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Department of Education grant to help Nevada students cover AP exam costs

The U.S. Department of Education will send Nevada a $415,783 grant to help cover the cost of Advanced Placement exams for low-income students.

A news release announcing the grant Tuesday estimates it should pay for all but $15 of the cost of each exam, which students can take to earn college credit while in high school. The College Board, which administers the tests, charges $93 for each exam, though the organization offers a $31 discount to students from low-income households.

In 2003, only 79 low-income students in Nevada completed an advanced placement exam. That participation climbed to 4,762 last year, according to the Nevada Department of Education.

In the Clark County School District, enrollment in advanced placement courses rose from 21,282 in the 2013-14 school year to 24,598 in 2014-15 — a 15.6 percent gain.

The federal department since 2010 has awarded Nevada more than $2.3 million to offset the exam fee for low-income students.

And state lawmakers last year approved $1.2 million for the current biennium to increase student participation in advanced courses, with a focus on teacher preparation and grants to improve test passage rates.

Contact Neal Morton at nmorton@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279. Find @nealtmorton on Twitter.

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