1,600 more unchecked SAT tests found

PRINCETON, N.J., March 14 (UPI) -- The College Board found a fresh problem affecting college-admission tests -- 1,600 SAT tests that were not checked for scoring errors, a report said Tuesday.

The 1,600 are in addition to 4,000 students' SAT scores from an October test that were raised as much as 400 points because of damp paper problems at Pearson Educational Measurement's Texas processing facility.

The 1,600 tests were to be examined by the Educational Testing Service.

Freehold Township, N.J., High School senior Amanda Hecker retook the SAT in October hoping to raise her score. Instead, it fell 180 points and she skipped applying to Harvard and Yale universities.

"The College Board's analysis shows that it is a onetime anomaly and blames it on the rain," Hecker told The New York Times. "Should America now be quick to trust this organization that has such a clutch on the college admissions process and college-bound students' emotions?"

College Board President Gaston Caperton apologized for the errors but rejected calls for an outside audit of Pearson.