In a noteworthy resolution to a legal entanglement, the College Board, administrator of the SAT and other standardized tests, has agreed to shell out a hefty $750,000 following accusations by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The allegations assert that the Board violated the privacy of high school students by peddling their personal data gleaned from exam sessions. This seismic settlement was unveiled on Tuesday, casting a shadow over the reputed nonprofit institution.
James’s probe revealed a disconcerting narrative: the College Board, comprising over 6,000 affiliates, allegedly raked in millions between 2018 and 2022. This financial windfall stemmed from the licensing of students’ information to a staggering array of entities, including over 1,000 educational institutions and scholarship programs. Shockingly, these beneficiaries capitalized on the acquired data to target students with solicitations, exploiting details ranging from names and contact information to ethnic backgrounds, academic records, and test scores.
What’s particularly egregious is that this purported misconduct transpired in defiance of a 2014 state education statute expressly forbidding the commercial exploitation of student data. Despite this legislative stricture, the College Board purportedly persisted, utilizing its Student Search Service as a conduit for trading sensitive information.
A damning revelation emerged from James’s investigation: in 2019 alone, the College Board licensed the data of a staggering 237,000 New York students who had undertaken its exams, encompassing not only the SAT but also the PSAT and advanced placement tests. Furthermore, the nonprofit was accused of blurring ethical lines by dispatching marketing collateral unrelated to exam-related matters, further unsettling students already grappling with the stress of standardized testing.
In a stinging rebuke, James underscored the profound indignation this breach of trust engendered: “Students have more than enough to be stressed about when they take college entrance exams, and shouldn’t have to worry about their personal information being bought and sold.”
The settlement, inked on Tuesday, encompasses a spectrum of punitive measures, including civil penalties, disgorgement, and ancillary expenses. Crucially, it mandates stringent restrictions, precluding the College Board from monetizing data culled through agreements with New York City and other educational districts.
Remarkably, the College Board neither confessed to nor repudiated the alleged transgressions, discontinuing some contentious practices in 2022. In a statement, it expressed satisfaction with the resolution while subtly dissenting from James’s legal interpretation, emphasizing that no evidence emerged implicating the misuse of student data. Moreover, it extolled the virtues of its Student Search Service, touting its purported role in catalyzing college admissions, particularly among minority cohorts.
This denouement underscores the intersection of privacy, education, and commerce, serving as a cautionary tale in an era where data brokerage is ubiquitous. As the dust settles, questions linger about the broader ramifications and systemic safeguards needed to preserve the sanctity of student privacy in an increasingly digitized educational landscape.
