Students who took online tests and received an error message when they hit "submit" have filed a lawsuit against the organization that administers the tests.

The suit was filed in federal district court in Los Angeles and seeks over $500 million in damages after Advanced Placement test takers were told their files couldn't be uploaded or were corrupted.

"The College Board acknowledged that these issues existed, but it did not change its policies to address them," according to the suit filed by Baker, Keener & Nahra LLP and Miller Advocacy Group in Los Angeles.

Advanced Placement (AP) tests allow students to take college-level courses in high school. In some cases, students can test out of college courses, advancing their studies early and saving them money on course fees.

To complete the test, AP science students were required to take photos of their work, upload them to their computer, convert the file, and load them into the test interface. Problems arose when photo uploads of students' work were denied or deemed corrupted.

"On May 24, 2020, after 3 full days of at-home AP exams, the College Board admitted that there was a measurable failure rate in uploading the exams, and it attempted to change its policies going forward," the suit alleges. "The College Board's President David Coleman acknowledged in an email that, 'we can't control the conditions in students' home.'"

Special needs violation?

Besides students, the plaintiffs include the National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest), who opposes "the misuses and flaws" of the standardized testing system, according to Forbes.

Other complications included extreme difficulty securing approved academic accommodations and heightened test anxiety, The Chronicle for Higher Education reported.

The suit alleges that this violated the Americans With Disabilities Act for students with special accommodations. For example, if a student required a quiet testing space and has a legal accommodation, having to take a test at home might not meet that requirement.

The organization's testing procedures are "simple; secure and fair; accessible to all; and valid for use in college admissions," according to the College Board's website.

College Board's reaction

The College Board has stated that only 1% of test takers each day had problems, according to The Chronicle for Higher Education. However, high school teachers and counselors said up to 20% of students could not submit answers.

After receiving complaints about the system, the College Board instituted an emergency procedure, enabling students to email their responses to the organization.

The College Board website instructs students to change their phone's camera settings to capture images as a JPEG file and asks test takers to use the final 5 minutes of the exam to upload their work.

The College Board has dismissed the lawsuit, saying "it is wrong factually and baseless legally; the College Board will vigorously and confidently defend against it, and expect to prevail," said Peter Schwartz, College Board chief risk officer and general counsel, in a statement to The Washington Post.

Typically lasting several hours and administered by a proctor, the College Board introduced online, 45-minute exams after the in-person tests were canceled in March. About 2.2 million students took online exams, the College Board said.

The College Board, which also administers the SAT college entrance exam, has come under fire in recent years as standardized testing falls in popularity.

Students can retake the tests in June.

The administration of President Donald Trump said on Monday it will review Columbia University's federal contracts and grants over allegations of antisemitism, which it says the educational institution has shown inaction in tackling.

Rights advocates note rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias since U.S. ally Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza began after Palestinian Hamas militants' deadly October 2023 attack.

The Justice Department said a month ago it formed a task force to fight antisemitism. The U.S. Departments of Health and Education and the General Services Administration jointly made the review announcement on Monday.

"The Federal Government's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is considering Stop Work Orders for $51.4 million in contracts between Columbia University and the Federal Government," the joint statement said.

The agencies said no contracting actions had been taken yet.

"The task force will also conduct a comprehensive review of the more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments to Columbia University."

The agencies did not respond to requests for comment on whether there were similar reviews over allegations of Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias.

Columbia had no immediate comment. It previously said it made efforts to tackle antisemitism.

College protests

Trump has signed an executive order to combat antisemitism and pledged to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests.

Columbia was at the center of college protests in which demonstrators demanded an end to U.S. support for Israel due to the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's assault on Gaza. There were allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia in protests and counter-protests.

During last summer's demonstrations around the country, classes were canceled, some university administrators resigned and student protesters were suspended and arrested.

While the intensity of protests has decreased in recent months, there were some demonstrations last week in New York after the expulsion of two students at Columbia University-affiliated Barnard College and after New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered the removal of a Palestinian studies job listing at Hunter College.

A third student at Barnard College has since been expelled, this one related to the occupation of the Hamilton Hall building at Columbia last year.

The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.

It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.

In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.

Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.

Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.

"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.

The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.

An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."

House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."

Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.

Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.

The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.

"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."

The Times of India breaks down the most popular subjects for international students to study in the U.S.

STEM and business lead the pack. Read the full story here. (January 2025)

U.S. News & World report addresses some of the misconceptions about U.S. colleges and universities, including the difficulty of getting a visa.

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