The 2020 Advanced Placement examination controversy involved

College Board The College Board is an American nonprofit organization that was formed in December 1899 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) to expand access to higher education. While the College Board is not an association of colleges, it runs a ...

, a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

education company, allegedly performing a series of potentially illegal activities, including

phishing Phishing is a type of social engineering where an attacker sends a fraudulent (e.g., spoofed, fake, or otherwise deceptive) message designed to trick a person into revealing sensitive information to the attacker or to deploy malicious softwar ...

students and creating unfair testing conditions. Estimates indicated that 4,914,000 AP tests were taken online due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, with some experiencing technical difficulties while submitting their examinations. In response, a lawsuit was filed against the College Board alleging breach of contract, gross negligence, misrepresentation, unjust enrichment and violations of the

Americans with Disabilities Act The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ...

. The lawsuit was subsequently administratively closed pending the outcome of arbitration between the College Board and the plaintiffs.

Controversies

Previous controversies

The College Board has received criticism for its high exam fees, the sale of student data in 2019, the recycling of past SAT Exams, reporting errors, and alleged monopolistic business practices. The company has also been accused of violating their

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

status because of its high executive compensation.

COVID-19 pandemic and controversy

In response to the

, the College Board announced the cancellation of several

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...

exams scheduled for Spring 2020 as well as the creation of an online at-home AP exam. Online AP examinations were open-note and lasted only 45 minutes. Many students reported issues with the online exams and more than 10,000 students had to retake the exams as a result. The College Board was also criticized for administering the exams during times inconvenient for students outside of the

contiguous United States The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...

with exams in some countries like Japan and South Korea being scheduled at 3:00 a.m. In response, the College Board has offered free CLEP testing to students overseas who were unsatisfied with their scores.

Lawsuit

On May 16, 2020, a

class-action lawsuit A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class action ...

joined by

FairTest The National Center for Fair & Open Testing, also known as FairTest, is an American educational organization that addresses issues related to fairness and accuracy in student test taking and scoring. History FairTest was founded in 1985 by leaders ...

was filed against the College Board based on alleged breaches of contract, gross negligence, misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, and violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. An earlier lawsuit alleged that the company used "unfair and deceptive means" to sell student data. On October 30, 2020, a judge granted a motion by the College Board to send most of the lawsuit's claims to arbitration, because nearly all the students represented in the suit had taken the AP tests, which included signing an agreement to resolve claims by arbitration.

References

{{reflist United States lawsuits Advanced Placement 2020 in education Education scandals