Org genuinely wants to improve the world, but sometimes at the expense of work-life balance - Researcher College Board Employee Review

3.0
17 Feb 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Leadership down the rank and file all genuinely want to improve American education Most employees are collaborative, fun, and really smart Pay is competitive, with great benefits

Cons

While they may be generally polite and desire to appear reflective, multiple senior leaders have problematic blind spots that regularly result in arbitrary actions, expensive mistakes, and typical playing favorites/office politics presented as evidence-based decisions. As a result, staff walk on eggshells trying to avoid accidentally triggering volatility and hold their breath for what sudden change may be thrown their way at any minute. Also, the organization works some teams like dogs. It is an unwritten assumption that work-life balance has to go out the window when there are emergency student needs (e.g., COVID supports for colleges, high schools). The desire to want to help is admirable, but it is certainly a shoot first, ask questions about the human cost to staff later (if at all) approach.

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College Board Response
5y
Thank you for your feedback and candor. We know that flexibility and balance are essential to our staff, particularly since the pandemic; we're sorry that wasn't your experience. Our leadership values and listens to feedback from staff and will continue to look for new channels for two-way communication. Ben Jay, Talent Acquisition Team (bjay@collegeboard.org)

Explore other reviews about College Board

5.0
7 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Fantastic Management - Clear Goals - Good teamwork

Cons

- The work is a little soul sucking

4.0
10 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Strong mission and meaningful work Talented, dedicated colleagues Opportunities to work on large-scale, high-impact projects Exposure to complex programs and cross-functional collaboration Opportunity to build strong project management, operations, and stakeholder management skills Benefits

Cons

Employee experience can vary significantly depending on team and leadership Communication and decision-making are not always transparent Expectations can sometimes be unclear or shift without enough context Change management could be stronger

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