f you’re wondering how even in a deadly global pandemic, standardized tests like the ACT and SAT are still surviving, like education “zombies,” just follow the money.
• Over $1.7 billion is spent on standardized testing in the US each year.
• Another $669 million is spent on elementary assessments.
• Between $34-65 per student per year is spent by the states on standardized testing.
• It costs $68 to register for SAT w/essay; $67 for ACT w/writing (college admissions exam). This money is either paid directly by families, or schools cover the costs for their students–either way, these dollars are coming from tax payers.
• The cost for AP exams (high school advanced placement exams) is $94 per test.
• The fee is $300 for the edTPA (new teacher exam).
Who is making all this money???
• $762 million in 2018 profits for Pearson, the education testing multinational conglomerate, on revenues of $5.511 billion.
• $89 million in additional profit for Pearson from its ownership stake in Penguin Random House Publishers, a major world school textbook publishing company.
• And that money is not being divided up very equitably among Pearson’s employees. The average Pearson salary ranges from approximately $25,000 per year for Test Scorer (not a lot more than CONTINUE READING: Now’s the Time to Get Rid of Standardized Tests | Eclectablog
