There is a product market existing within our nation’s education system. People are sold tests and materials in order to help further their educational opportunities. However, this market has a mountain of large issues. This educational market does not keep the values of the students in mind; rather, they try to maximize their profits. This is unethical and presents better educational opportunities to those who can afford their share of the market.

Standardized tests are quite expensive. For example, the SAT can cost up to 100 dollars for one attempt. 100 dollars? That is a very steep price.While some people rely on the testing market for employment, tests are still offered at an excessive amount. Tests should be a practice of equal opportunity, not of economic privilege. While tests like the SAT and the ACT offer fee waivers to those who can not afford the tests, the system they have does not give equal opportunity.

For both the SAT and the ACT, students using waivers only have the opportunity to take the test two times. Two testing attempts for those with waivers is not fair. Some students will take the same standardized test four times in order to improve their score. These students who have the privilege of paying for the test four times are then given an advantage over those who can not afford the test. The SAT unintentionally gives an advantage to the economically privileged, and that needs to change.

If you are lucky enough to pay for the test yourself, you will often be encouraged to retake the test if you did not do well enough. But, a large form of encouragement comes from the testing companies themselves. Students often receive plenty of emails from testing agencies begging them to take the test again. They are constantly harassed by a flood of SAT and ACT registration emails. These emails constantly tell them that retaking one of the tests will give me a better score.

While most students will attempt the test three times, getting these test emails at least once a day is a little suspicious. Testing agencies do not have student’s best interest in mind, but they are rather profiting off of their failures. If students do poorly, they get more money, plain and simple. This point is emphasized when test scores are released. For the SAT, test scores come out the day prices increase for the next SAT date. If a student would like to retake a test after seeing their last score, they have to pay more for the test. This is not ethical and it needs to stop.

Sometimes students throw away money with the promise of getting a certain score. Not all tests prep materials are bad, but the fact is, sometimes students are taken advantage of for economic reasons. Students are told that for a financial price, their SAT or ACT scores are guaranteed to go up. But this is not always the case. While there are some free test prep materials, most tutors and practices tests cost a decent sum of money. Though these preparatory actions can be beneficial, they do not always work. And if these things do not work, you just threw your money into the hungry belly of the evil education monster.

There are too many financial motives within the education system. These motives do not keep the children in mind, but they rather exploit the failures and weaknesses of already stressed and pressured children. This market needs to change and put the students first, rather than try to expand profits. It is simply wrong and unfair, and it needs to be changed quickly.