This Test is Brought to You By McDonalds - Ads On Our Children’s Tests?
Here’s where I draw the line!
USA Today reports, that a San Diego teacher faced with budget cuts has allowed local businesses to advertise on his tests.
Tom Farber gives a lot of tests. He’s a calculus teacher, after all.
So when administrators at Rancho Bernardo, his suburban San Diego high school, announced the district was cutting spending on supplies by nearly a third, Farber had a problem. At 3 cents a page, his tests would cost more than $500 a year. His copying budget: $316. But he wanted to give students enough practice for the big tests they’ll face in the spring, such as the Advanced Placement exam.
“Tough times call for tough actions,” he says. So he started selling ads on his test papers: $10 for a quiz, $20 for a chapter test, $30 for a semester final.
The article is quick to point out that most of the ads are inspirational ones from parents, though some are from local businesses, the sort of ad you’d see on your daughter’s soccer team jersey.
Principal Paul Robinson says reaction has been “mixed,” but he notes, “It’s not like, ‘This test is brought to you by McDonald’s or Nike.’ “
To that I would say…not yet. Once the cat is let out of the bag, who knows who will be advertising on children’s tests.
