Cash Strapped Teacher Selling Ads on Tests

Tom Farber, a suburban San Diego high school teacher has taken a unique (but questionable) approach to his lack of classroom funds. The calculus teacher has started selling local advertisements on his tests to help offset the cost of printing. Realizing his yearly $316 copying budget would not cover the estimated $500 worth of test printing costs, Farber decided to place simple text ads right below the math problems. And he’s been very successful so far -his semester final is currently sold out. The responsibility of making up the difference of tight budgets is increasingly falling on the shoulders of teachers. According to The National Education Association, teachers spend about $430 out of their pockets each year for school supplies. Not everyone is happy about ad filled tests though.

USA Today reports:

That worries Robert Weissman, managing director of Commercial Alert, a Washington-based non-profit that fights commercialization in school and elsewhere. If test-papers-as-billboards catches on, he says, schools in the grip of tough economic times could start relying on them to help the bottom line.

“The advertisers are paying for something, and it’s access to kids,” he says.

USA Today: “Ads on tests add up for teacher”