Honig Warns Students, Parents of Honor Roll Directory Solicitations

State schools chief Bill Honig on Friday warned high school students and their parents to be wary of mailed solicitations to purchase “Who’s Who” types of honor roll directories from companies that misrepresent themselves as educational outfits.

Although the state Department of Education cannot claim that the companies selling such “scholar yearbooks” have broken any laws, Honig said they are peddling “basically a worthless product” and exploit gullible parents and students by making false claims about their credentials and about the benefits of being listed in their books.

“There is an unsavory nature to this whole enterprise,” said Honig about three such for-profit directories.

The companies he cited were the United States Achievement Academy Ltd. in Lexington, Ky., National Honor Roll Inc. in Los Angeles and Outstanding Students of America in Washington.

Halt to Information

The Education Department has advised all school districts in the state to stop furnishing information about students--such as their names, addresses, telephone numbers and school activities--to companies that market honor roll-type books.

Honig said the three honor roll companies have no relation to such reputable, nonprofit honor societies as the National Honor Society, which is run by the National Assn. of Secondary School Principals, or the Beta Club, which operates primarily in Southern states. Admission to these groups is determined by school faculty committees and is based on specific academic and leadership requirements.

Typically, the commercial honor societies obtain student names and addresses from schools and send solicitations for listings to the student or the student’s parents or grandparents. They may ask for a recommendation by one teacher or counselor and require a B average. They offer to list a student in a directory free of charge, but sell copies of the directory for $29 to $35.

‘Valuable Reference Manual’

In promotional material mailed to students or their families, the companies imply that the directories are used by colleges and universities to make admissions decisions. A congratulations form letter from the National Honor Roll, for instance, tells students that its yearbook is “a valuable reference manual made available to colleges and universities throughout the country.”

George Stevens, executive director and founder of the United States Achievement Academy, told The Times in an interview: “We don’t make a big deal out of this, but if a teacher recommends a student for the book for expertise in math, (that student) can put it on a personal vitae or application and it certainly wouldn’t hurt him. We don’t come across saying that if you are in the book, you are going to get admitted to a better college. (But) if students can put down that they won a national math award, wouldn’t that be considered a positive?”

UCLA Admissions Director Rae Lee Siporin, however, said: “We could not begin to use that sort of thing for our selection. . . . Even if these lists were able to capture the best students, why would I believe that they do a better job than I could in terms of selecting who is best prepared?”

Admission Directors Surveyed

The Education Department surveyed college admission directors throughout the country, Honig said, and found none who believed that inclusion in the directories would enhance a student’s standing.

Honig questioned the selection standards used by the yearbooks, citing the case of a Kansas junior college student who was notified in a letter in May that she had been selected as a “candidate for membership” in the Outstanding College Students of America.

The letter described the organization as “dedicated to the recognition of scholastic achievements and leadership qualities among the top U.S. college students.” But this student had dropped or failed several courses and received grades of C or lower in other courses, her father stated in a complaint letter obtained by the Education Department and released Friday. Don Barker told The Times in a recent telephone interview that he was “very disturbed” by the letter he received from the honors organization about his daughter’s selection. “They did not ask for verification (of her grades). They were just looking for dollars.”

Failed to Pay Taxes

Officials of Outstanding Students of America did not return phone calls from The Times.

Calls to the National Honor Roll office in Los Angeles were not answered. According to Honig aide William L. Rukeyser, the department was unable to verify whether the National Honor Roll was still in business but found that it was prohibited from operating under that name last year by the California Franchise Tax Board because it had failed to pay taxes.

Stevens, the United States Achievement Academy executive director, said in a telephone interview that his company offers “a meaningful service” by recognizing the achievements of students and public schools.

The Kentucky-based firm, which Stevens, a former schoolteacher and dentist, formed eight years ago, publishes several directories that honor students in specific areas, such as mathematics, music and athletics, and charges $34.25 for a single volume.