Were SAT Changes for the Kids or to Help the College Board Make More Money?
Wednesday, the College Board, the group responsible for the SAT, announced changes that included removing difficult vocabulary and making the essay portion of the exam optional. Most news reports accepted the College Board's purported reason for changing the SAT: The non-profit wanted to more accurately reflect the schoolwork completed in high school and needed in college.
The New York Times's headline reported the College Board's goal was for the SAT to "realign with schoolwork." CNN also reported, with little skepticism, that the purpose was to connect the test to high schools and create, in the words of College Board President and CEO David Coleman, "more college-ready students.
Another answer?
Another answer?
But there's another reason to make the test more appealing to students: improving the College Board's financial outlook.
The SAT faces two challenges. First, the ACT, a competing test, has slowly gained market share, even passing the SAT in total number of test takers in 2012 . Second, the trend of "test flexible" universities is spreading, with top-100 schools like the University of Rochester, Brandeis, and Wake Forest accepting alternatives like graded exams, extracurricular activities, or simply high-school GPA.
Why might these trends be a problem? The College Board is a non-profit, but one with a yearly revenue of more than $750 million, according to the group's most recent publicly
Why might these trends be a problem? The College Board is a non-profit, but one with a yearly revenue of more than $750 million, according to the group's most recent publicly