Kamilah Campbell was not happy with her low score of just 900 points when she took the SATs for the first time last March. Campbell doubled-down on studying and prepared to take the test again in hopes of getting into Florida State University to study dance. She enlisted the help of a tutor and took multiple practice tests as she got ready to re-take the important test.
All the hard work paid off, with Campbell improving her score by over 300 points. However, drastic improvement raised eyebrows from officials, who after reviewing the results, deemed that she had cheated and that her score of 1230 was invalid.
Campbell denied the accusations that she cheated and hired civil rights attorney Ben Crump to help her get the Educational Testing Service and the College Board to certify the results as valid.
Crump accused the officials of "trying to assassinate her character."
"She studied harder than she ever studied before. Focused more than she ever focused before to conquer this test," Crump said. "She made a 1230 on the SAT in October."
Campbell received letters of support from her tutor and one of her teachers, and even sent photocopies of her practice tests to prove that her improvement was the result of hard work.
While the legal battle continues on, Campbell is worried about how the delay will impact her chances to get accepted to college.
“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.”
An official from the Educational Testing Service explained that they "will only cancel scores after we are confident that there is substantial evidence to do so," but refused to give specific details as to why they believe she cheated.