FOR RELEASE: |
News Media Contact: Melinda Malico |
Thousands of students from low-income backgrounds will have access to Advanced Placement (AP) tests under grants to states announced today by U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige. Eighteen states, the District of Columbia and Guam applied for the AP Incentive Program grants and will share in $6.5 million to encourage students from low-income backgrounds to prepare for and take AP tests.
"College entrance exams reveal that young people who take challenging classes, such as Advanced Placement courses, perform better than their peers regardless of their family or financial background," Paige said. "Taking the harder classes is one of the keys to academic success. These grants can help encourage students to challenge themselves and help our schools to close the achievement gap between students from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers."
In order to be eligible for the grants, states were asked to describe:
- the fees the state will pay with award funds and how many students are expected to benefit;
- how low-income students will be identified and deemed eligible;
- how the availability of test fee payments will be promoted through high school teachers and counselors; and,
- how the effectiveness of the program will be measured within each state.
In addition to the benefits AP courses offer by strengthening high school achievement, most colleges and universities award college credit to students who pass advanced placement tests—saving tuition costs and allowing such students to be accepted more readily by the college of their choice.
The AP fee payment grants to states are authorized by the Higher Education Amendments of 1992, Title XV, Part G. Grant funds per state were made on the basis of Census Bureau counts of poor children ages 5-17 used under the Title I program for disadvantaged children.
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NOTE TO EDITORS: Following is a list of states, contacts and grant amounts.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT INCENTIVE PROGRAM AWARDS
CALIFORNIA Sacramento |
California Department of Education Contact: Ron Fox, (916-323-6134) |
$800,000 |
DELAWARE Dover |
Delaware Department of Education Contact: Mercedes Ferrari, (302-739-4885) |
276,750 |
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | District of Columbia Public Schools Contact: Heather Sondel, (202-442-5648) |
273,646 |
FLORIDA Talahassee Main |
Florida Department of Education Contact: Thomas Baird, (850-922-4678) |
548,783 |
GUAM Hagatna |
Guam Department of Education Contact: Eloise Sanchez, (671-475-0444) |
34,140 |
IOWA Des Moines |
Iowa Department of Education Contact: Roseanne Malik, (515-281-3199) |
19,250 |
KENTUCKY Frankfort |
Kentucky Department of Education Contact: Nancy LaCount, (502-564-4772) |
206,500 |
MASSACHUSSETS Malden |
Massachusetts Department of Education Contact: Richard Salus, (781-338-6252) |
73,140 |
MARYLAND Baltimore |
Maryland State Department of Education Contact: Carolyn Cooper, (410-767-0336) |
284,480 |
MISSISSIPPI Jackson |
Mississippi Department of Education Contact: Wendy Tucker, (601-359-2586) |
276,617 |
NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh |
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Contact: Wandra Polk, (919-807-3816) |
306,144 |
NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck |
North Dakota Department of Public Instruction Contact: Anita Decker, (701-328-1718) |
11,000 |
NEW JERSEY Trenton |
New Jersey State Department of Education Contact: Robert Higgins, (609-777-0800) |
479,536 |
NEW YORK Albany |
New York State Education Department Contact: Mary Daley, (518-474-8773) |
860,000 |
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City |
Okalahoma State Department of Education Contact: Christy Ehlers, (405-521-4287) |
483,640 |
PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg |
Pennsylvania Department of Education Contact: Thomas Persing, (717-783-1330) |
150,000 |
SOUTH DAKOTA Pierre |
South Dakota Department of Education Contact: Jim Hauck, (605-773-4712) |
7,650 |
VERMONT Montpelier |
Vermont Department of Education Contact: Bud Meyers, (802-828-5101) |
143,378 |
WEST VIRGINIA Charleston |
West Virginia Department of Education Contact: Donna Miller, (304-558-7880) |
251,021 |
WISCONSIN Madison |
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Contact: Leonard Kavajecz, (715-682-2363) |
998,854 |
TOTAL |
$6,484,530 |
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