Education, politics, and anything else that catches my attention.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
SAT Cheating Scandal
Until I saw this article I hadn't even heard of this:
The investigation into SAT cheating at a New York high school has expanded to two more school districts and one private school, and more arrests of current or former students are imminent.
A couple of years ago, when internet access on phones was costly and rare, several AP students were caught cheating on AP exams using texting and other access devices. They weren't arrested, but it invalidated the test for the entire class. I think those kids not cheating deserve compensation for their time which was wasted through the intellectual laziness of others.
As a college student, a former student took the SAT for a student at my older kids' HS and was caught. The younger kid was a friend of his - I don't know if money was involved. This would have been in the very early 90s.
The interesting aspect of this scandal was not mentioned in this article you linked. Due to privacy laws/regulations, the students who received the fraudulent high scores are not named. The colleges that these students applied to are not allowed to be told that the SAT scores were falsely attained.
At least, at this point in the investigation that is the status. So, many kids are going to lose their position in a school to these frauds. Even if the frauds are later revealed and kicked out of college, the deserving kids who would have gotten in, will have lost their opportunity.
Probably got the idea from the TV series "Suits" where this "intern" earned some money by taking the LSAT for law students:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.usanetwork.com/series/suits/theshow/overview.html
A couple of years ago, when internet access on phones was costly and rare, several AP students were caught cheating on AP exams using texting and other access devices. They weren't arrested, but it invalidated the test for the entire class. I think those kids not cheating deserve compensation for their time which was wasted through the intellectual laziness of others.
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of surprised that they call it "cheating". "Cheating" invokes things like texting or sending the answers. This is fraud.
ReplyDeleteAs a college student, a former student took the SAT for a student at my older kids' HS and was caught. The younger kid was a friend of his - I don't know if money was involved. This would have been in the very early 90s.
ReplyDeleteThe interesting aspect of this scandal was not mentioned in this article you linked. Due to privacy laws/regulations, the students who received the fraudulent high scores are not named. The colleges that these students applied to are not allowed to be told that the SAT scores were falsely attained.
ReplyDeleteAt least, at this point in the investigation that is the status. So, many kids are going to lose their position in a school to these frauds. Even if the frauds are later revealed and kicked out of college, the deserving kids who would have gotten in, will have lost their opportunity.