Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a new bill into law in June. The recently added law states that public colleges and universities in Texas must accept a three or higher score on all on AP tests.
The goal of the law is to save money for students and universities. If the students receive the credit, they won’t have to pay for the course in college. A state representative, John Zerwas, predicts the bill will save Texas students up to 160 million dollars in tuition.
The law affects any student entering a Texas public college in the fall of 2016 who scored a three on their AP test.
A new law states public colleges in Texas have to accept a three or higher on AP tests. Senior Amelia Jackson plans to study engineering at University of Texas Arlington and the new law will affect her tuition and class load.
“Before this law came out, I studied really hard to get a four or five because I thought I had to,” Jackson said. “People who got a three deserve credit, but if this law would have been passed before I took all those tests I may have studied a little less and dedicated my time to other activities.”
The new law doesn’t affect students planning on attending a private college such as Baylor or Texas Christian University. University of Texas at Austin requires students to score at least a four on 17 out of 31 tests they give credit for. Texas A&M requires a four or higher on 13 tests.
Saumya Gupta, 12, scored a three on her AP Statistics test her junior year and anticipates a new challenge in college.
“Some colleges are at different levels than others,” Gupta said. “The classes may be harder at those colleges.”
There are some concerns that the law might not be preparing students for college courses.
College Board administers the tests and considers a score of three equal to making a C, C plus or B minus on a college course.
AP Environmental Science teacher Michelle Fagan thinks the new law acquires potential for the future.
“I think it’s a good thing, I think students who work hard in AP classes deserve credit. I hope it encourages more students to take AP classes,” Fagan said. “Also colleges may give more credit to students who scored a four or five may get more credit than students who score a three. Students who score a four or five may get two semesters of credit over students who score a three may only get one semester of credit.”
Rowen • Jul 8, 2016 at 1:03 am
No.. passing with a 3 or a 4 or even a 5, shouldn’t matter. The same college credit should be offered.
to all three scores. Some of these scores are from writing an Essay.Not every examiner will score these the same. You might get two who agree it’s a 4 or two different examiners who agree it’s a 3. If it were all multiple choice then this law wouldn’t be necessary.