The final year of monetary incentives is upon AP test takers. Under the current grant that has provided the monetary incentive for students, the fall of 2016 will be the third and final time that these students receive the $100 for each test they pass, unless a new grant or source of funding is found.  Keep in mind, not all AP tests were eligible for the monetary incentive; it was mostly limited to math, science, and English AP tests.

Now the question arises of how removing the monetary reward for students will affect the test scores. One high achieving senior, Sabrina Chen, believes, “The learning will still be there with the same amount of AP students being enrolled, but it won’t have that same excitement at the end.” Students will take the AP exams because of the appeal of the college credit for the course and for course weight that affects class rankings. They also will take courses simply because they’re interested in learning a subject.  AP Psychology is proof that many students will still enroll in a course because it is what interests them, even when there’s no monetary incentive.

Besides, there are other types of rewards.

AP statistics teacher Ms. Dupree offers a different kind of reward for her successful students. In 2010, she started a tradition in which students who score a 5 on the test get the opportunity to sign and decorate their chosen brick on the wall. But with recent renovations and the signatures painted over, Ms. Dupree now rewards her students with names and test year on silver plates, and she allows the students to hang them on the wall of her classroom. Those of previous years (the ones painted over) have been transferred to the plates as well. This legacy wall facilitates a sense of community within her class and also a feeling of competition between her students. Her gift to her students who did very well on the AP exam brings a sense of accomplishment for those who put in the long hours of studying to earn a 5. Competitions like this are a fantastic tool for motivation for students who are in the top echelon of AP test takers.