Times Reporter Is Honored for Reporting on Abuse of SAT Rules

Los Angeles Times reporter Kenneth R. Weiss has won the nation’s top prize for education reporting for his investigation into attempts by wealthy parents to gain unfair advantage on the SAT exam for their children by falsely labeling them learning disabled.

The 2000 Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting, which includes a $1,000 check and a plaque, was announced by the Education Writers Assn. at its annual meeting Saturday in Phoenix.

“The highest calling of the media is to tell the public something we didn’t know, to expose wrongdoing or dangerous trends of which we were unaware,” the judges said in awarding Weiss the prize. “If the L.A. Times did not report this story, would we know this at all?”

Weiss began pursuing the story after a high school counselor called to complain about an honor roll student who had done poorly on his SAT. The student’s parents then pushed the school to diagnose him with a learning disability so he could get an extra 90 minutes to take the three-hour test.

Weiss’ findings about the prevalence of that practice were backed by a subsequent California state audit. They prompted the California Legislature to pursue measures to curb the practice.

A total of 435 entries were judged in the national education writers competition, which handed out first prizes in 19 categories.

In addition to the grand prize, Weiss also collected a first prize for a feature on a woman’s struggle to get into medical school. Times education writer Duke Helfand won a first prize award for his story about successes in the Inglewood school system.