St. Paul, MN: (Aug-24-07) A class action lawsuit was brought against the not-for-profit College Board and test scoring company NCS Pearson Inc., alleging that more than 4,400 students received incorrect scores on 2005 SAT exams. The SAT is taken by more than 1.5 million students and used by many colleges as a factor in selecting students. The 2,400-point exam measures reasoning skills in reading, writing and math. The suit alleged that 4,411 students got incorrectly low scores and more than 600 had better results than they deserved on the October 2005 test.
In a settlement reached in the federal class action suit, the not-for-profit College Board and test scoring company NCS Pearson would give the wronged test takers a minimum of $275 each as part of a $2.85 million settlement. Further, as part of the deal, test-takers who were scored too low later had their results corrected. Sources claim that students who submit a short claim form will get the $275. Those that felt they were harmed more or wound up paying for tutoring because of the error can ask for a higher amount. People can also file their own lawsuits and not take part in the settlement.
After the error surfaced, the College Board implemented new quality control requirements. Officials said all answer sheets now must be scanned twice, on different days and using different machines. Completed tests are also kept in a setting that avoids excessive humidity because unusual moisture apparently contributed to the error. [FORBES: SAT TESTING ERRORS]
