( October 22, 2002) — In its attempt to be the determining factor in the college application process, College Board heads a billion-dollar standardized testing monopoly. Supposedly non-profit, College Board charges imposing fees for a variety of “mandatory” tests including the SAT I reasoning test, SAT II subject tests and Advanced Placement examinations. The organization’s target audience: high school students. Students, eager to impress universities, scramble to pay for not only test fees, but prep materials and prep courses as well, all of which provide money to line the pockets of College Board executives. Opposition to SAT reached a turning point last year when the president of the University of California stated that the SAT is not an accurate measure of a student’s ability to succeed in college and ordered the test de-emphasized by admissions officers unless College Board could prepare reforms by 2005. To protect its profit margin, College Board grudgingly agreed to revisions. A further testament to College Board’s relentless exploitation can be found within the Advanced Placement program, which College Board claims saves a student money. At an average cost of $77 per subject, College Board argues that the cost of an AP class is far less than a similar course at a university. Though perhaps true, it fails to emphasize the price a student pays when he fails the test or worse still, passes and then is denied credit. UC schools do not grant credit to a passing score of 3, and a 4 or even 5 may not guarantee higher placement. In fact, colleges often require students to take the same subject their freshman year. And the “generous” fee waivers available online apply only to families with an income in the poverty bracket. College Board depends heavily on wealthier families able to pay the $45 extra for late registration. The “last straw” presents itself as a new program offered through their Sylvan Learning Center. According to the UC Notes, College Board has recently encouraged the UC system to adopt a program in which, through Sylvan courses, a student can make up and clear a failed class from his high school transcript. This new program would signal a departure from equality of access, to an elitist advantage available only to the rich, essentially allowing students to buy their way into college. College Board continues to profit through shrewd business practices that do not serve the best interests of students.