William Singer worked with psychologists known to him, according to the FBI affidavit, to have his client’s children “diagnosed” with learning disorders. That way, the client could request additional time on the SAT/ACT, thereby allowing Singer’s Procter, Mark Riddle, to take the tests instead and significantly raise the scores. This deeply concerns me, a licensed psychologist in the state of California, because it suggests that parents can “pay” for a diagnosis, a practice that is hard to investigate because of the confidentiality of all parties involved. Paying for a diagnosis is another way wealthy parents can grease the wheels on their child’s path to achievement.
I tried to approach the Board of Psychology in California about this and was told nothing could be done because there was no psychologist named specifically in the Varsity Blues case. This practice and the Varsity Blues case sheds a troubling light on my whole profession, and is not fair to those of us who do not participate in such unethical practices. I sincerely hope that the case opens up discussion about this facet of learning disability diagnosis.