<p>What on earth gave you the idea the parents of these kids don’t know about it? Of course the parents know, where do you think they got 1 large?</p>
<p>Pretty easy to have that much in the bank. I had saved that much way back in the 60’s from summer jobs. I bought an MGB and a nice stereo at 18.</p>
<p>Suits on USA Network has a main character who aims for a specific LSAT score for each candidate.</p>
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<p>Agreed. Several high school classmates were already earning that much or more from doing computer consulting gigs or in one case…running his own small technology startup several years before the dotcom era.</p>
<p><<pretty easy=“” to=“” have=“” that=“” much=“” in=“” the=“” bank.=“” i=“” had=“” saved=“” way=“” back=“” 60’s=“” from=“” summer=“” jobs.=“” bought=“” an=“” mgb=“” and=“” a=“” nice=“” stereo=“” at=“” 18.=“”>></pretty></p>
<p>You made my point for me. No teenager is going to spend $1000 he or she saved to pay sometime to take the SAT. Not to mention the ringer was enrolled not at Yale but at UMich!</p>
<p>then transferred to Emory. For all you know he may have gotten $$ from Michigan. And it is not a fate worse than death to attend Mich (maybe he got $$).</p>
<p>Back in the mid 70s, a surgical resident told me his uncle agreed to pay his med school tuition if he would take the MCAT for his cousin (uncles son).</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter where the ringer was enrolled – he had a track record of achieving the desired score, and could pretty much guarantee the desired results.</p>
<p>I think that this is the natural and predictable outcome of the practice of placing so much emphasis on a single test. If a young person believes that their future depends on a single test score, and knows that it is unlikely that he will score as high as he feels he needs, then the motivation to cheat is there. Add to that motivation the financial ability to do so, and now you have motive + opportunity. Those two elements always lead to crime among individuals who have the willingness to break rules. It doesn’t matter whether it is a kid in Long Island or Bernie Mardoff, there are always some people who are going to cheat to get what they want. </p>
<p>These same kids probably also are quite willing to cheat on regular school exams, but its a lot harder to sustain cheating over 4 years of high school, and you can’t hire ringers to take exams in classrooms where the teacher knows your face. </p>
<p>If colleges had a more balanced approach to admissions – for example, if they were all test-optional and made it clear that test scores would be considered, but were not the primary criteria for admission… then there would be fewer individuals ready to pony up $1,000-- particularly if the colleges made it clear that a strong SAT score wouldn’t offset a weak GPA.</p>
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<p>Not going to happen because of the commonly stated reason for having standardized tests like the SATs/ACTs, they need an easy way to place one’s high school GPA in context of applicants nationwide and even worldwide. Especially considering the wide variability in academic rigor among US high schools. </p>
<p>One common complaint I kept hearing from a Prof who worked admissions at an elite university was how a 4.0 GPA from one school even with AP/IB courses may not be the equivalent of a 3.0 GPA without AP/IB courses at another school.</p>
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<p>How does one take the SAT twice in one weekend? I thought the testings were all at the same time.</p>
<p>Mihcal1- they have sunday testing on some occasions if you can not test on saturday for religious reasons.</p>
<p>^^^^^Maybe he took the SAT for one student and a subject test for another???</p>
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<p>Is there any evidence that a “more balanced” approach might reduce the attraction of cheating? Is there any evidence that a “more balanced” approach excludes standardized testing? Do you really think that GPAs cannot be artifically boosted by outside forces or extraordinary “resources?” Ever heard of tutors or ghost writers? Ever heard of parents writing papers and essays? Ever heard of parents building the science fair projects? Ever heard of tests and quizzes passing from one family member to another, or members of the same community? </p>
<p>And speaking about science fair, what is there to say about the organized and systemic “assistance” given to wealthy applicants to august competitions such as the Intel? With the right contact and willingness to ride the train to places such as SUNY, you can have a million dollars research project that only misses someone who can paint by the numbers. And, fwiw, is there any surprise about the geographical location of this latest “scandal?” </p>
<p>The reality is that there will always be cheaters and people who are more than willing to game the system. No matter what system of admissions one adopts, it is bound to be abused and gamed, especially by people who do not share the general views of integrity and honesty.</p>
<p>There was some test I took where we all had to provide a thumbprint as we started…was it the bar exam? It only took a few minutes, and a thumbprint is a quick way to verify identity if the test integrity is questioned.</p>
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<p>That is impossible on a Saturday. On the other hand, the Sunday testing is an opportunity that is hard to miss for someone who wants to “break” the SAT.</p>
<p>The latest news on the radio tonight said these bits to the story:</p>
<p>*<em>at least 6 kids are involved
*</em>they paid anywhere between $1500 and $2500 each for the student, a 19 yo kid, to take the test. (The test taker’s name was given, but I forget it now.)
*<em>the kids signed up to take the test at different locations so the proctor wouldn’t know them and wouldn’t recognize the id that was used. The particular id wasn’t mentioned.
*</em>the administrators ‘discovered’ the alleged cheating by comparing the students’s gpa vs test scores and determined the discrepancy was suspicious.
**apparently, the 19 yo kid promised he’d do well. Sorry for those cheats: he did “too” well.</p>
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<p>For that CollegeBoard would need to have access to thumb prints of all the SAT applicants from around the world. </p>
<p>That would definitely make the process more annoying, but more importantly at that point it would be much more practical for the invigilators to just see the picture on the Passport/Official ID and compare it with the person standing right in-front of them. </p>
<p>Over all Xiggi is right, even though the systems administrators will learn ways to stop this particular way of cheating, people who intend to cheat will find other ways too.</p>
<p>Notice, not a single mention from the school of possible disciplinary action:</p>
<p>“Needless to say, the Great Neck School District does not tolerate cheating,” said Superintendent Thomas P. Dolan. “It is our hope that the actions currently being taken by the district attorney’s office will serve to bring an end to any dishonest practices which may have placed students at an unfair disadvantage and will also bring to light any shortcomings in the security of the SAT testing system.”</p>
<p>MickyS, the College Board would not need copies of any thumbprint in advance.
The print is taken as the student begins the test, right onto their test booklet.
ID is also shown at the same time.
If the identity of the tester is questioned later, then the test thumbprint is compared to the purported tester. Cheap, fast and effective.</p>
<p>"And, fwiw, is there any surprise about the geographical location of this latest “scandal?” </p>
<p>Xiggi:</p>
<p>Are you implying that New York, and Long Island in particular, is full of cheats? Is that your point? </p>
<p>Some people cheated. They were from Long Island. So now Long Island is nothing but cheats?</p>
<p>New York, home to the SUNY education system, has some schools with state of the art research facilities. Do you have a problem with students utilizing those facilities in pursuit of science awards and scholarships?</p>
<p>As someone born and raised on Long Island, I found your post offensive.</p>