MCPS to stop paying for AP, IB test fees for some students 

Changes align with Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, MCPS says

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July 23, 2026 12:08 p.m.

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Students who do not meet state qualifications for College and Career Readiness will have to pay their Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate testing fees for the 2026-2027 school year after Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) changed rules surrounding who it will be paying for in the upcoming school year.  

“MCPS covered the AP/IB exam fees up until the end of 2025-26 school year. The changes for this upcoming year are in alignment with the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future,” MCPS spokesperson Liliana López said in a July 14 email to Bethesda Today.  

The state’s definition for College and Career Readiness is a metric students can meet through a mix of taking assessments such as the SAT and earning certain grades in courses. According to the Blueprint website, the state aims to have all students meet the standard by the end of their 10th grade year, but most of the standards are geared toward 11^th and 12^th graders.  

While it is unclear how many students will be impacted, the changes will likely mostly impact ninth and tenth graders.  

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According to López, in order for MCPS to pay for students’ exams in full, the students must be enrolled in the AP or IB course, be taking the exam for the first time and meet the state qualifications for College and Career Readiness.  

Students who qualify for Free And Reduced Meals (FARMS), a measure of poverty, will pay for 50% of their fees if they do not qualify for College and Career Readiness.  

“Regardless of eligibility for exam funding, students are responsible for paying late-registration fees and no-show fees,” López added.  

In August 2025, the county school board adopted a 2026 legislative platform that advocated for “relief from Blueprint-required funding of AP/IB exams.” According to the August documents, in 2025 prices per exam cost $90 for AP exams, $138 for AP Capstone exam and $124 for IB exams. In 2026, the fees for AP exams were $99, according to the college board website.  

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López said MCPS paid $4,184,063 for 48,923 exams in May 2026. The district also paid $605,666 for 6,730 IB exams in May 2026.  

According to the August 2025 document, of the nearly 49,000 exams MCPS paid for in fiscal year 2026, about 9,000 of those exams were taken by students who are eligible for FARMS. 

The change in exam costs for students comes in the midst of MCPS shifting rules about when it pays for dual enrollment classes.  

After a $1.4 million reduction in funds for dual enrollment classes in MCPS, roughly 9% of MCPS students enrolled in the college classes may need to pay hundreds of dollars in tuition and fees for the courses. 

“Students who are eligible to participate in dual enrollment through Montgomery College’s (MC) placement process but do not meet the [College and Career Readiness] designation may have initial access and still enroll in college courses; however, they will be responsible for tuition, fees, instructional materials, textbooks, and other college course-related costs,” MCPS said in a frequently asked questions page about the change.   

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine