When it comes to college exams, “everything in this process is based on belief, acceptance that the people in the process will be honest.” But, the college admissions cheating scandal shows just how flimsy that approach can be.
The organizations that run the nation’s two major college entrance exams brag about a robust and ever-expanding security system meant to block would-be cheaters: Tightly controlled testing rooms with photos required to get in, strict scripts for test administrators, seating charts and more.
Now, admissions experts say, the companies need to do more than tout their strict rules and pay closer attention to the people they pick to enforce them. A POLITICO review “It wouldn’t be super difficult to bring someone in who was like a professional test taker and say, ‘This is my proctor and this is going to proctor this student on this day’ -- and it would be totally legitimate and follow the process as everyone else, but they would change the answers,” Oglesby said.Sign Up
“Our ACT test manual instructs coordinators that test center staff must be people of integrity,” ACT spokesman Ed Colby said. “They have to trust in an honor system,” one former test site supervisor in the New York City area told POLITICO. “When you’re talking about a test that colleges factor into their admissions decision -- that they’re relying on an honor code to make this whole process happen, it’s just really crazy to me.”
Federal authorities say Singer pulled off the scheme for at least eight years before he was caught. Singer has bragged about helping “nearly 800” families get into college through his scheme, which also included bribing college coaches to help students get admitted as athletics recruits. The College Board and ACT pick test sites -- usually schools -- and select test supervisors to oversee them. They’re usually a principal
on test days. New test centers are approved “if there is capacity need in the area and if they meet specific requirements,” Goldberg said. “The test center establishment process involves several steps, including verifying the need in the area for additional seats and considering historical information on the site ,” Colby said.
“Emphasize to your staff that they are responsible for preventing fraud,” it says. “Remain alert and vigilant at all times during testing. Staff must not engage in activities that are not related to testing .” Test site staff must check student IDs and be “watchful for students concealing test materials under their admission tickets during breaks or using their tickets to take information in or out of the testing room.” They have to set specific seating charts -- with students at least four feet apart -- and track the exact test, by serial number, that was taken at each of the seats. They have to count the tests several times.
Despite the tight security measures, accusations of cheating are “constant,” said Anthony Carnevale, former Vice President for Public Leadership at the Educational Testing Service, the company that College Board pays to develop and administer the SAT. But it’s increasingly difficult to spot cheating based simply on statistical irregularities – such as a dramatic improvement from one test to the next. The College Board and ETS and ACT have “come to the point where they admit that if you use test prep, you can raise your score from 100 to 200 points,” Carnevale said, “contrary to the widely held assertion in the testing industry that you can’t change your score.
While cheating on the scale of the admissions scandal is rare -- most agreed it was pretty much unheard of to this point -- the lack of oversight of the officials running the tests manifests in other, more common ways.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
What Even Was Vajazzling?Will vajazzling ever actually come back in style? We wouldn’t bet our tiny sunglasses on it, but never say never
Read more »
Does Gwyneth Paltrow Even Know Her Co-Stars?Sebastian Stan said Gwyneth Paltrow doesn't remember him even though they starred in two Marvel movies together
Read more »
Create A Decades Playlist And We'll Reveal A Fear Even You Didn't Know You HadChoose Songs From Different Decades And We'll Reveal Your Biggest Fear
Read more »
Worlds apart: Liberals and Conservatives even vacation differentlyPeople who self-identify as politically liberal are more likely to hold a valid passport than those who call themselves conservative, according to data from MRI-Simmons.
Read more »