ED Announces Grants for Advanced Placement Tests

ED Announces Grants for Advanced Placement Tests: Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced the award of $11 million in grants to 39 states to help them pay the fees for Advanced Placement (AP) tests for low-income students. The program aims to encourage low-income students to take AP or International Baccalaureate (IB) tests and obtain college credit for high school courses, reducing the time and cost required to complete a postsecondary degree. According to the department, the grants complement the president's FY 2009 budget request to increase funding for AP and IB programs to $70 million to "help prepare more educators to teach these challenging classes and encourage more students from high-need schools to take and pass AP courses and tests." To view a list of the 39 states receiving awards visit: http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2008/03/03172008a.html