Dalton v. Educational Testing Service

Facts

Plaintiff took the May SAT administered by Defendant. In November, he took the test again and scored 410 points higher. Since the increase was more than 350 points, Defendant classified the test results in the category of “Large Score Differences” or “discrepant scores.” Defendant submitted the answer sheets to a document examiner, who opined that different individuals completed the answer sheets. Defendant’s Board of Review determined that substantial evidence supported canceling Plaintiff’s November score. In registering for the November exam, Plaintiff had signed an agreement granting Defendant the right to cancel any score if Defendant has reason to question the score’s validity. The contract also provided five options for Plaintiff in the event the score is questioned. Among those options is submitting additional information, which Plaintiff chose to do. Despite substantial evidence that Plaintiff took both tests, Defendant relied exclusively on the opinions of two docume nt examiners that Plaintiff did not author both tests. Therefore, Plaintiff’s father initiated this action to prevent Defendant from canceling Plaintiff’s score.