In a push to prepare more low- income students for college or a career, the U.S. Department of Education last week awarded $28.4 million in grants to help defray the cost of taking Advanced Placement tests.
The grants, which range from $22,000 for Vermont to $10.6 million for California, will be doled out to 38 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands. They are expected to cover all but $12 of the cost of each AP test taken.
By subsidizing test fees for low-income students, department officials said, the program is intended to encourage those students to take AP tests and obtain college credit for high school courses.
