UPDATE: 11:15 a.m., July 11, 2017
Judge Michael M. Anello will hear San Diego Unified's motion for a temporary restraining order in federal court 4 p.m. Friday, according to court records. The district filed a lawsuit Friday against the College Board and Educational Testing Services, the company that administers Advanced Placement tests, seeking to have the results of 844 voided Scripps Ranch High School AP exams released.
The district, along with 23 students, is alleging that withholding the scores is a breach of contract. The students say they would face thousands of dollars in damages if they miss out on college credits because of the decision.
Read the original post.
An attorney for the San Diego Unified School District was in court Monday seeking a temporary restraining order on a College Board ruling to invalidate several hundred Advanced Placement exams taken at Scripps Ranch High School in May. The testing nonprofit voided the tests after learning the school did not follow proper seating protocols.
RELATED: How A Distance Of Two Feet Invalidated 500 AP Tests At Scripps Ranch High
The district is also asking a judge for an expedited hearing, aimed at getting a decision as early as Friday. Retests are set to begin next week.
School board Vice President Kevin Beiser told KPBS Midday Edition, unlike other College Board rulings that were handed down during the school year, this decision has caused “irreparable harm” because families were notified after the school year had ended. He said some students are out of the country or are already on their college campuses taking summer courses.
In an emailed statement, College Board spokeswoman Jaslee Carayo said:
Advanced Placement exams are administered by high schools, which agree to follow the College Board’s test administration requirements. Those requirements specify a minimum distance between test takers and prohibit the use of partitions. As the San Diego Unified School District has acknowledged, neither of those requirements was followed by Scripps Ranch High School.
Colleges rightly expect the College Board to safeguard the integrity of AP scores. A test security incident prompted the investigation that revealed massive seating violations, and when a high school does not comply with the College Board’s test administration requirements, an indeterminate number of students can gain an unfair advantage. For that reason, while we take the decision to cancel scores very seriously, there is no alternative in such situations.
We understand the frustration of all affected students and parents. To support the students, we have offered two fee-free testing opportunities.
Beiser did not say how much the legal action will cost the district. A retainer contract with law firm Higgs, Fletcher & Mack shows attorney William Low would be paid $220 an hour, with payment to the firm capped at $50,000 total over the life of the contract, which ends June 30, 2018. The contract provides some flexibility to renegotiate that cap as needed.
