Big College Board Is Watching You: is it truly non-profitable and is there a way to change it?
I believe every senior in the nation has a love-hate relationship with the College Board which administrates SAT and SAT subject tests, AP exams in May, and also holds the copyright for publishing different kinds of prep books which include official practice tests. Taking a standardized test from the College Board is fairly common nowadays for students who want to apply for a top university even though a small number of universities, like U Chicago, embrace the policy of having "test-optional" or "test-flexible." Getting a high score, thus usually a qualification to your dream school, is definitely a dream come true, but not everyone could achieve the scores they want in their first try. Behind getting a high score, there is a lot of buying the official materials to practice, taking prep classes outside of school, and then taking the second try or even more, all of which are costly. Also, just thinking about the administration fee for each test: the SAT costs $47.50, the SAT with Essay costs $64.50, and the AP exam costs $105 this year. (YIKES!)
It is not hard to think that the College Board is actually profitable although it claims as "non-profit." According to the Washington Post and Patch, "its former president, Capteron, earned $1.3 million in 2012" and "its current president, David Coleman, earns total compensation of nearly $750,000." At the same time, the College Board earned "a net $44 million through its assessment programs" each year and "spent $1,768,295 on lobbying Congress and other public officials." Based on the 501(c)3 tax exempt status, which allows it to be exempt from federal and state income tax, high compensations at these non-profit organizations, like the College Board and big hospitals, however, are permitted by the US tax code. Also, according to the Goldberg, director to media relation of the College Board, "the College Board contributes more than $75 million in fee waivers to students each year."
Despite the entrance fee waiver to the test, there is a still big affordability issue going around: for example, students who could not afford to have a private tutor or take the prep class are being put into a disadvantaged position when they are taking the same test with students who are prepared with better resources. You may be thinking is there another way to assess students for the college admission purposes in the future without using the medium, such as the College Board? However, currently, the College Board's business has been integrated into a normal highschooler's daily life--the AP classes and preparing SAT and SAT subject tests.
Although for us, this year may be the last year that we need to deal with the College Board. But is there a new method that could make the standardized test have its true equity?
Source:
1. https://patch.com/new-jersey/newbrunswick/bp--the-college-board-a-very-profitable-nonprofit
2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/09/30/how-much-do-big-education-nonprofits-pay-their-bosses-quite-a-bit-it-turns-out/?utm_term=.a51acfb261b0
Photo:
1. https://www.jesuitroundup.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/collegeboard.png
It is not hard to think that the College Board is actually profitable although it claims as "non-profit." According to the Washington Post and Patch, "its former president, Capteron, earned $1.3 million in 2012" and "its current president, David Coleman, earns total compensation of nearly $750,000." At the same time, the College Board earned "a net $44 million through its assessment programs" each year and "spent $1,768,295 on lobbying Congress and other public officials." Based on the 501(c)3 tax exempt status, which allows it to be exempt from federal and state income tax, high compensations at these non-profit organizations, like the College Board and big hospitals, however, are permitted by the US tax code. Also, according to the Goldberg, director to media relation of the College Board, "the College Board contributes more than $75 million in fee waivers to students each year."
Despite the entrance fee waiver to the test, there is a still big affordability issue going around: for example, students who could not afford to have a private tutor or take the prep class are being put into a disadvantaged position when they are taking the same test with students who are prepared with better resources. You may be thinking is there another way to assess students for the college admission purposes in the future without using the medium, such as the College Board? However, currently, the College Board's business has been integrated into a normal highschooler's daily life--the AP classes and preparing SAT and SAT subject tests.
Although for us, this year may be the last year that we need to deal with the College Board. But is there a new method that could make the standardized test have its true equity?
Source:
1. https://patch.com/new-jersey/newbrunswick/bp--the-college-board-a-very-profitable-nonprofit
2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/09/30/how-much-do-big-education-nonprofits-pay-their-bosses-quite-a-bit-it-turns-out/?utm_term=.a51acfb261b0
Photo:
1. https://www.jesuitroundup.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/collegeboard.png
This is a super interesting article and especially relevant to us as high school students! I really thought your idea about the big affordability issue is super important. For those who are able to have a private tutor versus those who can't, a big score difference can be created that is not accurately portraying the varying intelligences and creativity of each of the test takers. According to an article on the New York Times, "generally speaking, the wealthier a student’s family is, the higher the SAT score." This bodes bad news when applying for college as schools take these scores into account and it puts wealthier students at a big advantage. In fact, the correlation between scores and income is listed as "very strong" so can we really say that this test is a good representation of one's intelligence and should be considered in the application for college? Something definitely needs to change in this testing process to help put all students on a level playing field.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/27/sat-scores-and-family-income/
This was a really interesting blog post. To be completely honest, I really feel like standardized tests are not accurate of a student's intelligence and should not be required by most universities. Through my own personal experience, I'm a terrible test taker and my scores were really low. Universities are often taking a holistic approach for the most part nowadays, but as you affirmed, most students feel practically obligated to get the highest score possible. Concerning the idea that the wealthier you are, the higher your score, private tutors teach you how to take the test. Especially with the SAT, that test purposely wants to screw you up and it throws in trick answers meant to confuse. Someone can still be good at math or english, but someone with poor test taking strategies might not do so hot.
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