Cheating on the SAT given in Asia in October confirmed
'A limited number of students' said to have had an 'unfair advantage' as a new probe under way
PUBLISHED : Monday, 01 December, 2014, 10:21pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 02 December, 2014, 12:57am
The Washington Post
Students leave after a Scholastic Assessment Tests (SAT) exam at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong in 2013. Photo: Reuters
The US Educational Testing Service has determined that some students in Asia cheated on the SAT given in October, and it is opening a new probe into whether some cheated on the November college admissions exam.
Most students in South Korea and China who had their October scores delayed because of allegations of cheating have now received them, according to Tom Ewing, director of external affairs at ETS, which administers the SAT around the world for the owner of the exam, the College Board. He said that "a limited number" of students had "an unfair advantage on the test".
How they get that advantage involves a six-step process made possible because of the fact that the College Board and ETS use tests already given in the United States to administer in Asia. As part of the cheating scheme, people in the United States find surreptitious ways to get copies of the exam, or portions of it, and work to make sure that the students can get them in advance, for a big price.
Ewing wouldn't say what "a limited number" meant. But he did add that if someone is found to have cheated, their scores are cancelled. When asked if the student could retake the SAT, he said: "This does not preclude them from taking the test in the future." Asked whether colleges are notified that someone has cheated on one test, Ewing said they are not, which essentially means there is no real consequence to cheating other than to have a score invalidated.
"We do not notify colleges or anyone that a test taker has 'cheated,'" Ewing said. "Because SAT scores are used as part of important decisions by colleges and universities, we concern ourselves with whether or not the score is valid. If we investigate and determine that the score is not valid, we will not report the score to the college in the first place."
He also said that a new probe has been opened into allegations of cheating on the November administration of the SAT in Asia.
While the ETS is investigating allegations of cheating in South Korea and China, test proctors in other places, including Japan and Thailand, also have alleged instances of cheating. Bob Schaeffer, public education director of the nonprofit National Centre for Fair & Open Testing, said his organisation keeps receiving information about people planning to cheat on the SAT being given on Saturday in Asia, with more than 10,000 sitting for the test in Hong Kong alone.
