Miami Student Accused Of Cheating On SATs After Her Score Improved 330 Points

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The attorney and family of a Dr. Michael M. Krop High School senior is demanding that the Educational Testing Service (EST), the company that administers the SAT, release and validate the test scores of Kamilah Campbell.

Campbell, 18, is an honors student at the school with a 3.1 GPA.

Her attorney Benjamin Crump said at the advice of a guidance counselor, Capmbell took the SAT in March 2018 with no preparation to get a baseline test score.

Campbell scored a 900 out of 1600 on her first attempt.

She later enrolled in Kahn Academy, an online test prep service and studied under tutors.

She took the SAT again in October and scored a 1230, according to Crump. This time, however, she was told her score was flagged.

"She was told her score was flagged because such a marked improvement of her score indicated to ETS that she likely had prior knowledge of the test," said Crump. "Everything we want our young people to do when it comes to sacrifice and focus. They say focus is the key to success. That's exactly what Kamilah did."

Campbell is no worried she won't get into Florida State University, her dream school, because the deadline to send in SAT scores was January 1.

FSU has the 14th-highest ranked dance program in the country.

"That's basically been the only thing I've ever wanted to do," said Campbell. "Dance is always going to be a part of my life."

Crump said he will look into implicit bias and take legal action if their demands to validate and release test scores aren't met.

"We're outraged about the accusation, the innuendo that this young black student can't achieve," said Crump. "That if she is to have achieved a 1230 on the SAT, then she must've done something inappropriate. We reject that allegation."

"I studied and focused to achieve my dreams," said Campbell. 'I won't let ETS or anybody else take away my dream from me."

Crump is demanding that the EST release and validate Campbell's score within 2 weeks, so she has a fair chance in the college application process.

Crump adds that Campbell is already traumatized, stressed, and losing chances at applying for scholarships, something that would help her single mother with college tuition.

If the demands aren't met in the timeline, Crump said they'll take legal action which include a violation of Campbell's civil rights.

Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho also got involved, reaching out to the president of the college board on behalf of Campbell.

Watch Superintendent Carvalho's comments below:

COLLEGE BOARD STATEMENT:

The College Board celebrates when students work hard and improve their scores on the SAT. We created Official SAT Practice on Khan Academy to give all students the chance to receive free, personalized practice. We are proud of research that shows that students who spent 20 hours on Official SAT Practice gained an average of 115 points between the PSAT/NMSQT and the SAT. These gains were consistent across race, income and gender.

When it comes to test security, we have consistent, established procedures to follow to ensure that all students have a fair chance to show their best work and that the scores we deliver to colleges are valid. Working with ETS, our test security and administration provider, 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. We do not cancel scores based on a score gain alone; we will only cancel scores after we are confident that there is substantial evidence to do so.

We don't discuss publicly the specific facts of an individual student's scores under review.