Applicant Gains College Admission After PSAT Misconduct Charges
A high school senior was unable to gain admission to any of the colleges to which he applied after college board officials charged him with misconduct on the PSAT exam. The charges alleged that the senior had carried a cell phone into the exam room and attempted to access it during the exam to gain an undue advantage in answering exam questions. Exam officials alleged a violation of PSAT 10 Testing Rules Section 2 on prohibited items. With the misconduct charges pending, the senior was unable to get an answer on his application to his preferred college and received rejections from other schools for which he should have been able to gain admission. The senior's parents retained our attorneys to address and resolve the misconduct charges so that the senior could gain college admission and move forward toward his educational goals. We promptly notified exam officials of our retention while providing a verified account of our client senior's conduct before, during, and after the exam, along with statements from corroborating witnesses. Those materials satisfied exam officials that our client senior was innocent of the charges because complaining witnesses had misidentified our client as the alleged wrongdoer. We were able to gain a written dismissal of the misconduct charges, which we promptly supplied to admissions officials at our client senior's preferred college. Our client then gained admission to the school just before high school graduation, in plenty of time to attend college orientation and begin on time with peers. Our prompt investigation, documentation, and communication made a difference.
College Freshman Retains Enrollment Despite SAT Misconduct Allegations
A college freshman retained our attorneys when university officials notified the freshman that the SAT had notified the university of suspected violations of SAT rules. The university intended to revoke the freshman's admission and kick the freshman out of school if the SAT made a final determination of misconduct. SAT officials alleged that our client freshman had shared SAT information with other students intending to take the test, which was in violation of SAT rules prohibiting any sharing of confidential test information. We obtained a specification of the charges, which our client freshman did not understand. The allegations were that after taking the SAT, our client had disclosed test questions and probable answers to friends who were scheduled to take the test, one of whom disclosed the alleged assistance to test officials. We were able to obtain a statement from the student who had made the disclosure that our client freshman had not shared questions or probable answers but had only discussed the non-confidential format and conditions of the test. Our presentation to SAT officials at a conciliation conference that we arranged satisfied SAT officials to dismiss the charges. We conveyed the SAT dismissal to university officials, who withdrew their notice of charges, leaving our student free to continue with his university education. Our clear communications were the key to a favorable resolution.
High School Senior Beats ACT Misconduct Charges
ACT testing officials charged a high school senior with misconduct in the exam room during the exam. Exam room staff had attempted to remove the senior from the exam room to an isolated exam location when other exam takers complained of the senior's movements and noises. The senior had a spectrum condition that sometimes exhibited itself under stress, but of which the senior was not consistently aware. Exam room staff had not made their intentions clear to the senior, who appeared to refuse to leave the exam room. Exam room staff accordingly terminated the senior's exam and reported her actions as disruptive and endangering misconduct to ACT officials, who barred her from retaking the exam. That bar also prevented the senior from taking the SAT or other college board exams. The senior and her parents retained our attorneys with the goal of regaining admission to the ACT or another exam to be able to satisfy college admission requirements. We invoked ACT dispute resolution procedures so that we could present our client senior's medical and other documentation in mitigation of the charges. We also included a verified statement explaining our client's confusion, along with a statement from one of the exam staff tending to support our client's position that she had misunderstood the exam staff's intentions. ACT officials accordingly dismissed the charges and reinstated our client to retake the ACT exam. Our client did not retake the ACT but instead took the SAT, having qualified to do so based on the ACT's charge dismissal. Our documentation was the key to our client's achieving her goal.
SAT Taker Defeats Misconduct Charges Alleging Technology Misuse
A student taking the SAT exam and intending to pursue a university education leading to a professional program and career used a laptop computer with secure exam software. The student experienced no technology issues, completed the exam, and expected favorable results. Instead, the student received a notice from SAT officials that they would not be releasing the student's SAT score because of irregularities detected by the exam software, indicating the accessing of other prohibited materials during the exam. The student and her parents retained our attorneys to find out what had occurred that might have given rise to the charges when the student had experienced no anomaly in taking the exam. Our forensic consultant communicated with SAT technology officials, learning that several such reports of suspected misconduct had come out of one exam administration involving one computer server or another central device. Our forensic consultant was able to show those SAT officials that the issue did not originate with our client student's own device and that the pattern of reports indicated an issue instead with the server or other central devices. Although the SAT had a score for our client student from her first attempt, our client agreed to retake the exam as a compromise, feeling that she would do better after having acclimated to the exam her first time. SAT officials accepted our proposal for a retake, which our client completed without issue, leaving her with a clear record. The key to our representation was our use of a highly qualified forensic consultant.
ACT Taker Clears Misconduct Charges Alleging False Identification
An immigrant student applied to take the ACT exam using state and federal identification that he had recently obtained in his entry and naturalization process. That identification, though, was inconsistent in some respects, including the variant spelling of his name and his home address, with other identification that he presented at the exam site on the day of the exam. When he protested the issue at the exam site, advocating with exam staff that they allow him to take the exam for which he had registered and prepared, exam staff reported to ACT officials that he had presented false identification, appeared to be an impostor, and had threatened or harassed exam staff. Unable to re-register for the ACT, the student retained our attorneys with the objective of gaining entry into the exam and clearing his record of misconduct. We were able to identify witnesses and obtain statements from them indicating that our client did not threaten or harass exam staff. We further provided all the relevant documentation, showing ACT officials the explainable inconsistencies in our client's identification. ACT officials initially refused to alter their position, but we were able to arrange an informal conference with ACT officials, at which they agreed to a dismissal of the charges and to allow our client to sit for the exam.
ACT Taker Obtains Retake Opportunity After Invoking Arbitration
A very bright student took the ACT exam, experiencing no apparent irregularities and expecting a very good score. Instead, the student did not receive any score when the student's high school classmates got their scores. The student's parents contacted the ACT, learning that the student was under investigation for exam misconduct. The student had no idea what the misconduct might entail, and ACT officials were not disclosing the nature of the alleged misconduct. The student and his parents thus retained our attorneys to find out what the ACT alleged and how they could answer the allegations. Our attorneys notified ACT officials of our retention while demanding the specifications of the charges. ACT officials disclosed that our client students' exam answers showed a pattern that they associated with cheating, which had to do in large part with the consistency of the answers and their very high scores. ACT officials refused to accept our client student's verified statement and our other documentation showing that our client was simply extraordinarily bright. We, therefore, invoked the arbitration procedure that ACT rules provide. We were well into preparation for the arbitration hearing, including an exchange of arbitration evidence and other materials, when the ACT officials suddenly relented and dismissed the charges on the advice of their legal counsel, with whom we had other cases. Our reputation and preparation were the keys to a favorable resolution.
