Today, January 28th is Data Privacy Day, the international annual day of action and awareness to promote the privacy of our personal data.

The College Board and ACT sell personal student data at a profit.  Yet twenty one states prohibit this practice by school vendors, operators or service providers,  under any  conditions; see list   below.  Most every district or state contracts with one of these organizations to administer the PSAT, SAT, AP or ACT exams to students in school.

The College Board sells student data for 47 cents per student  to colleges and other organizations, including some for-profit companies, but have refused to make the list public. They offer them student test scores within a range, and other  personal information deceptively gathered from students via surveys administered before their exams.  As the Wall Street Journal explained, one reason colleges buy the data is to lower their acceptance rates and selectivity, by luring far more students to apply than they have any intention to accept. Most outrageously, the College Board falsely claims they don’t sell student data on their privacy policy, instead saying they “license” the data, a difference without a distinction.

This needs to stop.  Please contact your state Attorneys General today, and ask them to investigate these illegal practices, which violate state student privacy laws and the laws that most every state has that bar deceptive practices.  Thanks!