Crump calls for ETS to release student’s score for consideration by FSU

Attorney Benjamin Crump consoles Kamilah
Campbell at a recent press conference.

Special to the Outlook

MIAMI — Nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump recently a demand to Educational Testing Service, calling on the company that administers the SAT to release Miami Gardens student Kamilah Campbell’s SAT score within two weeks so that she can be considered for admission to Florida State University.

Campbell, an 18-year-old African-American honors student with a 3.1 GPA at Michael M. Krop Senior High School, took the SAT on Oct. 6., 2018 then received a letter from ETS on Oct. 19 noting that her score had been flagged for further review. A representative of ETS’s Testing Integrity division verbally told Campbell that her score was 1,230, more than 300 points higher than the baseline score she made in March. She was told her score was flagged because such a marked improvement indicated that she likely had “prior knowledge” of the test or had otherwise cheated.

“It is not for ETS, a private corporation, to define the limits of human achievement and betterment,” Crump said. “In concluding that the only way Campbell could have improved her score so substantially was by cheating, ETS defamed Campbell’s character and replaced what should have been appropriate and motivating personal pride with shame and confusion.”

In his letter, Crump gave the testing company two weeks to respond. However, in responding to national media ETS suggested the Campbell retake the test.

Although Campbell provided a sound explanation and evidence for her improvement, ETS has refused to relent, denying this promising and dedicated student access to a college education, the funds to pay for it, and fulfillment of her dreams.

Campbell explained that she took the SAT for the first time on March 10 with no preparation. Between then and October she practiced diligently, working with her teachers, receiving tutoring, and regularly accessing the preparatory resources of Khan Academy. Regardless of her explanation, ETS sent a follow-up letter stating that “based on a preliminary review, there appears to be substantial evidence that your scores on Oct. 6, 2018 SAT are invalid” as a result of “substantial agreement between your answers on one or more scores sections of the test and those of other test-takers,” and that her score was flagged because “such a marked improvement of her score indicated to ETS that she likely had ‘prior knowledge