2008 Woodie Awards
College Board accuses Texas test-prep company of illegally obtaining exams
Firm sued for infringing copyright
Justin Pope
The Associated Press
Issue date: 2/21/08 Section: News
The owner of the SAT and PSAT exams sued a Dallas-area test-preparation company Wednesday, accusing it of trying to give its customers an unfair edge on the tests by illegally obtaining "live" copies to help students practice.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Dallas, alleges that the Karen Dillard College Prep company got a copy of the PSAT administered last October from a Plano, Texas, high school principal whose brother works at the company.
The lawsuit brought by the New York-based College Board, alleging copyright infringement, could bring attention to the burgeoning test-prep industry, which some critics contend gives well-off students an unfair advantage on entrance exams.
"We are outraged by the deceptive and unlawful tactics, knowingly practiced by KDCP," said Edna Johnson, senior vice president of the College Board, a not-for-profit membership group of high schools, colleges and educational groups.
"Most distressing to us is that students and their parents put their faith in this expensive prep process that was ultimately based on stealing the College Board's work product," she said.
A message left at the company's office requesting comment from the defendants - owners Karen and David Dillard, and executive director Matthew Novotny - was returned by Karen Dillard.
She said she had not seen the lawsuit and had no immediate comment.
According to the lawsuit, Novotny obtained a copy of the PSAT administered Oct. 17 from his brother, Michael Novotny, the principal of T.C. Jasper High School in Plano.
The PSAT is generally taken by younger students as practice for the SAT, though it is used to select National Merit Scholarship recipients.
Reached by telephone at his office, Michael Novotny, who is not named as a defendant, declined to comment.
The SAT is administered seven times per year, and questions and portions of the exam are sometimes reused. The exams are considered "live" until they are officially retired. Test-site administrators are instructed to collect all test forms and lock them away.
According to its Web site, KDCP has campuses in Dallas, Plano and Colleyville, Texas, and according to the lawsuit charges as much as $2,299 for test prep services. Johnson said the College Board was approached by a whistle-blower inside the company.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Dallas, alleges that the Karen Dillard College Prep company got a copy of the PSAT administered last October from a Plano, Texas, high school principal whose brother works at the company.
The lawsuit brought by the New York-based College Board, alleging copyright infringement, could bring attention to the burgeoning test-prep industry, which some critics contend gives well-off students an unfair advantage on entrance exams.
"We are outraged by the deceptive and unlawful tactics, knowingly practiced by KDCP," said Edna Johnson, senior vice president of the College Board, a not-for-profit membership group of high schools, colleges and educational groups.
"Most distressing to us is that students and their parents put their faith in this expensive prep process that was ultimately based on stealing the College Board's work product," she said.
A message left at the company's office requesting comment from the defendants - owners Karen and David Dillard, and executive director Matthew Novotny - was returned by Karen Dillard.
She said she had not seen the lawsuit and had no immediate comment.
According to the lawsuit, Novotny obtained a copy of the PSAT administered Oct. 17 from his brother, Michael Novotny, the principal of T.C. Jasper High School in Plano.
The PSAT is generally taken by younger students as practice for the SAT, though it is used to select National Merit Scholarship recipients.
Reached by telephone at his office, Michael Novotny, who is not named as a defendant, declined to comment.
The SAT is administered seven times per year, and questions and portions of the exam are sometimes reused. The exams are considered "live" until they are officially retired. Test-site administrators are instructed to collect all test forms and lock them away.
According to its Web site, KDCP has campuses in Dallas, Plano and Colleyville, Texas, and according to the lawsuit charges as much as $2,299 for test prep services. Johnson said the College Board was approached by a whistle-blower inside the company.
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