NORTHEAST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida teen has been told her SAT score is invalid after she was accused of cheating on the test.
With aspirations to go to college and beyond, Kamilah Campbell, a student at Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School, first took the SAT test back in March 2018.
“She made a 900,” said Benjamin Crump, the family’s attorney.
Campbell didn’t like her score from the first attempt, so she studied hard and took the test again.
This time, she got the score she felt she was capable of.
“She made a 1,230 on the SAT in October,” said Crump.
However, the senior student, along with her attorney, said test officials cried foul on her new score, and claimed that she cheated because the score was “too improved.”
“They said her score was flagged, and suggested that she had cheated,” said Crump.
“I did not cheat,” added Campbell. “I studied and I focused to achieve my dreams.”
Campbell said the news that her new score was invalid was devastating.
“It was like a blowback for me because I worked so hard, and I did everything I could do to get ready and get prepared so that I’d know that I could achieve my goal,” she said.
The Educational Testing Service and the College Board run the private test, and they won’t comment on Campbell’s case.
However, they did release a statement that reads in part, “… We place test scores under review when statistical analyses and other factors determine it is necessary. When scores are under review, we work directly with students to collect relevant information and make determinations about the validity of the test scores following a comprehensive investigation of the evidence.”
The high school student said she is now worried that the delay in certifying her score will hurt her chances at scholarships and acceptance to Florida State University.
“I was supposed to have my scores turned in to them by Jan. 1, and it’s Jan. 2, and I still don’t have my scores,” said Campbell, “so I don’t know how the application process is going to go for me.”
Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho personally intervened for an appeal and reached out to the College Board president.
“I was given an assurance that this issue was going to be reviewed, investigated in depth and swiftly to avoid certain consequences to this student,” said Carvalho.
Meanwhile, the student’s fight for the second score’s certification continues.
“I won’t let ETS or anybody else take my dreams away from me,” added Campbell.
The College Board has not said when they plan to have the final results of their investigation.
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