If you’re in high school and thinking about college or taking AP classes, the College Board might be on your mind. The College Board, responsible for the SAT, SAT Subject Tests, and AP Program, could definitely be said to have a monopoly on standardized testing. An SAT with the Essay costs students $60, with additional fees for changing the test center or late registration, not to mention the cost of the suggested prep-books and the fact that the College Board recommends taking the test at least twice. AP tests will set students back $94 a piece and SAT Subject tests require an initial $26 fee plus $21 per test. It’s not a surprise that 96% of the College Board’s $915,776,813 total revenue in 2015 came from “Program Services.” After expenses, this still left the College Board, a nonprofit, with a sizeable net income of $77,359,035.

In a 2009 Q&A, Gaston Caperton, former president of College Board, responded to queries about high test prices by saying “Everything we do at the College Board is part of our mission, which is to connect all students to college opportunity and success.” He added that they also help fund fee waivers and cover the cost of developing, administering, and scoring tests. This answer still doesn’t explain the College Board’s large income or why their President and Chief Executive received $734,192 in total compensation in 2013.

The high price tag associated with tests that are practically mandatory for students applying to competitive universities seems inconsistent with the College Board’s desire to be an “organization that connects students to college success and opportunity.” For many, such as low-income and minority students, it is more of a barrier. The fact that one organization, even a nonprofit, has a monopoly over students’ entrance into college, a factor which greatly affects their future, and has so few answers about why the costs are so high seems wrong to me. This doesn’t even begin to deal with the issue of what sort of role standardized tests should play in college admission, but that’s a whole debate on its own…