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SAT scores for students who used test-prep firm may be thrown out
Results could be tossed for those who used SAT prep firm in suit.
By Staci Hupp
Parents across North Texas worried Thursday that their children's scores on college-entrance exams will be thrown out -- and admission into prestigious colleges along with them -- because of an unusual lawsuit against a Dallas-area test-prep company.
Document: Read the lawsuit[pdf]
Officials at College Board, owner of the SAT and PSAT, said they might void the scores of high school students who paid for help at the Karen Dillard College Prep company. The company's sites in Dallas, Plano and Colleyville draw hundreds of students.
The case marks the biggest alleged test-security breach in College Board's history, officials said.
College Board officials accuse the company of using stolen copies of the SAT and PSAT, a practice exam, to give students an unfair advantage.
Karen Dillard's owners have denied the allegations, spelled out in a copyright-infringement lawsuit this week in federal court in Dallas.
"Kids have scores sitting at colleges right now," said David Miller, a Plano attorney who sends his son to Karen Dillard. "Is the College Board going to send something out that says those scores aren't valid? I hope they think this through. If they have a problem with Karen Dillard, that's one thing. But I hope they do not punish kids who wanted to work hard."
The allegations already have had a ripple effect in Plano.
Jasper High School principal Michael Novotny was put on paid leave Thursday while district officials investigate the College Board's claim that he passed an unauthorized copy of the PSAT to his brother, Matthew, who works for Karen Dillard.
Michael Novotny is not named in the lawsuit, but his brother is.
Seeking information
School officials and parents scrambled to get copies of the lawsuit Thursday. Some talked of suing Karen Dillard College Prep if their children's scores are tossed.
"I've had several calls from parents concerned about the situation," said Duncan Webb, Plano school board president. "Mainly, the calls are from my being a lawyer more so than a member of the board. They want to know, 'What are my legal rights?' "
Ms. Dillard, who owns the test-prep company that bears her name, said Thursday that she doesn't believe any college-entrance scores will be voided.
She defended her 16-year-old company in an open letter on her Web site.
"They're making it sound like all these students' scores are going to be canceled, and they're not," Ms. Dillard said of the College Board. "They're just using it as a scare tactic to get me to come back to the table to give them more money."
Ms. Dillard has described the allegations as an attack on her company by a competitor, the College Board, which sells its own test-prep materials.
SAT and PSAT scores often are a key element in college admission decisions, scholarships and the selection of National Merit scholars.
High school students usually first take the SAT as juniors.
College Board officials said they have thrown out a batch of test scores once before. In 2005, a Long Island, N.Y., teacher allegedly shared an unauthorized copy of the SAT with high school students, said Alana Klein, a College Board spokeswoman.
That incident pales in comparison to the Karen Dillard case because the company allegedly built a curriculum on the test copies, Ms. Klein said.
"All I know is that the scope is much larger with the Karen Dillard case," Ms. Klein said.
Only 'a possibility'
What that means for college-bound students is less clear. Ms. Klein didn't know how many test scores could be jeopardized -- or if they even will be.
"It is a possibility," she said. "Until we can determine the scope of how many students might have been affected and exactly which tests were used in an unauthorized way, we can't speculate."
High school juniors have several chances to retake the SAT and the practice test if their scores are thrown out. High school seniors might not be as lucky.
If their scores are tossed, College Board officials likely would notify the colleges to identify the applicants involved, said Daniel Saracino, admissions director at the University of Notre Dame.
For seniors who have already been accepted, Mr. Saracino said that colleges would review their applications and make decisions case by case.
"It could definitely cause the admissions committees to reconsider the decisions," Mr. Saracino said.
He added: "The SAT is one in a number of factors that the decision is based upon. If everything else looks really, really strong, it could very well be that we would say the decision is not going to be reversed."
'Freaking out'
Morgan Roden, a Plano Senior High senior who got help at Karen Dillard, wasn't jumping to conclusions Thursday because she doesn't think of herself as a top student. But some friends who expect to get into elite colleges or rake in big scholarships "are freaking out," she said.
"It's not our fault, so I don't think it should affect us," said Ms. Roden, who plans to study engineering at the University of Texas at Dallas.
College Board officials say in court papers that Karen Dillard's company distributed the tests to students -- an allegation Ms. Dillard denied.
Ms. Klein said College Board officials haven't pinpointed whether the tests allegedly were distributed before or after students across the country took them. Even if it was afterward, she said, the exams are considered "live" -- and therefore secure -- until they are retired.
Ms. Dillard said the PSAT is considered invalid as soon as it's administered. She said her company received the test after students took it in October.
Ms. Dillard said she believed she was following a law that allows "fair use" of copyrighted material for teaching purposes. She said College Board officials informed her that fair use applies to nonprofits but not businesses.
"I'm not an attorney, and I didn't know," she said.
Ms. Dillard declined to say how many student customers she has right now.
Students pay her company up to $2,300 for workshops, practice tests and review sessions, among other things. The company boasts small class sizes, experienced teachers and a record of high test scores.
Karen Dillard's Web site notes increases of 150 to 400 points on SAT scores after students complete the test-prep program.
Many of those teenagers come from Plano, where the school district has built a reputation on top students. The district has one of the nation's highest performances on college-entrance exams, officials say.
Test-obsessed students have been known to take summer classes not for school credit but as preparation for the SAT.
The lawsuit's outcome "could have a far-reaching impact on some of our students," said Mr. Webb, the Plano school board president, who sent two daughters to Karen Dillard.
College Board officials urged parents and students not to panic.
"As soon as we get more information, we'll be communicating that," Ms. Klein said. "We're going to be very out in the open with the information that will affect them."
— Staci Hupp
Dallas Morning News
2008-02-22
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