For many, their ACT and SAT prep books lie around for years before being thrown out. The Washington Book Exchange is trying to change that.

Washington Book Exchange collects and anonymously redistributes test preparation books to students from families with lower incomes across Washington state. Sophomore Amelia Leopold started the program three years ago when she noticed that students at her high school were throwing away SAT and ACT prep books that were still in good condition. 

The program was originally called the Bellevue Book Exchange and only provided resources to students within the Bellevue School District. However, according to the website, the program’s “success in a seemingly improbable location — the 4th wealthiest school district in Washington state — pointed to a wider need, and inspired [the] volunteer team to expand statewide.”

This year, Washington Book Exchange expanded its services to the entirety of Washington state through a remote request book program. Students can now request books and have them sent directly to their house. Leopold also partnered with Walla Walla High School. It became a franchise school for Washington Book Exchange this year. Franchise schools host collection bins for the program and have staff members helping to distribute the books.

Whitman alumnus and Walla Walla High School career counselor Katharine Curles became involved with the expansion by introducing the program to Walla Walla High School. She especially likes the anonymity of the program. 

“No one else has to know that [the student] reached out for help and being able to protect that confidentiality is really important to me,” Curles said. 

Most of the Washington Book Exchange’s inventory comes from donations from their franchise schools, but COVID-19 has disrupted that process. Demand for materials is high right now, especially at Walla Walla High School, and Leopold is concerned about running out of funding and having to pause the program.

“We’re trying to get a donation box set up in Bellevue in a general location so people can drop books off and that way they don’t need to be in school to continue to donate,” Leopold said.

Curles believes that COVID-19 has worsened economic inequalities within schools, magnifying the need for accessible test prep materials. This access is especially important for already low-income areas like those served by Walla Walla High School. 

“From the Whitman bubble, [students] aren’t aware about the demographics of [Walla Walla High School] but we’re about 50% free and reduced lunch which just means that a lot of our students and families don’t have the resources to be able to buy these books,” Curles said.

Leopold also emphasized the long-term financial implications of COVID-19 for standardized testing.

“[Online school] works better for some than for others and that depends on the resources that people have,” Leopold said. “I think we are very likely to see the effects of this economic inequality in test scores and college admissions for a long time to come.”

The program’s GoFundMe description outlines how the worsening economic situation due to COVID-19 is affecting low income students. 

“Money is tighter than ever. [Low-income students] are more likely to have slower internet connections than their wealthier peers,” the page reads. “They need access to high-quality test-prep resources.”

Washington Book Exchange uses their GoFundMe in two ways.

“The main purpose is to get a start on media mail remote requests because we’ve only seen this need increase with online learning,” Leopold said. “The other purpose is to get a few hundred extra dollars raised to get our nonprofit filing fees covered.”

Leopold hopes that the program will soon receive 501(c)(3) non-profit status. This status would allow them to fully use the money as GoFundMe currently takes a cut of their donations. She believes that this change in status will make Washington Book Exchange more permanent and available to students.