Can you please clarify what you are implying in your last sentence? I am not certain how the two topics are related: 1) CB being a not-for-profit that makes money, and 2) schools with wealthy student populations suddenly wanting a return to the SATs.
This is veering into conspiracy theory territory.
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The net inflow continues to greatly exceed the outflow in all our reports they are filing. There is no evidence that they have reinvested the surplus rather keep building the surplusâŠ
After a pause for test optional, it will be a great time to be an adolescent psychiatrist in a wealthy town. Testing costs $6000? 1 in 3 students qualify for an accomodation? More time mostly helps high achieves and math scores? Wow.
Comparing inflow to outflow tells you nothing about the level of reinvestment. Well managed companies should increase their surplus over time. That is especially the case for not-for-profits that do not have access to equity capital. The surplus is in essence their equity capital. If they spend it all, they can find themselves in a very difficult situation.
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Agreed. Think about it as an endowment
Yeah, we found out the hard way that the College Board/CSS sold our sonâs SSN information, and it was discovered on the dark web.
Thank goodness the IRS caught it before any permanent damage was done.
But my wife has spent hours online with multiple agencies and our accountant putting up new barriers. Uncertain whether we will litigate this.
Yes, I had my suspicion. The article you linked confirms this. It is so sad that some wealthy parents have stooped to this level.
My background is in Finance. It is not anywhere close to an endowment. They are not a school institution. Before making excuses and being apologists for them, actually read their financial filings and the numerous articles written that question âwhereâ these surplus are going and lack of transparency. The College Board is operating like a âhedge fundâ. I donât care personally, it is not me or my family funding this enterprise.
Iâm well aware of the technical definition of an endowment. I was suggesting an analogy.
Thereâs nothing wrong with a nonprofit organization maintaining a surplus whether an endowment, reserve funds or called something else. Given the attacks and challenges they have faced, if I were in charge I would probably want some kind of financial reserve.
These accumulated assets have nothing to do with the merits of the decision of many colleges to use the SAT in their evaluation of applicants. Ad hominem arguments are a diversion from the topic of this thread
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It is directly related. Forcing a non-test optional policy is how a monopoly works and guarantees a fixed income stream for the CB. Why havenât they discussed why they have $250 million and growing in âoffshoreâ accounts. They receive public funding and funding from âstudentsâ. The issue is a lack of accountability to the public that supports them.
âForcing a non-test optional policyâŠâ? Please explain
âMonopoly â ? ACT might disagree
As pointed out, CB is not a monopoly. But even if it were, it is not relevant to the point. Monopolists control supply; they cannot decide one day to force interest in their product if no interest exists. Just because a company has a monopoly on buggy whips doesnât mean it can force buggy whips to be in demand.
If schools didnât want standardized test scores, a testing company with monopoly power could not force the schools to want them.
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Kids are told you need AP courses and high SAT scores to get in. Who controls AP and SAT scores? One supplier. Not everyone can afford AP and SAT courses.
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IB courses, AP courses, Honors courses, college credit coursesâwhatever is the most rigorous course available is what selective schools recommend. You donât have to âaffordâ any of those courses if you are going to a public school which offers many of these as part of the curriculum. As noted, ACT is a substitute for SAT and in many states, it is a standard test for no separate charge.
This is getting a bit tiresomeâCB does NOT have a monopoly
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Letâs move on from debating whether the CB has a monopoly.
In general, make your point, defend once if necessary, then move on.
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They may offer offer AP classes but many public schools do not cover the costs of AP exams - I understand that some do, but many, likely most, do not, so there is definitely an affordability factor in terms of providing a standardized score for mastery of the material. That is actually one of the reasons that I my daughter took a few AP classes but did not take any exams. Dual enrollment college courses, on the other hand, are entirely free where we live, so that was definitely the more affordable option for credit but, alas, does not offer the kind of standardized measurement of achievement that this thread is so focused on.
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I am not debating whether CB is a monopolist, but rather stating that even if CB controlled supply and were a monopolist, it still could not force demand for tests by schools, which was the original claim.
That is definitively not how a monopoly works. Monopolies control supply and increase prices, not force demand.
Schools want standardized tests because they want standardized tests. And students want to take standardized tests because schools want standardized tests.
Neither schools nor students are being forced to demand standardized tests because of an alleged monopolist.
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