This is just so ridiculous …They need to be stopped !! I wish that I knew how. My son is devesteted and a happy time has turned to uncertainty and sadness.
So my daughter recently got her April ACT score back with a 10 point jump. She was very sick a year ago when she took it for the first time and is healthy now. Her psat she took this fall was also coordinated with her higher ACT score. She is a junior now. She wasn’t planning on retaking the test and people at school told her about all this that has been happening. I’m curious if we should be doing something now ? She is so anxious about it and is convinced she wouldn’t be able
To do as well. She is under the impression after 8 weeks if they haven’t said anything she is ok but after reading this thread that is absolutely not true. Any recommendations for us to be prepared if they come back trying to cancel her recent scores? I thought I’d mention to her
Doctor to maybe write up a letter but I also don’t want it to look like we expected this to happen?
Also, does anyone know if anyone has every increased their score without getting it cancelled?
Thank you!!
I’d line up the ducks just in case. Having a doctor’s note makes perfect sense - the doctor wouldn’t be testifying either way about whether your daughter cheated because he/she wasn’t in the room. Also, a note for that time in your D’s life when her grades and other performance measures may have been compromised due to illness totally makes sense for college apps. If the diagnosis and treatment were legit, they will stand on their own as evidence.
It’s sad that ACT forces this issue upon testers and their families so that they no longer trust the integrity of the testing agency in evaluating the veracity of these scores, but so be it. Fail to see how nailing perfectly innocent testers can possibly deter the actual cheaters; they get to express the same outrage and no one thinks anything other than how awful ACT is.
Wonder if this is bringing kids over to SAT. I strongly suspect our youngest will be the type to have a jump in scores once she’s used to the test. We are planning to avoid ACT altogether; our state does mandate a standardized test on record for graduation, but it doesn’t have to be the ACT, fortunately.
Thanks so much! We will go ahead and proceed with doctors note.
@Mij123 Based on some of the other comments posted in this thread by parents/students who have been accused of cheating, I don’t think a doctor’s note will be of much help if your child’s test is flagged by ACT. Since the PSAT score is comparable to the ACT score, if I were in your shoes, I would have my child sit for the SAT. That way, if the ACT score is cancelled, you would have an SAT score on-hand.
I agree with shuttles in that the ACT will come back and argue with their own statistics that illness, rest, prep cannot have that much effect on a test score. I think you can try a doctors note but I also think you should feather into the argument that because if the illness your daughter didn’t try as hard to do well because she knew she could re-take it. I have seen their argument against sleep deprivation and no prep but I have not seen their argument against effort. Good Luck.
*shuttlebus
@Gditty - when you’ve not seen their argument, do you mean that they don’t have one (against lack of effort) or that they just haven’t made one to best of your knowledge? I’d think this would be a valid point to make, esp. with all these grad standards that mandate you have to sit some specific test on some specific date. If someone has a great ACT on file already, why would they worry about that “mandated” version?
Sorry for the delay…they had statistical arguments against lack of sleep and lack of prep. My guess is that they don’t have statistics against the argument that the student did not try hard. Only a guess though.
I’ve just stumbled upon and read this entire thread in two sittings, and am now picking up my jaw from the floor. This situation is beyond stunning. All the best to each and every one of you who shared your stories. Agree with other posts that this sure sounds like a class-action lawsuit in the making. Accountability and oversight are desperately needed. Outrageous.
I had never heard of this happening until my son received his certified letter from ACT in the mail last Friday, two days before he was to move into his dorm, three days before starting college. He took the test in Feb 2019 and received his results within 2 weeks but didn’t receive the letter falsely accusing him of the exact same, word for word, as what I have read in all the previous stories, I think I’m still in shock that a company is allowed to continue knowingly doing this to these kids. As parents we tell our children that if they work hard they will be rewarded but thanks to ACT, my child’s future is being derailed and why, I really don’t understand because I can’t even comprehend evil and this is exactly what this is. I bet none of the executives at ACT would allow this to happen to one of their children and that’s what these students are is children. As a free nation we boast that we take care of and protect our children and that is a complete lie. ACT is destroying these kids futures and bullying the victims by not giving you a choice or a fair fight. From what I’ve read, it doesn’t matter what documentation or statements you provide, their arbitration clause that you are made to sign if you need to take the test for college admission makes it impossible to win against them. What cowards. My grandmother used to tell me that people that accuse you of stealing, steal, people who accuse you of cheating, cheat and people who accuse you of lying, are liars. Just like every other piece of advice she ever gave me, she was right. It’s no surprise that ACT continues to accuse innocent kids of lying & cheating because they nothing but liars and cheaters. I hope every college that currently requires this test for admission would no longer make that a requirement and no one would have to take their test so they could experience what it feels like to have your future destroyed. The only difference would be that they brought it all on their selves and actually are guilty of wrong doing and believe me this many stories are no mistake. How can anyone continue to work for a company after reading what they have done to these kids. I hope they know that while they may have the power over us here on earth that we all have to answer to a much higher power in the end so for that I pray for you because you will need it!
I can completely understand your anger and frustration with ACT. My son (and our family) recently went through this accusation. Initially, we provided them with transcripts and letters of support, which I truly believe they do not even consider. The questioned test was taken in July 2018 and we received the accusation letter from ACT in April 2019. This was the worst possible timing since my son’s schedule was completely booked for the next four months–then college. He is also playing college football on a scholarship, so this potentially could cost him his scholarship. We kept in constent contact with ACT and received the max number of extensions available so my son had time to study for the retake. ACT holds all the cards. My son recently took the retest and we received his results which confirmed his questioned test scores. After reading numerous posts from this forum I can sympathize with the anger and skeptism in basically being forced to retake the ACT–you can tell who is actually being accused of cheating and others who merely claim what is the big deal in “just retaking the test.” Simply the principle of being accused of cheating with little or no proof provided by ACT and the accused having little to no recourse. Your shock is understandable, I wish you the best in your resolution path.
Curious about how your case was resolved? Notice your post was made around the same time we received the first certified letter from ACT.
We lost in arbitration. My daughter had completed her first semester in college by the time the ruling was made. Thankfully her education has not been effected. It was the principle we were fighting for. Congrats to your son. Well done!
Both the ACT and the College Board have been negligent-Class action suit worthy negligent! They have an obligation to develop tests and establish testing conditions that prevent cheating to begin with and both companies fail miserably. Their solution to their own negligence should not be to send accusatory letters to and to deny credit to any student their algorithm identifies as possibly having cheated. They “appear to be” engaged in misconduct from the get-go and not just about the integrity of the tests and extent to which they are cheat-proof; and not just about reusing tests or about allowing some states (China among others) to engage in organized cheating. Another is about how they deal with disabilities. They should be using appropriate norms for those getting extra time. They can well afford to establish those norms. They have failed to generate the norms , thus rendering the untimed tests invalid (by violating one of the most fundamental principles of psychometrics when it is totally unnecessary to do so). Both “appear to” be predatory/greedy companies that have failed in their central missions, have exploited kids/parents in the name of profit and have acquired too much power. Both companies have too much control over the USA’s public school system while failing so many of the kids. Can someone say Class Action? Got a lawyer? Time!
Totally agree with lostaccount. It is time!
The National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest) has learned that several students and their parents have recently challenged ACT’s decision to withhold test scores by filing for review directly with the American Arbitration Association (AAA) instead of signing ACT’s “Submission Agreement,” which unfairly curtails students’ rights (one-sided language favoring ACT on written submissions, confidentiality, prohibiting damages, etc.). It appears that families have long been misled by ACT into believing that the company’s restrictive agreement was the only way to initiate arbitration.
Direct filing with AAA for arbitration against ACT is easy. Simply fill in the “Demand” form on the AAA website, pay the standard $200 consumer fee for the arbitration process, and include a copy of ACT’s “Terms and Conditions.” Do not sign ACT’s “Submission Agreement.” Be sure to follow all of ACT’s other procedures carefully. .
FairTest has also learned of recent legal and arbitration cases that are challenging ACT’s arbitration clause as unconscionable and unenforceable. They cite a favorable New Jersey state court decision in Clare v. ACT earlier this year. One unenforceable aspect of ACT’s arbitration clause is a blanket provision preventing test takers from claiming damages. Recent arbitration filers, who are optimistic that they can nullify the arbitration clause, have added claims for expenses paid by a parent and punitive damages against ACT.
Finally, FairTest has been informed that some recent arbitration filers are arguing that a multi-month delay in receiving notification of an ACT score review is unfair, unreasonable, and demonstrates a breach of contract, gross negligence, and fraud.
Note that none of the recent arbitration cases is far enough along to have a decision yet on any of these specific issues. But we now know that direct filing with AAA without signing ACT’s Submission Agreement can be a viable option if done carefully.
ACT recently redrafted its “Terms and Conditions” for the 2019-2020 school year to address some of the issues raised by the Clare decision. But the updated version, which will only apply to test takers whose scores on upcoming tests are challenged, still contains some problematic provisions.
We are in the same boat with all of you! I’ve read the entire chain and am just heartbroken…
First, thank you, Catherine, for starting this conversation and Bob Schaeffer for all of your great hard work on this! This fight is so important. So huge.
Our daughter scored 25 in September and 31 in October. 6 point improvement. Exactly 6 month after the test the letter came. Classic. Exactly the same statistical nonsense was provided to us - local and historical data analysis, seating chart (“Source Examinee” sitting directly behind 6 ft away in her blind spot), proctor confirmed no irregularities, etc… We are on the second review with their Review Panel. We are totally expecting a negative response. Any day now.
Our daughter started her first semester in college. Loves the school, lives in dorms. We decided to reach out to their Admissions to be upfront and see what impact it may have. Given our daughter’s outstanding record of her achievements and references from her high school teachers and tutors, we were confident the school will be understanding. Well… they seemed to mainly focus on scores and not her achievements due the impacted program our daughter is in. We were told that should ACT decide to withhold her higher score, they will have to change her to Undecided major and she will not be able to return to this program as the lower score of 25 does not meet the minim acceptance requirement to that major. We left heartbroken and deeply disappointed. As much as we were confident to continue the fight in arbitration, we are starting to lean towards retake. To add test prep to our daughter’s plate now feels so unfair. Like someone here said, feels like child abuse. From any of your experience, how much time does ACT give to prep for the “private” retake? And if we choose arbitration, how costly is it? Any attorney recommendations on the West Coast.
Thank you all, good luck to everyone!
In response to the questions asked by zcritic: ACT generally seems to want a private retest administered within several weeks after that option is chosen, but the time frame depends upon several variables, including when a proctor can be scheduled. The main advantage of a private retest is that the student can confirm the challenged score by scoring 3 points lower, so a private retest score of 28 would confirm the challenged score of 31 However, the student must give up arbitration in choosing a private retest.
If a 28 would be sufficient for the student to remain in her chosen major, perhaps she should try to get that score at a regular ACT administration. She could have two opportunities to sit for a regular ACT – October and December – during the time period when an arbitration procedure is likely to be pending. In FairTest’s experience, arbitrations typically (but not always) take between 2 and 6 months, from filing to conclusion.
The arbitration fee for a student is $200, as mentioned in my previous posting. Having an attorney’s assistance in arbitration is usually beneficial, though not absolutely necessary.
I read through this thread a couple months ago and know I found the assumption somewhere but I can’t now.
What is the ‘average’ point increase where people see these letters?
My daughter took the school-sponsored test in March of this year and retook it this month with an increase from 31 to 33.
Heartbreaking that people have experienced this. . .