Would Free SAT and ACT Tests be Helpful?

Cristina Cornista, Social Media Editor

The SAT’s and ACT’s are supposedly equal for everyone. The reason why it was even made in the first place is so that all students have an equal chance of getting into college. But if this is the case, why do we still have to pay for it? College Board claims that it is a “not-for-profit” organization, yet it makes a lot of money from the SAT, ACT, and AP tests. If they truly wanted to have the title of a “not-for-profit” organization, all their standardized testing should be free.
First, there are students who come from low-income families who want to do good on the tests. And in order to do that, everybody knows that you have to spend a large sum of money for things like tutoring. Because of this, the SAT’s and ACT’s are just an unfair added expense. Why should people pay more money for the test if they’re already going to spend money just preparing for it? It is unnecessary. Also, it is not fair for students to pay when they themselves don’t know how well they will score on the test. Paying for the SAT is basically paying to see your disappointment if a person doesn’t have the money for tutoring.
Sure there are free tutoring sites such as Khan Academy, however, on sites like these, there ar e no time limits which are present during the actual test.
Second, the cost of going to college is already expensive. According to the website StudentDebtRelief, the cost of college is increasing every year. Just in 2018, the tuition at a four-year private college costs an average of $34,740. Students already have their minds worried about how to pay off this large amount of money. The price of standardized testing is only a burden to students and depending on which tests they want to take, the grand total would be at least $273. This does not include fee waivers, but does consist of one AP exam (with the essay portion), one SAT (including registration fee), and one ACT (with writing portion). Of course, there would be added expenses for each test if a student registers late. Now, if a student qualifies for a fee waiver the price would decrease, but it still would cost money that a person could be saving up for more important matters.
Third, the only reason why standardized testing is so expensive is because College Board and ACT Incorporated decided for it to be that way. 12 years ago, in the year of 2007, the price of AP exams were $83. Now, that price has increased by $12.
Why would they do that? Money!
The purpose of standardized testing is so that administrators can decide and understand students’ abilities for free. However, this puts students at an unfair disadvantage. Companies like College Board and ACT Incorporated know that students want to go to certain colleges that require their tests. This makes it so that students will have to pay their price that they set. And because of its non-profit status, their prices are actually at the lower end than what they want it to be.
On the other hand, the profit that College Board and ACT Incorporated makes doesn’t all go to the company. There are other things that need to be paid for, such as: paper, proctors, test-makers, etc. According to Vox, the problem is, is that these companies have been accused of abusing their non-profit status by holding a monopoly on college testing and admission. All in all, standardized testing should be free or at least have a lower price because students are the ones who are being put at a disadvantage.