February 14, 2011

TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:

SUBJECT: Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate Incentive Program – Funded Components for School Year 2010-2011

The Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate (AP/IB) Incentive Program was enacted in 1995 by the 74th Texas Legislature to emphasize the state’s commitment to high academic performance. Through this initiative, AP/IB academic programs have expanded dramatically. In 2010, 311,282 AP and IB exams were taken by Texas public school students, approximately 99,834 of those by students with financial need. These numbers indicate a continuation of the steady growth in participation experienced in Texas over the past 15 years and can be attributed to the commitment of the Texas Legislature and Texas educators and students who strive to meet the demands offered by challenging academic programs. Funding allocated to the AP/IB Incentive Program by the 81st Texas Legislature will enable the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to continue to fund two of the following three components of the program.

• Test Fee Subsidies: In order to promote the growth of AP/IB programs in the state, TEA will continue to fund test fee subsidies by assuming $30 of the fee for each AP/IB exam taken by eligible Texas high school students. To be eligible for this incentive program component, students must have taken an authorized AP/IB course or be recommended by their principals to take the exam. TEA pays its $30 share of the examination fee directly to the vendor or the district. Campuses and districts should not collect this portion of the exam fees from the students.
  
  AP students with financial need will receive exam fee reductions from the College Board (CB), and (pending availability of United States Department of Education [USDE] grant funds) AP/IB students with financial need will receive additional exam fee subsidies from TEA. The exact amount of those subsidies will be announced upon the notification of grant award from the USDE.
• Teacher Training Reimbursements: TEA will continue to fund teacher training reimbursements of up to $450 per teacher who completes a 30-hour Pre-AP/AP TEA-approved training or an official IB teacher training workshop. Teachers are eligible for this reimbursement biennially (every other school year). Teachers eligible for teacher training reimbursements include those who teach AP or IB courses at any grade level, as well as teachers of grades 6 - 11 who teach a course that meets the following criteria:
  • Goes beyond the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) in depth and complexity
  • Is appropriately rigorous to prepare students to be successful in AP or IB courses
  • Is part of a vertical system of courses that ends with a specific AP or IB course (i.e., a Pre-AP English course that leads directly to AP Language and Composition)
• Campus Awards: Due to budgetary constraints, TEA will not be able to fund campus awards for each student who scores three or above on an AP examination or four or above on an IB examination for the 2010-2011 school year.

Detailed instructions for completing the required applications for each component of the Incentive Program will be provided as they become available. District personnel with AP/IB program responsibilities should join the AP/IB Incentives Listserv by visiting http://miller.tea.state.tx.us/list/ in order to stay informed about program requirements and the latest incentive developments.

The commitment to educational excellence by Texas educators and students is evident in the growth and success of the AP/IB Program, and we hope that the funding of these components strengthens programs even further. For more information about the program and the funded components, please visit the TEA Advanced Academics website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=3822 or contact Debbie Gonzales, Assistant Director of Advanced Academics, at (512) 463-9581 or via e-mail at debbie.gonzales@tea.state.tx.us.

Sincerely, Anita Givens
Associate Commissioner
Standards and Programs