Baesler: Advanced Placement Success Saves Students $2.1M

State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler said Thursday that North Dakota high school students' 2024 Advanced Placement exam results will save them $2.1 million in college tuition costs. The savings are part of a continuing state program that has saved students $11.5 million in college tuition expenses since 2015.

North Dakota students scored 3 or better on 69 percent of their Advanced Placement exams this year, which is the highest rate in the past five years, Baesler said. Advanced Placement courses are scored on a scale of 1 to 5, and scores of 3 or greater can earn students course credit or advanced placement at the college they attend.

North Dakota high schools offer a variety of elective Advanced Placement courses, from biology to history, chemistry, environmental science, mathematics, physics, computer science, English, and literature.

The Department of Public Instruction subsidizes the cost of up to four Advanced Placement exams for each student in math, science, computer science, and English during the student's high school career. The fee for each exam is about $100.

This year, the state paid AP exam fees for 2,073 tests in which students scored 3 or above. If each test is good for four hours of college credit, students will save $2.1 million in tuition costs, Baesler said. North Dakota's University System charges an average of $257 per credit hour.

The AP exam subsidy program dates to 2015, when the North Dakota Legislature approved Baesler's "Leveraging the Senior Year" initiative. Since then, AP exam results have saved North Dakota college students $11.5 million, including the $2.1 million saved in 2024.

The Leveraging the Senior Year program is aimed at broadening high school seniors' options for taking advanced coursework, and at helping seniors avoid remedial college courses by providing extra academic instruction. Advanced Placement classes help high school students prepare for college-level work and demonstrate their readiness for it.

The state pays the fee for every student's first AP exam in math, science, computer science, and English, and at least half of the cost for three additional tests. High school students who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals can have their AP exam costs covered for as many as four courses.

Advanced Placement exams are given annually during the first two weeks of May, with a makeup exam opportunity in the third week of May.

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