There is a scam going on nationwide, and it’s targeting students and their parents. Here’s a short list of some of the ridiculous charges: $89 for an AP test, $50 for an SAT 1 test and $23 flat fee plus another $12 for each SAT 2 Subject test. The College Board, a “non-profit,” makes money because it has monopolized the standardized testing market.
Take, for example, the SAT, the dreaded exam that holds so much significance for college admissions. The cost of failing to achieve an “acceptable” score places a huge amount of stress on the shoulders of many hopeful students.
Conversely, the costs of taking, and often times retaking, the SAT I and SAT II Subject Tests place stress on the wallets of parents.
The College Board, like many organizations, needs to make money in order to expand and grow. However, the organization labels itself as “non profit,” a hypocritical and false description. If the College Board wishes to keep true to its name, the test fees should go down.
This price inflation is likely a result of the College Board’s monopoly on the college admission exams, since almost all high school students take multiple tests administered by the College Board.
In 2006, the College Board made $583 million from test fees, but only spent about $528 million paying employees and making internal improvements. At least some of the $55 million surplus went to the salaries of the executives and CEO who make an impressive sum of money.
The higher-ups at the organization are given executive compensation due to the profits that they bring in, despite the company’s “non-profit” status. The company’s executives make over $300,000 a year and the CEO, Gaston Caperton, earns more than $800,000 a year.
Not only does the CEO have a base salary of over $800,000, in 2009, he made $1.3 million with the compensation he received from the company’s surplus profit.
The College Board’s steep costs can also be attributed to paying employees who grade each of these exams by hand.
These graders meet at one location for one week in order to correct these tests. Because of this, the College Board must also provide money for their flights and rooms. As a result of this process, the tests’ costs must be increased as well.
While the cost of printing and distributing millions of sheets of paper is steep, the “non profit” College Board still makes a good amount of money.
The problem with the College Board is not merely the cost of each test it administers, but the claim that it is an organization with no profit motive.
This problem can be alleviated if the College Board simply drops the false “non-profit” claim in its name. If the organization does not wish to remove this title, perhaps it’s time to cut executive costs and save students and parents some money.