Make SAT and ACT Preparatory Materials Freely Available to Eliminate the Income Gap
Make SAT and ACT Preparatory Materials Freely Available to Eliminate the Income Gap
The Issue
In the United States, public and private secondary schools heavily encourage students to take the SAT or ACT, standardized tests that give them a shot at elite universities, or could simply decorate their standard applications. The corporation behind these tests, The College Board, claim that their tests have complete equality, and that student output is a direct result of student effort.
However, research shows otherwise. In research conducted by Forbes, The Harvard Gazette, Inside Higher Ed, and countless more, the statistics give the same results: students from lower income families consistently score lower on the SATs. One analysis from 2015 (that was later indirectly confirmed by The College Board) found that, in terms of income, students who came from a family income of less than $20,000 had an average reading score of 433, but in families with an income of over $200,000, the average student reading score was 570.
The College Board needs to place students above profit, and to make more preparatory materials available and accessible to students. The College Board themselves confirmed in a report in 2017 that students who utilize preparatory materials will score higher, which can mark them as eligible for merit awards and a higher chance at intensively competitive schools.
The College Board needs to make more official and current materials available to all students in order to close the gap between the wealthy, who can afford test fees and materials, and the low-income, who may, and likely will, score lower and lose the ability to qualify for merit awards, scholarships, and connections they could have gained at elite universities.
References and Citations:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/03/rich-students-get-better-sat-scores-heres-why.html
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/03/sat-scores-drop-and-racial-gaps-remain-large
1
The Issue
In the United States, public and private secondary schools heavily encourage students to take the SAT or ACT, standardized tests that give them a shot at elite universities, or could simply decorate their standard applications. The corporation behind these tests, The College Board, claim that their tests have complete equality, and that student output is a direct result of student effort.
However, research shows otherwise. In research conducted by Forbes, The Harvard Gazette, Inside Higher Ed, and countless more, the statistics give the same results: students from lower income families consistently score lower on the SATs. One analysis from 2015 (that was later indirectly confirmed by The College Board) found that, in terms of income, students who came from a family income of less than $20,000 had an average reading score of 433, but in families with an income of over $200,000, the average student reading score was 570.
The College Board needs to place students above profit, and to make more preparatory materials available and accessible to students. The College Board themselves confirmed in a report in 2017 that students who utilize preparatory materials will score higher, which can mark them as eligible for merit awards and a higher chance at intensively competitive schools.
The College Board needs to make more official and current materials available to all students in order to close the gap between the wealthy, who can afford test fees and materials, and the low-income, who may, and likely will, score lower and lose the ability to qualify for merit awards, scholarships, and connections they could have gained at elite universities.
References and Citations:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/03/rich-students-get-better-sat-scores-heres-why.html
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/03/sat-scores-drop-and-racial-gaps-remain-large
1
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Petition created on April 22, 2026