How much does it cost states to administer high school exit exams?

Even we were surprised.

The numbers from this article in Good Education are breathtaking.  Read the whole thing.  Here are some highlights.

But, there's one area that most states and districts aren't cutting—the cost of standardized tests. States and local school districts pay testing companies millions of dollars annually, and with calls to evaluate teachers according to tests results and expand the number of subjects tested coming from the White House and Department of Education, the amount of cash being shelled out to testing companies is sure to skyrocket.

States pay standardized test companies to administer and then to score the tests.

The federal government does kicks in some cash to help cover the costs, but thanks to cutbacks, that money doesn't defray the whole expense or pay for the people districts and states hire to manage the entire process.

What are the costs to California?

For the 2011-2012 school year:

$74,485,000 for NCLB (No Child Left Behind)-mandated STAR test +
$72,752,000 for the CAHSEE (California High School Exit Exam) +
$58,314,000 for CAHSEE test preparation

for whopping total of $205,752,000.

With 6,340,000 students enrolled in California schools, that works out to $32 per student.

But there's more.

Plus, experts put the real amountCalifornia spends annually "to administer, defend, tutor, and teach to the CAHSEE beginning in seventh grade at upwards of $550 million annually."

There is a better way.  Small, innovative companies like iMentorCorps are helping schools effectively help students prep for, and improve their scores on the CAHSEE.

Here's what Jessie Luxford of the Berkeley High School Bridge program had to say about our recent pilot program with her students:

Check out other videos by clicking the VIDEOS link above.

The best part about iMentorCorps?

It doesn't cost students, parent, or schools anything.

Now, that's a better way.