Florida high school student Kamilah Campbell is no longer taking legal action in her fight against the College Board over her SAT scores.
Campbell, a senior at Michael M. Krop High School, is now looking to take the SAT for a third time, according to a joint statement from her lawyers and the College Board.
“The attention generated by Kamilah’s case has been extremely stressful and emotionally traumatizing for her,” reads the statement issued to CNN from Ben Crump Law, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, and the College Board. “Rather than further challenging the score validity process, she is now interested in potentially retaking the SAT and continuing her path forward privately as she pursues her college goals.”
Kamilah Campbell is no longer fighting to have her SAT scores validated by the College Board. (ABC Local 10 News)
Controversy surrounding the Miami Gardens student’s test scores erupted in January after the College Board sent Campbell a letter after she took the SAT a second time and told her the score was rendered “invalid.”
The student initially scored a 900 on the exam, which she took in March 2018 with no prep work on the advice of counselors. When she took the test again seven months later, she studied Princeton Review’s prep book, took online classes and hired a tutor. Her score increased more than 300 points to a combined total of 1230. A score of 1600 is perfect on the exam.
The jump caused the College Board’s Educational Testing Service to send a letter to the teen indicating the discrepancy could have been the result of cheating.
“We’re writing you because based on a preliminary review, there appears to be substantial evidence that your scores on the October 6, 2018 SAT are invalid,” read the letter sent to Atlanta Black Star through Campbell’s attorney Benjamin Crump. “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.”
After that, Campbell took on Crump’s services and the fight to get the student’s scores validated began. On Jan. 1 Crump sent a letter to the College Board demanding it validates her test scores in a timely fashion so she could be accepted into Florida State’s dance program.
“Instead of celebrating her and celebrating her achievement, they are trying to assassinate her character, and we won’t stand for that,” he said at a press conference Jan. 2.
“I did not cheat. I studied, and I focused to achieve my dreams,” said Campbell. “To have your effort taken away from you, and them saying, ‘Oh well, we think you cheated.’ It’s not fair.”
She added, “I worked so hard and did everything I could do.”
The local NAACP and two school board members stood behind the teen at the time her test score issue rose to prominence.
Atlanta Black Star has reached out to Campbell’s attorneys for comment.
