The 19-year-old daughter of actress Felicity Huffman will be allowed to take another SAT test after her mother was sentenced to prison time for admitting she paid someone to doctor the first test the girl took.
Huffman paid $15,000 to William “Rick” Singer, who ran the nonprofit The Key Worldwide. Singer directed an associate to obtain Sophia Huffman’s test and fix some of the wrong answers, giving her a better score than she would have gotten.
A representative for College Board told the outlet that even if there was proof the teen was involved, it would garner a six-month suspension. More than six months have already passed.
“Examples include viewing or capturing images with a cell phone on test day or being caught with a ‘cheat sheet’ containing test content, answer keys, or other content that would provide an unfair advantage,” the board stated.
“Let me be very clear,” she wrote, “I know there is no justification for what I have done. Yes, there is a bigger picture, but ultimately it doesn’t matter because I could have said ‘No’ to cheating on the SAT scores. I unequivocally take complete responsibility for my actions and will respectfully accept whatever punishment the court deems appropriate.”
“I keep asking myself, why did I do this? Why did I say yes to a scheme of breaking the law and compromising my integrity? What interior forces drove me to do it? How could I abandon my own moral compass and common sense?” she wrote. “I honestly didn’t and don’t care about my daughter going to a prestigious college. I just wanted to give her a shot at being considered for a program where her acting talent would be the deciding factor. This sounds hollow now, but, in my mind, I knew that her success or failure in theater or film wouldn’t depend on her math skills.”
Huffman said she was initially shocked when Singer first suggested cheating on the SAT test but she later started to think she’d be a bad mother if she didn’t agree.
She said that her daughter confronted her after news of the cheating emerged.
“When my daughter looked at me and asked with tears streaming down her face, ‘Why didn’t you believe in me? Why didn’t you think I could do it on my own?’ I had no adequate answer for her,“ Huffman said. ”I could only say, ‘I am sorry. I was frightened and I was stupid.'”