This story has been carried out of my physics class.

My physics teacher, F.M., the same guy who questioned the necessity of "seeing the volume" , gave our class some disturbing figures today.

The topic of our discussion will be SAT.

Each kid in our highschool pays $35 for taking the SAT. Approximately 10,000,000 kids around the US take the SAT each year. That makes $350,000,000 every year.

Now, there are obviously expenses to managing SATs.
Let 1,000,000 for electricity it takes to run scantrons.
Let 1,000,000 for postage.
Let 1,000,000 for the paper.
Let 1,000,000 for the teachers, when they are employed (F.M. told us he got once invited to grade SATs - for $25 a day!)
Let 1,000,000 to employ a couple of nerds to push buttons on the scantron.

We are left with $345,000,000 . There are other expenses of course. The scantrons, which have been in use for years and years, have to be repaired once in a while, the nerds running them have to have good insurance policy in case they (the scantrons) go wild and chomp off a finger or two, security...

Let's be generous: $45,000,000 for all!

We are now left with $300,000,000 . So where does the money go?

The whole shebang is ran by ETS, the Educational Testing Service. You know how the name "Princeton" keeps popping up around their handywork, like "Princeton Review" etc.? Strangely enough, ETS has nothing to do with the Princeton University. They are simply located in Princeton, New Jersey, and have been successfully playing off the name.

Here is what they say about themselves:

"ETS is a private, nonprofit organization devoted to educational measurement and research, primarily through testing."
(quote taken from FAQ about ETS

And for anybody who might question their "non-profitness", they have an answer:

"Our nonprofit status is a reflection of our purpose: ETS was established to serve education, and therefore performs a public service. However, ETS is also a private, self-supporting organization. That means we must make enough revenue each year to cover our expenses, plus enough extra to support the work we want to do in the years ahead."
(quote once again taken straight out of FAQ about ETS )

It's understandable that there are expenses to be paid, work to be done etc. But 300 f**king million ??

Oh yes. How many times have you taken the SAT? Most kids take it more than once. How many times did you take the SAT/are going to take it? Twice? Three times? More.

What about GMAT, the Graduate Management Admissions Test? Or the GRE, Graduate Record Examinations?
What about PSAT? ACT? AP? PRAXIS, the Professional Asessment of Beginning Teachers? SLS, School Leadership Series? TOEFL?

But let's come back to the SATs. Ever buy one of them books on how to excell at taking the SAT? I am a junior in high school, alright? I have two such booklets, and I got them at last year's "book drive" - that's when rich parents bring into our library a whole bunch of books, and a pitiful handful of intellectuals scavenge it. I paid no money for it. But I room with a girl who has at least 5 of these books. Most of them have catchy titles like "Step by Step with Taking the SAT® I: Reasoning Test" or "10 Real SATs!" There are books, software, even bloody videos, all supposedly helping you get a higher score, when all you should be using is your brain ?

It costs $13 to register for the SAT via phone. It takes almost twice that to reregister - plus the Basic Registration/Reporting Fee, another $13.

The cost of SAT-prep classes can run up to $700.

You know, the original point of SAT was not to keep people *out* of college. It was to get them *into* college. Here is a list of fees found at the SAT Program Information :

Test	Fees
SAT I: Reasoning Test (includes the Basic Registration/Reporting Fee)	$23.50
SAT II: Subject Tests (add the $13.00 Basic Registration/Reporting Fee to the total fee for the Subject Tests):
Writing Test	$11.00
Language Tests with Listening	$ 8.00
All other Subject Tests	$ 6.00 each
Registration Services (add to total test fees)
Reregistration by telephone	$10.00
Surcharge on test fees to test in New York State	$ 1.00
International processing fee (for students testing in countries other than the United States, United States territories, and Puerto Rico)	$15.00
Fax registration fee (for students testing in countries other than the United States, United States territories, and Puerto Rico)	$ 5.00
Security surcharge to test in India	$15.00
Late registration fee	$15.00
Standby testing fee	$30.00
Change test, test date, or test center fee	$15.00
Score Reporting Services
Each additional score report to a college or scholarship program (beyond the 4 requested on the Registration Form or on the Correction Form)	$ 6.50
Retrieval fee for archived scores	$10.00
Telephone rush reporting service	$20.00 (plus $6.50 for each report)
Telephone additional reports	$10.00 (plus $6.50 for each report)
Scores by Phone	$10.00
Additional Services
SAT I Question-and-Answer Service	$10.00
SAT I Student Answer Service	$ 5.00
Hand-Scoring Service	$25.00
Writing Sample Copy Service	$10.00
Check returned for insufficient funds	$20.00 ($15.00 in Idaho, Louisiana, and Utah)

Somebody is making serious cash.