needed. This report includes findings from the pilot program and policy considerations.