LBUSD Helps Cut Exam Costs

Long Beach Unified School District shared big news last week! This year, they will help cut costs for high school students taking AP exams, the PSAT, and the SAT.

Advanced Placement, or AP, classes are offered to students in grades 8-12. They are college-level courses that high schoolers (and some middle schoolers) can take in lieu of accelerated or honors courses. They are worth 5 GPA points instead of 4, and if you pass the College Board exam in May, you are eligible to receive college credit for the class. Some students are able to wipe out a whole year of GE classes and enter college as sophomores. These tests cost $89 a piece, but this year, LBUSD will pay $84 per test. That means that students only pay $5. Isn't that terrific?!

The PSAT provides detailed feedback on skills, access to scholarships and personalized online tools, and excellent practice for the SAT. It costs $14 and is administered to students at their high school campus, but LBUSD is covering the cost for all 10th graders. This gives students at least 12 months to prepare for the SAT using the feedback they received from the PSAT.

As the nation’s most widely used college admission test, the SAT is the first step toward higher education for students of all backgrounds. It’s taken by more than two million students every year and is accepted by virtually all colleges and universities. The SAT tests the reading, writing and math skills that you learn in school and that are critical for success in college and beyond. The SAT also provides the opportunity for you to connect to scholarship opportunities, place out of certain college courses and learn more about your academic strengths. If your 11th grade LBUSD student enrolls in and completes the FREE SAT prep course paid for by the district, the district will also pay for their SAT exam. That saves you $52.50!

Can I get an Amen for that?! See it to believe it here.