Black Miami student says she was accused of cheating after improving SAT scores, hires lawyer
Kamilah Campbell, a Black high school student from Miami Gardens, has hired a lawyer after the SAT testing company told her the results of her exam were invalid.On her first try, Campbell got a total score of 900 out of 1600. To do better, Campbell took online classes and her mother hired her a tutor.
As she was awaiting her scores, she instead received a letter from the College Board, the company that conducts the SAT.
“We are writing to you because based on a preliminary review, there appears to be substantial evidence that your scores… are invalid,” it said. “Our preliminary concerns are based on substantial agreement between your answers on one or more scored sections of the test and those of other test takers. The anomalies noted above raise concerns about the validity of your scores.”
Campbell told CNN reporters, “I did not cheat. I studied, and I focused to achieve my dream. I worked so hard and did everything I could do.”
When she called the testing company, she was told she got a 1230 on her second try and felt she was being accused of cheating.
The College Board states that tests are flagged if a student’s answers are similar to a testing sheet or other reasons, but not solely based on gains from a previous test.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said at the Wednesday news conference, “Instead of celebrating her and celebrating her achievement, they are trying to assassinate her character, and we won’t stand for that.”
Crump adds that there “may be some implicit bias that we plan to find out” given that a “young Black woman” was able to improve so much on her scores.