GAO Study Looks At Rise In Textbook Prices The Government Accountability Office is releasing a study today that says the average college student spends about $900 annually on textbooks and supplies. The study also finds that textbook prices have risen 186 percent since 1986 — well over double the rise in general consumer prices of 72 percent, though below the 240 percent increase in college tuition and fees. The GAO also finds that “there is a growing practice by publishers of including expensive new supplements and limiting the opportunity for students to purchase used textbooks,” the SF Chronicle reports. “In […]