On Monday afternoon, a parent from New York City called Biltmore Tutoring because she had “heard” that we had successfully defended four students whose scores were invalidated by the College Board.
We had once published an article giving parents advice on what to do if their students’ scores were challenged, because it’s happened to us a few times.
Let’s face it. Our job at Biltmore Tutoring is to improve student’s scores dramatically. This is what we do with hundreds of kids each year. Naturally, there have been some impressive score improvements that have raised an eyebrow or two at College Board and ACT. We pride ourselves in this, but occasionally, the improvement on the surface appears greater than a student should be able to attain with test preparation.
As most of our clients know, our tutors write extensive notes for parents, documenting successes and work ethic during each session. The tutors also write notes to the administrators, letting us know what leaps we are seeing and what areas we still need to boost.
When a child picks up 400 points, and we have comprehensive tutor documentation showing great strides in each area, along with actual conditions practice exams that mirror these steady improvements, it’s pretty difficult for anyone to see anything but diligence, commitment, and hard work on the part of the student.
We have yet to lose a case, even when the College Board or ACT say that cheating may have been involved (it never has been) because we have always been able to document the scores reached as compared to prior attempts. We’re good at what we do!
Imagine my shock when this woman, whose child we had never worked with, asked if I could provide her with tutor documentation to help her kid out. I guess we have a section of the population who feels they need not work their tails off to achieve admissions to selective schools. I abruptly ended the phone call.
The next day, when the college admissions cheating scandal hit the news, I knew why I had been contacted by this woman, looking for one more loophole, one more grift she could pull over on the sacred admissions process. At Biltmore Tutoring, though, the process is what is important, and cheating is never part of our system.
Stacey Caskey