The big business of the SAT

By Carol Costello and Bob Ruff

During the 1950s, My Line was a popular television show featuring celebrity panelists trying to guess the occupation or identity of a real person. The panelists were given a hint and then asked the person a series of questions.

Imagine this. Had the panelists been asked to guess the name of an American organization based on the following hints, how many would have guessed correctly? And how many would have guessed that it a nonprofit organization?

Its business is education.

Its president makes roughly $900,000 in salary, benefits, and perks.

12 of its executives make more than $300,000 in salary and benefits.

Total yearly revenues hover near $600 million.

Students are its main consumers and it charges them $45 each time they use the featured product.

If a student wants the product faster, he moncler online store gets charged more.

If a student wants detailed information on the product, he gets charged more.

And if if the student wants cheap moncler jackets womens to buy by phone, that extra too.

If you followed our Morning series this week you may have already guessed moncler outlet sale that we talking about the College Board, which owns the SAT test required for entry into the cheap moncler jackets nation most competitive colleges. Critics say that that with its highly paid executives and big business outlook, the College Board doesn look or act very much like a nonprofit educational institution moncler sale that earns tax benefits from the IRS.

Fairtest is a consumer watchdog group that opposes most standardized tests. It has criticized the SAT as a test that isn fair to students who can afford college prep classes designed to the test. The group also says the College Board is placing more emphasis on making money than fulfilling its mission to connect students college success and opportunity with a moncler outlet store commitment to equity and access. https://www.cheapmoncler.com so fast, says the College Board. All revenues from our products, services or grants are re invested into improved or additional services that support our mission. of the the organization cheap moncler coats mens revenues, says Laurence Bunin, the board senior vice president for operations, go to programs and services. Each year we give away 30 40 50 million dollars worth of free services to low income students. cheap moncler jackets mens right?

Is the College Board justified in paying big salaries to attract moncler sale online and retain talented people to improve the SAT? And are all the board money making activities a good thing if it continues to funnel free services to deprived students? Or, as Fairtest suggests, has the board lost site of its original mission by spending too much time and energy generating revenue?

There a lot at stake. More than a million students take the SAT each year.

Originally posted September 1, 2009.

The SAT, ACT, and GRE are all about determining the pattern that fits the question. If moncler outlet woodbury you do not believe this, uk moncler outlet then ask yourself why you are not allowed to use a calculator for algebra or any other moncler outlet online math section. Yes, I think there is some skill needed for doing this long hand, but we are allowed calculators in class, they are even REQUIRED for upper level classes.

I have taken all three of these exams multiple times (and received good scores) however, they do not measure your intelligence or your ability to be successful. If they do, then why do they tell you to choose moncler usa the answer instead of the answer? Because the answer uk moncler sale is debatable, whereas the answer is subjective. This is also the case with any comprehension question or witting section, all you get is a score where is the published criteria for how that score was achieved? They consider it data In other words, it confidential and you have to TRUST them. Does that sound like RATIONAL LOGICAL exam criteria?

If you look at entrance requirements into Universities, more and more are placing less and less weight on these exams and are taking a holistic approach to applicants. Good moncler outlet radiance to them all.

The college board provides a service to colleges and universities and they pay for that service. Students and parents pay for the information that is provided by the exam. Does it predict college success, no. Does it provide some students and colleges with information that helps them with selecting some students, yes. Does America like to sort and select folks, yes. So the non profit, college board continues to keep in place our need to sort and select people and tries to help some students who can understand that taking this exam is another way to sort folks.

I took the SAT last year and it doesn help you at moncler sale outlet all like moncler uk outlet many other people have said it only tests you on how well you take a test. Now I am a terrible test taker no matter if I know the material or not. I even took classes and bought that so called prep book which did nothing for me. I got a low score despite all of my prepping moncler outlet prices and the schools I applied to only saw that score non of them even cared to look at how awesome my grades are or what I have done to help out my family or anything. They only gave a crap about that score. It really a blow when you a smart kid and you get shot down by colleges that see that crap test as reflection of your ability to succeed (or not) in their school.

January 15, 2010 at 11:59 am

I so glad to see that many of these posts that make claims about standardized testing are based solely upon a person belief. For example, the SAT and ACT do not have any pattern to the discount moncler jackets correct answer, that is nothing more than a sales pitch by such nice places that help you as cheap cheap moncler jackets moncler sale Kaplan and Princeton Review. And it is surprising that people are upset of $900,000 when execs on Wall Street are still making that much in just a fraction of the year while taxpayers are bailing out those companies. Tests do not dumb down curriculum, in fact they are need more now than ever because the curriculum moncler womens jackets has been dumbed down.

December 29, 2009 at 7:39 am

There are several problems with the executive salaries.

1 They are a non profit. As a non profit there is an idea best moncler jackets that someone is doing this for the higher good. Is the money in the organization really doing good or is it just a money making machine and they are avoiding paying taxes by being a non profit.