College Board leader quits after criticism of race legislation

A top executive has resigned from the US’ College Board after criticism of his role, as an elected official in the state of Indiana, in trying to restrict classroom teaching about race and racism.

The politician, Todd Huston, had been a senior vice-president at the College Board since 2012, the year he was first elected to the Indiana House of Representatives. He has served as the chamber’s speaker since March 2020.

In the past few weeks, he led his House Republican majority in approving bills that would limit school-level instruction concerning racism and political topics, give parent panels veto rights on classroom materials, and ban transgender women and girls from participating in school sports designated for females.

The College Board produces the leading standardised college entrance examination, the SAT, as well as the popular AP high-school course exams that are commonly used in college-level academic placement. The board has also faced years of criticism for creating products seen as perpetuating racial inequities and conservative world views.

Such concerns have played a major role in the widespread abandonment of standardised tests as a mandatory part of the admissions processes at top US colleges and universities.

The College Board confirmed Mr Huston’s departure from his executive position – which paid him $460,738 (£340,336) a year, according to College Board tax filings from 2019 – without directly explaining the degree to which the move reflected concern over his political activities.

“Todd Huston concluded that the demands of both his role here and his elected position are not sustainable, and he wants to devote more time to his work in Indiana,” a College Board spokesman said. “We’re grateful for his nine successful years at the College Board.”

Mr Huston’s departure comes amid a nationwide series of efforts – including at least 38 bills in 20 states – aimed at limiting classroom curricula, usually to prevent discussions of the nation’s history of racial discrimination and abuse. Nearly half of those efforts, according to a tally by the writers’ organisation PEN America, are aimed at teaching on the post-secondary level.

His resignation also comes two weeks after the College Board announced it was moving the SAT to an online format, and argued that the test would boost equity in college enrolments by giving lower-income students an easier-to-use objective method to prove their merit against competitors who can impress admissions officers with costly lists of extracurricular activities.

Such arguments have been met with scepticism from outside experts who cite the known record of imbalances in test results attributed to wealthier students with clear advantages that include costly professional test preparation services and the ability to pay for repeated attempts at the SAT. The College Board also bowed to political pressure in 2015 to adjust its exams to reduce what conservative activists saw as their emphasis on “negative aspects of our nation’s history.”

Mr Huston, in a statement confirming his departure from the College Board, said he wanted to prioritise his work with the legislature. “I want to recharge my batteries post-session,” he added, “before considering future opportunities.”

paul.basken@timeshighereducation.com