Thanks a lot, College Board
If you’re a sophomore, junior, or senior, chances are you’ve had some interaction with the College Board. And, if you’re anything like me, that experience hasn’t been great. Between the recent college admissions scandal, the College Board lawsuit, and the fact that the SAT (and other College Board tests) cost upwards of 50 dollars per sitting, College Board is in hot water with students and parents alike. College Board is for-profit, meaning that they make money off of the tests they administer. Not only that, but because the SAT is one of two tests that is needed to apply to college, they can charge students (or their parents) exorbitant amounts of money to take their tests.
I feel like the SAT subject tests are something that don’t get a lot of press, and that makes them even more convoluted. The newly-implemented subject tests are the equivalent of the normal SAT, but they focus on one particular subject. Some schools require them, some schools don’t, and there is absolutely zero explanation from anyone as to why they were created or why they’re required. For example, Georgetown “strongly recommends” taking not one, not two, but three subject tests. And why? Why should I spend my time and money taking these standardized tests? The last thing I want to do is spend my Saturday mornings at Marist for four hours at a time taking tests that will, in the long run, have absolutely zero impact on my life. I can understand why the SAT/ACT is necessary. It gives schools a reasonable estimation of how much you have learned and retained in high school. (I get that this varies; some people are good test-takers, some aren’t. But that’s an article for another time.) But the SAT subject tests seemingly have zero importance or relevance to anything, given that so few schools require or even suggest taking them. So, in my eyes, these tests seem like another way for the College Board to milk us for all we’re worth as high school kids applying to college.
College Board is also in the middle of a class-action lawsuit because people are upset about SAT questions being recycled from test to test. This poses security concerns and students and parents alike were worried about some test-takers having an unfair advantage. Rightfully so! As someone who has taken the SAT (and many College Board-administered SAT practice tests), I would be very upset if other test-takers had an unfair advantage over me. The SAT is also inherently unfair to students who can’t afford to get tutoring for the test. Knowing your strategy is one of the most important things to do when taking the SAT, not to mention figuring out the timing for each section. Tutoring helps students deal with all of these issues, and those who cannot afford to attend a class or a 1-on-1 tutoring session will be inherently disadvantaged.
Not only are the SAT and the subject tests administered by College Board, but so are AP exams. So many high school students choose to take AP’s, and that’s all good and fun until they want to get college credit for their course, which requires that they take the end-of-year exam. Each AP Exam costs $94, and God forbid students want to take more than one. There is absolutely no way that the cost of administering an AP test comes anywhere close to $94. It’s frustrating to me that College Board seemingly strives to make the college application and preparation process even more difficult and expensive for students for their own benefit.
While writing this article, I was waiting on my SAT scores to come back, and I know this is trivial in the scheme of life, but you must understand, dear reader, this is the most nervous I’d ever been for test results. Furthermore, since College Board hasn’t standardized the time that the scores are released, I was left checking my email every 36 seconds (on average) to find out my scores.
I always hear from teachers that the SAT isn’t the be-all-end-all of my highschool career. In 15 years, my SAT score won’t matter. And sure, that may be true in the sense that I could live a perfectly happy life regardless of what score I received. But right now, my SAT score is a major factor in my college admission process, and deciding what school I’ll go to will be the biggest decision I’ve made for myself at this point in my life. So, my SAT score is very important to me and with that it’s endlessly frustrating that College Board holds all the power and yet seems to care so little.
By Caroline Parrish