College Board Sues N. Texas Test-Prep Company Over Exams

I have known Karen Dillard for many years and I do not believe that she would knowingly do anything that would put her students scores in jepordy.

I have also known the Dillards for many years. I believe this is a set up by disgruntled employees. David and Karen are honest and reputable individuals who do a lot of good in their commumity.

An Open Letter From Karen Dillard
February 21, 2008

Yesterday, we received word that The College Board filed suit against Karen Dillard College Prep (“KDCP”) for copyright infringement. There are many allegations made against KDCP that are completely groundless. Most upsetting to us is the outrageous claim that some of Karen Dillard students’ scores could be cancelled. In the 16 years we have been in business, The College Board has never cancelled any of our students’ test scores based on their use of our curriculum. The PSAT test in question was not given to us until the PSAT testing was over and was never used in any of our test preparation materials. Because of this, our students are not in any danger of having their PSAT scores cancelled.

Contrary to The College Board’s assertions that our entire curriculum is based on “stolen” College Board materials, the majority of our teaching materials are created by our own expert curriculum team. As part of our preparation, we have purchased some tests from College Board. This lawsuit is the result of us continuing to use some of those materials as teaching tools after College Board stopped selling them in 2005. We believe that having paid for those materials, we had the right to use them for educational purposes. While we continue to believe we had the right to use the tests, nonetheless, we immediately stopped using them once The College Board brought this to our attention four months ago.

We believe that part of the motivation of The College Board in bringing this lawsuit is to drive test preparation companies such as ours out of business so they can dominate the industry with their own test preparation materials, which are for sale. The College Board makes millions of dollars from testing fees and the sale of test preparation materials.

At KDCP, the trust placed in us for 16 years by students and their families is the cornerstone of our business. We have helped countless Dallas Fort Worth students enter the college of their choice. We cherish our clients’ trust in us and the many calls of heartfelt encouragement we have received during this very difficult time. Please be assured we will continue to provide the very best instruction for all of our students and their families and look forward to complete vindication from this unfair lawsuit.


Karen Dillard

The real losers here are the students who were simply trying to assure themselves of the best education possible. While I don't know Karen Dillard or her company, I do know Michael Novotny and can't say I am surprised by the allegations. He is a completely political creature with his own interests at heart; not the interests of the students entrusted to his guidance. I believe that he has severly damaged the educational program and environment at Jasper High School with his leadership style over the last 3 years and that the shoddy treatment many teachers and department heads have received at his hands has come back in its own karmic way to him.

SMedia wrote:

An Open Letter From Karen Dillard
February 21, 2008
Yesterday, we received word that The College Board filed suit against Karen Dillard College Prep (“KDCP”) for copyright infringement. There are many allegations made against KDCP that are completely groundless. Most upsetting to us is the outrageous claim that some of Karen Dillard students’ scores could be cancelled. In the 16 years we have been in business, The College Board has never cancelled any of our students’ test scores based on their use of our curriculum. The PSAT test in question was not given to us until the PSAT testing was over and was never used in any of our test preparation materials. Because of this, our students are not in any danger of having their PSAT scores cancelled.
Contrary to The College Board’s assertions that our entire curriculum is based on “stolen” College Board materials, the majority of our teaching materials are created by our own expert curriculum team. As part of our preparation, we have purchased some tests from College Board. This lawsuit is the result of us continuing to use some of those materials as teaching tools after College Board stopped selling them in 2005. We believe that having paid for those materials, we had the right to use them for educational purposes. While we continue to believe we had the right to use the tests, nonetheless, we immediately stopped using them once The College Board brought this to our attention four months ago.
We believe that part of the motivation of The College Board in bringing this lawsuit is to drive test preparation companies such as ours out of business so they can dominate the industry with their own test preparation materials, which are for sale. The College Board makes millions of dollars from testing fees and the sale of test preparation materials.
At KDCP, the trust placed in us for 16 years by students and their families is the cornerstone of our business. We have helped countless Dallas Fort Worth students enter the college of their choice. We cherish our clients’ trust in us and the many calls of heartfelt encouragement we have received during this very difficult time. Please be assured we will continue to provide the very best instruction for all of our students and their families and look forward to complete vindication from this unfair lawsuit.
Karen Dillard

2 Things:
1.“Dillard would not say how she got the test, but she did say it was unsolicited.”
Why didn’t Karen Dillard simply say “this is not right, I will NOT have that test in my possession. Now she is so sorry….BECAUSE SHE GOT CAUGHT.
2.“The company's owner (Karen Dillard) countered that it was being bullied by the College Board, which she said had broken its promise not to sue if the company cooperated in an investigation and was trying to drive a test-prep competitor out of business.”
Why did Dillard make a deal with the College Board? She obviously was guilty and wanted it swept under the rug. The College Board had greater morals than Dillard and didn’t go for that. Now Dillard is crying the blues…why?...BECAUSE SHE GOT CAUGHT
All students who signed up within the last four months should be offered a partial or full refund, unless it was disclosed when money was exchanged that the College Board had some problems with Karen Dillard.
Where there is smoke there is fire, and all fingers are pointing at a situation where bad judgment was used. Time to face the music Karen, and make the students and parents whole again.

College Board has retracted their statement to say that they are not canceling any scores. If Plano schools and Mike Novotny were quilty of any wrongdoing then they would have been named in the lawsuit. College Board knew that it wouldn't be news without throwing in PISD into the press release to muddy the water. The scare tactics that College Board are using only shows their true character.

Is your name really John? I think you must be one of the two ex-disgruntled employees that set her up. You know too much inside information. Get a life other than trying to destroy others.

John from PlanoTX wrote:

2 Things:
1.“Dillard would not say how she got the test, but she did say it was unsolicited.”
Why didn’t Karen Dillard simply say “this is not right, I will NOT have that test in my possession. Now she is so sorry….BECAUSE SHE GOT CAUGHT.
2.“The company's owner (Karen Dillard) countered that it was being bullied by the College Board, which she said had broken its promise not to sue if the company cooperated in an investigation and was trying to drive a test-prep competitor out of business.”
Why did Dillard make a deal with the College Board? She obviously was guilty and wanted it swept under the rug. The College Board had greater morals than Dillard and didn’t go for that. Now Dillard is crying the blues…why?...BECAUSE SHE GOT CAUGHT
All students who signed up within the last four months should be offered a partial or full refund, unless it was disclosed when money was exchanged that the College Board had some problems with Karen Dillard.
Where there is smoke there is fire, and all fingers are pointing at a situation where bad judgment was used. Time to face the music Karen, and make the students and parents whole again.

Thank you for the high compliment thinking I have too much inside information. If you read my response carefully, I am merely analyzing the articles and using logic (I must be pretty dang good). Maybe the fact that you are accusing me of being an insider means that you are affiliated with the owners of Karen Dillard and I hit a nerve of truth, which is guilty as charged.

As far as "get a life other than trying to destroy others"...I am not the person in the possession of real test materials and disseminating those to students, Karen Dillard is the one.

Now in an article this morning in the DMN Karen says "I'm not an attorney and I didn't know". Okay...how many other criminals do I read about who use that for an excuse. She has 3 locations hundreds of students, has been in business for 16 years and "she doesn't know".

Give me a break, she's a cheater, who will be sued by the College Board, and lose her business.
The end.

Pat from Plano wrote:

Is your name really John? I think you must be one of the two ex-disgruntled employees that set her up. You know too much inside information. Get a life other than trying to destroy others. <quoted text>

I think I must have hit a nerve with you.

John from PlanoTX wrote:

Thank you for the high compliment thinking I have too much inside information. If you read my response carefully, I am merely analyzing the articles and using logic (I must be pretty dang good). Maybe the fact that you are accusing me of being an insider means that you are affiliated with the owners of Karen Dillard and I hit a nerve of truth, which is guilty as charged.
As far as "get a life other than trying to destroy others"...I am not the person in the possession of real test materials and disseminating those to students, Karen Dillard is the one.
Now in an article this morning in the DMN Karen says "I'm not an attorney and I didn't know". Okay...how many other criminals do I read about who use that for an excuse. She has 3 locations hundreds of students, has been in business for 16 years and "she doesn't know".
Give me a break, she's a cheater, who will be sued by the College Board, and lose her business.
The end.
<quoted text>

I think John must be a professional blogger that is paid by College Board.

Pat from Plano wrote:

I think I must have hit a nerve with you.
<quoted text>

John above is quoting new articles and giving his analysis. Pat and Fred scold John and make assumptions about him. Let's see, who is being sued? Not John. Who has been given material they are not supposed to have? Not John.
These tactics to draw the attention away from Karen Dillard and on to John (who we don't know) are used by folks who are guilty, they try to put bad light on others instead of accepting guilt. Karen Dillard should admit her guilt and go forward.
"We are outraged by the deceptive and unlawful tactics, knowingly practiced by KDCP," said Edna Johnson, senior vice president of the College Board"
This is a quote from a news article. Now Pat and Fred (both from Arlington...hmmm) may I state my opinion without being labeled hateful or a College Board serial blogger?
A Sr. VP of a company does not use the words "unlawful" or "deceptive" unless there is ample proof, otherwise they would be in danger of liable and slander. Corporate attorneys advise these people before they make statements.
People get off easier when they just admit their guilt, it's proven fact. But KD is going to admit nothing and be sued and dragged through court until she loses her business and the reputation she spent 16 years to build.

O.J. Simpson was once beloved by many also. You know what they say in the financial world "past performance may not be indicative of future results". Greed will do strange things to people, and cheating to accumulate wealth is wrong.

Sally wrote:

I have also known the Dillards for many years. I believe this is a set up by disgruntled employees. David and Karen are honest and reputable individuals who do a lot of good in their commumity.

I think it is quite interesting that the person accused of providing the test (the principal) was the brother of her employee. Did the brothers never talk about what the test really was and how it could benefit KDCP? Unlikely!!! Also, from personal contact with hundreds of parents and students from Plano ISD, Karen Dillard was a vendor that was permitted in the schools to solicit business. This is against PISD policy. Why was she allowed this advantage over other companies? She must have been politically connected somehow.

All in all, the entire story sounds quite fishy. Perhaps she initally entered the test prep business with true intentions to assist students in their success. But, after being in for profit education for years, I have seen more corruption occur due to greed and less integrity to help others. If in fact, Ms Dillard is guilty of the crime she is accused of, I hope her organization is shut down and that she is never permitted to do such business again. Alot of people will be affected by the grave errors that may have been committed. Not to mention, the horrible mistrust she may have caused everyone in the community.

The Lawsuit:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/i...
Part of this lawsuit:
"Most dramatically, defendants copied, and distributed to their customers, as a part of their high-priced test preparation business, a test form copied nearly verbatim from a live SAT form used by the College Board. Defendants were well aware of the wrongfulness of their conduct, as shown by the internal name for this infringing form: the “PVA,” which stood for “Pirated Version.” As a result of defendants’ misconduct, the value of the secure SAT form copied by Defendants has been permanently damaged, if not destroyed. The harm to the College
Board is extremely serious: even aside from the disruption caused by a valued SAT form being placed in jeopardy, the cost of creating a replacement SAT form is at least $625,000"

Karen Dillard is in BIG trouble. Too bad kids had to suffer as a result of these improprieties.

This must be a slow news day. The Dillards did nothing wrong - they did not solicit the test or use it. My son knows many students who attend the Dillards school. The kids spend hours there studying - not learning how to cheat!
The media should leave the Dillards alone and stop smearing their name. Why would they risk their entire business on something like this?
It seems like this all started with the principal at Jasper - he should be the one under investigation.

B Ball fan, Karen Dillard
1. Tried to make a side deal with the College Board for them not to sue
2. Marked the PSAT test they had as PVA meaning "Pirated Version"
3. Used information from a live SAT.
Etc, etc, etc.

Have you not read the lawsuit or the news articles? Karen Dillard is guilty as sin, the only question will be the total damages she will incur. Will it be limited to the $ 625,000 or will it be in the millions?
She is so stubborn that this is liable to go to a jury trial, and if it does she is burnt toast. I hope she is reading this and decides to admit all fault, come clean and go on with her life. She has a child who is a sophomore going to school here in Plano. The nerve of Karen to put her child through all of this. For that reason alone I would advise parents to not send their child to Karen Dillards now or anytime in the future.

B Ball fan wrote:

This must be a slow news day. The Dillards did nothing wrong - they did not solicit the test or use it. My son knows many students who attend the Dillards school. The kids spend hours there studying - not learning how to cheat!
The media should leave the Dillards alone and stop smearing their name. Why would they risk their entire business on something like this?
It seems like this all started with the principal at Jasper - he should be the one under investigation.

How do you know she's as guilty as sin. Let's not be so quick to judge. If the College Board was so concerned, why didn't they bring suit months ago when they first approached her? Sounds to me like they came to her to make some sort of a side deal.
And it sounds to me like you have a personal grudge against Ms. Dillard.

Deborah wrote:

B Ball fan, Karen Dillard
1. Tried to make a side deal with the College Board for them not to sue
2. Marked the PSAT test they had as PVA meaning "Pirated Version"
3. Used information from a live SAT.
Etc, etc, etc.
Have you not read the lawsuit or the news articles? Karen Dillard is guilty as sin, the only question will be the total damages she will incur. Will it be limited to the $ 625,000 or will it be in the millions?
She is so stubborn that this is liable to go to a jury trial, and if it does she is burnt toast. I hope she is reading this and decides to admit all fault, come clean and go on with her life. She has a child who is a sophomore going to school here in Plano. The nerve of Karen to put her child through all of this. For that reason alone I would advise parents to not send their child to Karen Dillards now or anytime in the future.
<quoted text>

As a public educator, I am well aware of the stringent rules that surround the distribution, collection and return of "live" test, whether it be TAKS, SAT, PSAT, etc. Educators must sign oaths that no portion of any test be copied or reproduced in any way, and all copies must be accounted for when testing is over. That being said, I have several questions regarding this issue:
1. Why has the principal not been removed for this serious violation?
2. As a former educator who is also familiar with testing regulation, why did Mrs. Dillard keep the test, and not return it to the College Board immediately?
3. If, therefore, Mrs. Dillard knew that having this “live” test in her possession was a breach of testing protocol, whether or not it was used for test preparation, why did she not act in the best interest of the students who utilized her services and contact the College Board?
Whether the PSAT test was over is not the issue. Whether a “disgruntled” employee provided her with the test is not the issue. You are not allowed to have in your possession a copy of a test until it is considered “released.” Mrs. Dillard had to have been aware that having a live test in her possession is a serious matter, and should have taken immediate steps to rectify the issue. As Mrs. Dillard stated, she is allowed to use CB materials that she had purchased. She admitted that she did not purchase this test.
I do not know Mrs. Dillard. However, I do know the students at my high school that work diligently every day to prepare for college. Some of these students depend on scholarships that are afforded to them through their SAT and ACT scores. It is my sincere hope that this issue, regardless of who is at fault, will not fall on the shoulders of these young men and women.

Jackson, you are right on the money. Here are what close enougth answers to your questions:
1. Michael Novotny is on paid administrative leave, they HAVE removed him from the school, and will decide what to do about him pending an investigation.
2. Karen Dillard kept the "live" test because she wanted to raise scores of her students, which in turn would make her business look more "worthwhile", and bottom line would bring in additional students and therefore more money to her bottom line and to her. GREED was the factor.

3.She didn't contact the CB because she thought she could get away with it. She was "ratted" out, and now she is like those men on Dateline's "To Catch A Predator" When those men are caught they are all so sorry, and they didn't know it was illegal,and this was their first time, etc.

Well now she has to face the music, and ignorance of the law is no excuse...especially for someone who's been in the business for 16 years. She's guilty alright, I am wondering about all the other years. I think the IRS and other investigative entities should do a full-fledged investigation going back as far as legally possible

Jackson wrote:

As a public educator, I am well aware of the stringent rules that surround the distribution, collection and return of "live" test, whether it be TAKS, SAT, PSAT, etc. Educators must sign oaths that no portion of any test be copied or reproduced in any way, and all copies must be accounted for when testing is over. That being said, I have several questions regarding this issue:
1. Why has the principal not been removed for this serious violation?
2. As a former educator who is also familiar with testing regulation, why did Mrs. Dillard keep the test, and not return it to the College Board immediately?
3. If, therefore, Mrs. Dillard knew that having this “live” test in her possession was a breach of testing protocol, whether or not it was used for test preparation, why did she not act in the best interest of the students who utilized her services and contact the College Board?
Whether the PSAT test was over is not the issue. Whether a “disgruntled” employee provided her with the test is not the issue. You are not allowed to have in your possession a copy of a test until it is considered “released.” Mrs. Dillard had to have been aware that having a live test in her possession is a serious matter, and should have taken immediate steps to rectify the issue. As Mrs. Dillard stated, she is allowed to use CB materials that she had purchased. She admitted that she did not purchase this test.
I do not know Mrs. Dillard. However, I do know the students at my high school that work diligently every day to prepare for college. Some of these students depend on scholarships that are afforded to them through their SAT and ACT scores. It is my sincere hope that this issue, regardless of who is at fault, will not fall on the shoulders of these young men and women.

I have been to KDCP for a few years, and I do not think that they would do something like this.
HOWEVER
The evidence really points there, doesnt it?