Emma DeWees

Introducing the force of purest good, the hero of the day, the not greedy at all, the amazing, the one and only greatest “nonprofit” of all time—College Board! For a totally-not-wallet-busting low price of $99, you can take a 4-hour-long exam that is half auto-graded by a computer and half precariously human-graded within the span of minutes. At this point, if you find yourself wanting to “donate” even more money to this amazing “nonprofit,” fear not! This knight in shining armor, disguised as a common acorn, also offers the SAT for just $68. You look over yonder to see if any other testing organizations exist that can help you prove your worth to colleges, but all you see are infinite acorn-clad College Boards advancing towards your bank account. As these scoundrels raid your wallet, you helplessly realize the sad reality: College Board is anything but a nonprofit, it is a scam.
College Board has an iron grip on students’ wallets, as they are the definitive organization that provides college-level exams for high schoolers. Under the guise of a “nonprofit,” they are exempt from income taxes, meaning more money lines their own pockets. An article from the Tufts Daily found they make more than $1 billion per year and invest $162 million of that into Caribbean tax havens, as well as $8 million in paychecks for their own executive leaders. Instead of funneling these profits to lowering their test prices, providing more resources for low-income students, or creating new initiatives to provide more tutoring and aid for all students, College Board is mailing their fat paychecks to their own wallets and Captain Jack Sparrow in the Caribbean. Decisions like these cause unimaginable financial stress and disincentivize many students from taking AP tests. Senior at CHS, Samuel Kim, relays his negative experience with College Board.
“Even the reduced prices are crazy,” said Kim. “I had to pay $60 [per test], […] but I still gotta take around three or four of a year, and it’s all coming out of my pocket. […] They are making profit.”
CHS has feebly attempted to combat this issue. Following the example of many school districts, CHS attempted to fully fund AP exams for all students, encouraging more kids to attempt exams by eliminating the most prominent barrier: pay. However, this proposal fell through. Kevin Glavin, freshman and IB English teacher at CHS, provides insight into this issue in an email interview.
“There was [a] leadership discussion about mandating AP exams for all students enrolled in AP classes,” Glavin said. “The staff voted no. There was also discussion about how some schools pay/cover exams for all students. There was never a formal discussion/request for CUSD to pay for all exams, though it was discussed when there was consideration of all students taking AP exams (so that it wouldn’t be a financial burden on those who couldn’t pay or discourage those who couldn’t pay from enrolling in AP classes).”
With hundreds of CHS students depending on policies like these to ease their financial burdens, CHS must take more action to guarantee that financial burdens are alleviated and so that no student is left out of any current aid programs. While there are pros and cons of fully funding AP exams for all students, there is no doubt that some measures must be taken to further aid students financially in their pursuit of higher education. Sadly, “low-income students versus College Board” is a battle that the latter will likely always win; school districts must do everything in their power to ensure the detriments of College Board’s actions do not deeply hinder students in need.
If College Board truly stands by their slogan slapped across their About Us page (“We believe the road to college should come with directions”), then that direction should not be “make a u-turn, and in 300 feet, deposit your life savings into our pockets.” A nonprofit that stands for accessible, higher-level education should encourage students of all socioeconomic standings and backgrounds to pursue their own paths, and that path should not cost a fortune to walk.