SAT and all that is related to it are a significantly stressful but necessary challenge for students. It would be impossible for a college's admission board to meaningfully get to know everyone applying to their school. It would be way too much work on their end and the student's end. The SAT and other tests are a way for colleges to know what an applicant is like quickly.
However, the standardness that allows colleges to understand it quickly makes it a difficult measure of the complexity of actual people. It is unfair to judge everyone on only one thing that contains more advantages to some. For example, in our area, there are many SAT prep classes available, which typically range from $500-Thousands of dollars, which many students take especially at Los Altos High School. However, take an area such as small towns in the South or the Midwest–not only are there no test prep courses, but the people who live in these areas cannot afford them either.
The same applies to aspects such as taking tests and AP classes as well. In more affluent areas, many AP courses are offered, while in less affluent areas, there are few, if any. In fact, AP exam fees are also very expensive and they've been increasing from $83 in 2007 to $95 in 2018. As we've seen with the increasing costs this year, they are only getting higher. SAT Tests also cost upwards of ~$50 as well to take each test. And to send these scores to colleges, they cost $12 for each college.
In fact, even applications for financial aid cost money. For example, the CSS Profile is something that many colleges require in order to apply for financial aid to their school. It costs $25 for the first report sent and an additional $16 for each additional college receiving the information.
While fee waivers can help individuals take these tests, the access to taking these tests is limited as with the offerings from schools and the test prep techniques. Some students cannot afford to study for long intervals and go to expensive test prep places. Some students don't even have the resources to take APs as schools don't offer them. The CollegeBoard claims to be a nonprofit organization, but one with $1.1 billion in cash and investments. (so much for a 'not-for-profit' organization)
While there are definitely exceptions to this reality with low-income students getting high scores and going to Ivy Leagues, the true reality of CollegeBoard suggests what I have indicated in this blog post. It helps those who have resources and the support necessary to apply to colleges and take these tests. It hurts those who don't have as many resources and puts them, ultimately, in lower standings as compared to their more affluent pairs. This, in turn, helps push the economic inequalities that already exist.
Sources:
https://www.financialsamurai.com/its-time-to-ban-the-sat-and-the-college-board/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2019/05/16/four-reasons-why-the-college-boards-new-adversity-score-is-a-bad-idea/#38aaff506c0e
I think what the CollegeBoard is doing is similar to how the larger nations keep benefitting from capitalism, while the poorer countries keep losing. Not every person or every country has the same opportunities, and when we don't address that issue, the difference keeps becoming more extreme. For example, instead of providing fee wavers for standardised tests that some people don't even have the resources to take, we could just make them unnecessary. Just providing financial aid, whether it be to individuals or foreign aid for countries, is not going to help anything in the long run. It anything, it makes people more dependent on that aid because it's not actually helping the issue. This is probably one reason that the CollegeBoard makes so much money.
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting that the CollegeBoard is deemed a nonprofit organization. I wonder how valid this is. As you noted, they charge a large fee per test. With students taking multiple SAT/APs a year this fee can often round up to a whopping $300 (or more) only allowing the more affluent students to benefit and thus they often have an absolute advantage. I have recently heard about college board creating a section where people are essentially scored on privilege. This privilege factor would take into account race, income, parent's education level, and where people go to school. It would be seen as a separate score from the test. I wonder if Collegeboard implementing this score would help level the playing field in terms of colleges viewing the score or if it would essentially have little to no effect on what colleges think of a student's capabilities.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great blog post because it really addresses an important issue when it comes to things like standardized testing, and that's the gap in education between classes. In our higher class area, we have so much access to information, classes, books, resources, everything, and many of us have healthier home lives where we don't have to worry about food on the table or rent for next month. This gives us the ability to be completely focused on school if need be, which is a huge advantage. Our test schools are higher, we get more money, and most of us get into good schools. In poorer areas, the lack of resources combined with the lack of a stable home life can cause worse test scores and less money being given to the school. This is an issue that has to be addressed if we ever want to have equal education for all.
ReplyDeleteThis was interesting to read as it is about a topic that is very relevant to most of our lives. I do not understand how the College Board can call itself a non-profit when it is clearly making money from the costs of tests (which it keeps raising). There is also the question of the integrity of these tests. As seen by the college scandal, these tests provide more ways for wealthier families to pay their students' way to college. Another question is the integrity of the tests. The College Board can't just keep giving the same tests, so some tests end up being easier than others. This usually causes student's scores to be lower from what they would've been on a different version of the test. For students who cannot afford to take these tests multiple times this is a huge disappointment and extremely unfair. When education is so important, we can not leave it in the hands of big "non-profit" organizations like the College Board.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget the GRE! The Collegeboard holds a monopoly over the entire US education system, violating the fundamental ideals of Capitalism. The ACT doesn't even bother to compete, rather it is a similar alternative, with the same price as the SAT.
ReplyDeleteLook at the AP student system they introduced this year. You can't even navigate the site without it constantly refreshing and bringing you back to the home page.
I really apprecitate the different angles you took with this. While the beggining arguments about standardized testing and how it doesn't represent students well is common, you really took a shift focusing on the prices. The single topic of college board lead to a spark in economic inequality with AP testing not being offered in areas with more poverty. I really feel that you covered all angles.
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting read! I strongly agree with all of your points and concur with the fact that standardized tests like the SAT, which can decide which college you go to, are difficult and expensive to prepare for, thus advantaging certain groups of people. It's hard to maintain perspective in this area, one of the richest areas in the country, and with such access to such high quality education. However, it's important to think about other, less fortunate students who still deserve an excellent education regardless of whether or not they are able to get a 1500 on the SAT.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a very relevant topic to many of us as we are going through the college admissions process. What I wonder however are how the laws that dictate what is and is not a non-profit are set up. It seems to me if the United States were to adopt more socialist policies, the College Board would certainly raise red flags in their system. $47.50 is a lot for families to pay, and research has found that SAT scores correlate more with income than anything else. I wish there was an alternative to privatized standardized testing that everyone would agree with but we haven't found it yet.
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting, especially because it is so relevant to all of our lives. With CollegeBoard requiring us to sign up for APs in the fall instead of in January/February now, it also allows them to earn more money. Seniors who get in to a college early may not want to take certain AP tests because they won't receive credit, but because they have to sign up for AP tests before they hear back from colleges now, they need to sign up for all of their APs (and pay!) if they want the choice of being able to take those APs in the spring.
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