Dissecting College Board’s Diversity Gap: Secondary Education’s Impact on Economic Connectedness and Social Mobility

As the weight of prestigious post-secondary educational institutions heightens in today’s career-driven generation, the non-profit, scholastic organization College Board has been playing a bigger role in college admissions. In fact, accessibility to College Board’s resources may be many students’ tickets into prestigious American universities. College Board is responsible for providing high school students the option to take the SAT and Advanced Placement tests (the equivalent of college-level courses) for college preparation and entry; however, they are the only organization to offer such opportunities (“College Board,” n.d.) in the United States. Students and families have recently found issues with College Board becoming a monopoly in the education industry, and the impact this reality has on prospective college students might run deeper than expected. Following recent findings analyzing College Board’s “diversity gap,” the disparity in accessibility between different groups of students might provide insight into the role of secondary education in future economic connectedness and social mobility. 

The “diversity gap,” recently presented as one of College Board’s vices, alludes to the disparity between middle-class and higher-class participation in AP courses compared to the participation from lower-income groups (VanSciver, 2006). With College Board requiring at least $50 per exam taken, the feasibility of pursuing their resources in its entirety is low for lower-income students who are either not offered a fee waiver or not covered by their high school (“Test fees,” n.d.). For admission into higher institutions, it is generally accepted that an average of 9-13 APs is recommended for prestigious schools (acceptance rates 20-30-% or lower), which would add up to around $800 to $1,500 at $96 per exam (Edwards, n.d.). For lower-income students who are not offered compensation for the given test fees, it is very possible that they are at a larger disadvantage due to the inability to access the resources that College Board offers. Even if the expenses for taking these exams are covered, exam preparation material and resources are an additional expense to consider. For students who cannot afford, for example, SAT and AP class tutors or various AP preparation workbooks, it is difficult to compete against other students who are able to pay for these resources. That being said, College Board, as the sole provider of AP exams and the SAT, holds control over the “high school, college-prep course” market, so the lack of options for students from different economic backgrounds to be competitive in the college application is a substantial issue. 

So why is it important that lower-income students are competitive for highly selective prestigious schools in America? Some employers pose that technical skills can help lower-income students break into highly-competitive industries, which might not rely on the prestige of the college they attend. On the other hand, the value of personal “connections” in various fields might provide more streamlined opportunities for rising professionals.  The significance of this argument primarily stems from the concept of “economic connectedness” and its role in social mobility. Researchers define economic connectedness as the relationships and friendships between “people of high and low incomes,” suggesting that the outcomes have been more “positive” (in terms of upward social mobility) when a lower-income individual is surrounded by those from a higher-income class (Miller et al., 2022). 

To quote Raj Chetty, a renowned Harvard economist, “Growing up in a community connected across class lines improves kids’ outcomes and gives them a better shot at rising out of poverty,” which speaks to how economic connectedness could be a determining factor in social mobility going forward (Miller et al., 2022). Additionally, the role of prestigious universities is discussed through a research study conducted by University of Chicago professor, Seth Zimmerman, for the World Economic Forum, which details how elite universities are key in helping students from moderate backgrounds earn higher levels of income from networking opportunities (Zimmerman, 2018). Elite universities can act as a pathway to social mobility for students from low-income backgrounds, but when the first hurdles of getting access to even be considered for such institutions are difficult to overcome, the issue becomes more nuanced. 

College Board, which plays a crucial role in the college admissions process, may serve as an impediment for students with lower incomes in their opportunity to get into elite universities. This issue should be considered by not only families and universities but also high schools that should take initiative in taking care of their students from varying economic backgrounds. The monopolistic nature of College Board contributes to the significance of this issue, which brings attention to the need for cheaper options for college application credit in the course and exam market.

Edited by Shruti Nemala

References

College Board - SAT, AP, college search and Admission Tools. College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools. (n.d.). Retrieved February 7, 2023, from https://www.collegeboard.org/ 

Edwards, H. (n.d.). Exactly how many AP classes should you take?: AP experts. Exactly How Many AP Classes Should You Take? | AP Experts. Retrieved February 10, 2023, from https://blog.prepscholar.com/how-many-ap-classes-should-you-take 

Miller, C. C., Katz, J., Paris, F., & Bhatia, A. (2022, August 1). Vast new study shows a key to reducing poverty: More friendships between rich and poor. The New York Times. Retrieved February 8, 2023, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/08/01/upshot/rich-poor-friendships.html 

Test fees. SAT Test Fees – SAT Suite of Assessments | College Board. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2023, from https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat/registration/fees-refunds/test-fees 

VanSciver, J. H. (2006) Closing the Diversity Gap in Advanced Placement Course Enrollment, Multicultural Perspectives, 8:3, 56-58, doi: 10.1207/s15327892mcp0803_10

Zimmerman, S. (2018, October 22). How elite universities shape upward mobility into top jobs and top incomes. World Economic Forum. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2023, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/10/how-elite-universities-shape-upward-mobility-into-top-jobs-and-top-incomes