Long Island SAT Cheating Ring - Great Neck

[texaspg]

<p>vlines - doesn’t that still mean it is widespread in their area but they are mentioning 700,000 students taking the test along with this statement. This puts SAT in doubt across the world?</p>

[LoremIpsum]

<p>

Participation in this “cheating rink” demonstrates intiative, creativity, intense desire, and outside the box thinking.

</p>

<p>Yes, the perfect skill-set for tomorrow’s banking elite!</p>

[vlines]

<p>Texaspg, this is not a new problem. If you do a search on CC, there are numerous posts about this type of cheating (and other cheating) on the SAT/ACT going years back. If you go to google news, a number of stories come up in the archives about this type of cheating (and other types of cheating) on the SAT. </p>

<p>This particular story is really being publicized.</p>

[performersmom]

<p>I am very glad it is being publicized.</p>

<p>Now they have to crack down on proctoring of tests. Lots of little but dishonest stuff goes on- switching back to previous sections or going ahead, checking answers on phones in the bathroom. (lots of things I learned on threads on CC!)</p>

<p>It does not take much to get better at this. ETS and CB need to get more involved in proctoring. God knows, they have the money! And the monopoly!!</p>

<p>The kids need to respect the rules, think that there is a good chance they will get caught, and realize that the consequences of cheating are very big.
Because it is dishonest, morally wrong, and unfair to the others.</p>

[vlines]

<p>Performersmom- you forgot paying off the proctor, comparing answers with friends in the hall, stealing tests from the schools before the test date…and the list continues. </p>

<p>Yes, I have learned much reading CC too! LOL</p>

<p>I did look at my son’ driver’s license to make sure he looked like his picture. And told him to be aware tomorrow when he takes the SAT that there may be extra vigilence on checking ID’s.</p>

[momofthreeboys]

<p>

These students (the ones who took the test and the ones who employed a test-taker) should all be punished. They were dishonest. It does not matter which scores were sent in and used by the colleges to accept them.</p>

<p>The colleges they attend should rescind their acceptances on the basis of character -deficiency. They have the right to pull acceptances for reasons related to any events that occur after acceptances (poor grades, disciplinary issues.) This is a biggie.

</p>

<p>I agree with this. Nothing else matters…nothing…not getting their scores rescinded, not getting double secret probation…these kids cheated. A serious, serious offense to colleges.</p>

[Wildwood11]

<p>I just posted this on another thread. I’ll repost here just to give some background on what the ethical environment is like nowadays in schools. Unfortunately, way too many kids will do whatever they think they can get away with to get ahead…</p>

<p>

Statistics show that academic cheating among high-school and college students has risen dramatically during the past 50 years. The results of the 29th Who’s Who Among American High School Students Poll (of 3,123 high-achieving 16- to 18-year olds – that is, students with A or B averages who plan to attend college after graduation) were released in November, 1998. Among the findings:</p>

<p>80% of the country’s best students cheated to get to the top of their class.
More than half the students surveyed said that they don’t think cheating is a big deal.
95% of cheaters say they were not caught.
40% cheated on a quiz or a test
67% copied someone else’s homework

</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.glass-castle.com/clients/www-nocheating-org/adcouncil/research/cheatingbackgrounder.html[/url]”>http://www.glass-castle.com/clients/www-nocheating-org/adcouncil/research/cheatingbackgrounder.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>

Professors at the forefront of the cheating war say they have had to scramble to catch up to youngsters who have proved brilliant at using new technology to get A’s without studying. There are hundreds of websites that offer custom-written papers. YouTube has dozens of student-made videos teaching how, for example, to scan a Coke bottle label into a computer, replace the nutrition information with physics notes, and paste the label back onto a bottle to create a cheat aid unlikely to be caught by teachers. And students say it is easy to load notes into cellphones or programmable calculators and sneak peeks at the devices during tests. Some say they’ve used their devices’ infrared, Bluetooth, or texting capabilities to share information with other test takers.</p>

<p>A recent Ohio State University graduate said he often walked into tests with three calculators in his backpack so that he could turn one in if the professor tried to crack down by asking students to turn in their calculators. He said other students hid powerful calculators in the bodies of old, basic ones that are permitted in exams.</p>

<p>“Cheating is super easy now. College classes are way too big, and you can pull out anything on your desk,” he says. And it is widespread, he says, because students are busy, hungry for good grades, and often skeptical of the lifetime benefit of learning what many professors put on tests. The student, who worked nearly full-time during school, said it took him only an hour or so to program his calculator with notes. That saved him as much as 20 hours of study time. “I don’t really consider what I did cheating…because in the real world I would be using that device…I see that as just being more efficient.”

</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2008/10/03/professors-use-technology-to-fight-student-cheating[/url]”>http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2008/10/03/professors-use-technology-to-fight-student-cheating&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>

Quote:
Academic dishonesty is endemic in all levels of education.[citation needed] In the United States, studies show that 20% of students started cheating in the first grade.[5] Similarly, other studies reveal that currently in the U.S., 56% of middle school students and 70% of high school students have cheated.[6]</p>

<p>Students are not the only ones to cheat in an academic setting. A study among North Carolina school teachers found that some 35 percent of respondents said they had witnessed their colleagues cheating in one form or another. The rise of high-stakes testing and the consequences of the results on the teacher is cited as a reason why a teacher might want to inflate the results of their students.[7]

</p>

<p><a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_dishonesty[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_dishonesty&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>

According to surveys in U.S. News and World Report:</p>

<p>80% of “high-achieving” high school students admit to cheating.
51% of high school students did not believe cheating was wrong.
95% of cheating high school students said that they had not been detected.
75% of college students admitted cheating, and 90% of college students didn’t believe cheaters would be caught.
Almost 85% of college students said cheating was necessary to get ahead.

</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.caveon.com/resources/cheating_statistics.htm[/url]”>http://www.caveon.com/resources/cheating_statistics.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[vlines]

<p>

Nothing else matters…nothing…not getting their scores rescinded, not getting double secret probation…these kids cheated. A serious, serious offense to colleges.

</p>

<p>At least that is what we want to think. At this point, the article states that Tulane has rescinded admission. We do not know what the rest of the colleges are doing, but I for one will be watching to see.</p>

[performersmom]

<p>Same here. Hope they do not drop this story.</p>

[LoremIpsum]

<p>

80% of the country’s best students cheated to get to the top of their class.

</p>

<p>I don’t believe that statistic for a minute. Copying off a classmate during a test doesn’t make sense when you’re the best student in your immediate surroundings. And this other stuff is just too much work – it’s easier for a “top student” to just learn the material.</p>

<p>A second-tier student under parental pressure to perform beyond his natural abilitiy, that I would believe.</p>

[Wildwood11]

<p>Sorry, LoremIpsum. I don’t believe that for a minute. Look at the current thread on the race for the valedictorian spot at one school. Of course, SOME top students cut corners where they can to maintain their standing, the 80% figure probably includes all levels of cheating like sharing homework, or copy and pasting. I don’t doubt that statistic.</p>

[performersmom]

<p>I think the point is that there are kids at upper level have inflated their results through less than honest practices: copying hw, copying from the internet, using pooled old tests and problems sets, having others do their work, gaming the weighted GPA system, whatever… And that too many kids generally have inflated their results to get to a higher level than they would have otherwise.</p>

<p>Where are the teachers? The school administration? The GC’s? The parents? The adults??? Looking the other way? Encouraging this? </p>

<p>Thus, there are some students at the top who do not deserve to be there.</p>

<p>And who have learned that crime pays. More than just working harder to get what you want.</p>

<p>The creativity, energy and time taken to devise these schemes could have been directed into honest pursuits. Too bad for EVERYone. Such a waste.</p>

[momofthreeboys]

<p>I agree, I don’t believe the 80% either but I might buy 20-30%. The kids know who the cheaters are…easy enough to ask your kids. Believe me it runs the entire gammet of kids from the ones who never study and barely survive without cheating to the solid kids who just really want all As but can’t get all As without the boost form cheating and it’s some of the top kids who might have gotten so busy they didin’t get a chance to study as hard as they needed to get the A so decide to cheat alittle. Ask your kids…I guarantee you they know who cheats.</p>

[Hunt]

<p>I’ll bet that 80% didn’t come from a question that asked if the student ever cheated. Rather, I’ll bet there was a whole list of things like, “Did you ever copy another student’s homework?” “Did you ever use Wikepedia as a source?” or who knows what–then anybody who answered yes to any of them was defined as having cheated.</p>

[LoremIpsum]

<p>

I think the point is that there are kids at upper level have inflated their results through less than honest practices: copying hw, copying from the internet, using pooled old tests and problems sets, having others do their work, gaming the weighted GPA system, whatever…

</p>

<p>My son used old published online AP tests to prep for his own upcoming ones. He also took more college and AP classes than his peers which raised his weighted rank to number one despite a couple of Bs in his freshman semester. I don’t see either of these as “cheating,” but rather as an effective use of resources and opportunities available to all.</p>

[performersmom]

<p>No, I am referring to the way some students keep copies and answers of these so that they are collected into a library for future use, unbeknownst to the teacher of the class, who gives virtually same assignments and tests year after year.</p>

<p>While this may seem like a “gray” area to you, I have overheard students discussing these kinds of things and they appear to understand that it is surreptitious. Yes, the teacher should create new tests and exams, but some students making an effort to know the questions ahead of time is not likely to be the intention of the teacher. In contrast, some teachers actually hand out or use old tests to help prepare the students.
Obviously, using publicly available old tests and such is fine for practice.</p>

<p>As to gaming the weighted GPA system, it depends upon the school. In some schools the weightings do not correctly reflect rigor. And in others, the GPA for class rank and such is not weighted at all for rigor, incenting some to take the easier classes.</p>

<p>I do understand that understanding systems and working smart are good lessons. Up to a point. Cutting corners and dishonestly attaining unfair advantages are not good practices.</p>

[LoremIpsum]

<p>

I do understand that understanding systems and working smart are good lessons. Up to a point. Cutting corners and dishonestly attaining unfair advantages are not good practices.

</p>

<p>Yes, I agree. However, when someone reports that 80% of top students cheat, I suspect that the “cheating” criteria are rigidly defined by the questioner and that many of the so-defined “cheaters” were actually working within most people’s ethical boundaries.</p>

[Snowdog]

<p>All of these classroom cheating techniques have been going on a long time…in my day it was writing answers on your arm. No I didn’t do it and it’s far too late to have my diploma rescinded in any case. Who has time to print and glue physics answers onto fake coke bottle labels?</p>

<p>SAT cheating is probably not new either but ETS refuses to deal with it and keeps raking in the revenue–that’s the real scandal. The kids are doing perp walks, all fine and good, but follow the money!</p>

[frostwire]

<p>wait, collegeboard has access to gpa? I thought only the school had that and they were not allowed to release it.</p>

<p>sure is a shame though.</p>

[xiggi]

<p>

My son used old published online AP tests to prep for his own upcoming ones. He also took more college and AP classes than his peers which raised his weighted rank to number one despite a couple of Bs in his freshman semester. I don’t see either of these as “cheating,” but rather as an effective use of resources and opportunities available to all.

</p>

<p>And you are absolutely correct. Relying on published AP tests is 100 percent legitimate. Relying on weights to boost a GPA is 100 percent acceptable. And this is because such “tools” are available to everyone – except that getting officially released tests come at a price. </p>

<p>On the other hand, SAT tests with various degrees of legitimacy do circulate freely. If the “sin” to compile extensive libraries of QAS tests is a peccadillo in the grand scheme of things, the same cannot be said when organizations exploit the different time zones, or arrange for tests to be stolen or memorized. It should be blatantly obvious that the success of the “SAT Factories” --especially owned by Asians-- is not really based on superior techniques but on organized deception. </p>

<p>ETS is painfully aware of the fraudsters but possesses few resources to stop them without hurting the chances of honest students.</p>