Raising The Bar

The Government Accountability Office, in a study [released this week], finds the average student spends nearly $900 on textbooks and supplies, or 26 percent of tuition and fees per year at typical public four-year colleges. At two-year colleges, which are cheaper but more likely to attract low-income students, the textbook and supply bill amounts to 72 percent of tuition and fees.

The report finds textbook prices have increased 186 percent since 1986, or about 6 percent per year. By comparison, consumer prices rose 72 percent over that period, and college tuition and fees rose 240 percent.