Reporting cheating on the SAT

<p>If he's been publicly bragging about the cheating, it should be much easier to report it anonymously and actually have it believed.</p>

<p>bigis: the worst enemies are those who have no morals.</p>

<p>TheBrian:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>It may be true that the worst enemies are those with no morals. However, they're also the worst friends.</p></li>
<li><p>Right, there's no way to crack down on every cheater. But there's also no way to crack down on, say, every terrorist in the world. But that doesn't mean we're not going to do our darndest to get the ones we can. Not that I'm comparing cheaters to terrorists, or anything.</p></li>
<li><p>You claim that if the person continues to cheat, they'll get caught eventually and get in trouble then. First of all, if they're going to get caught, we might as well have it be as soon as possible. And second, if you're giving advice to everyone who catches the person cheating, then NO, they won't get caught eventually because no one will ever turn them in!</p></li>
</ol>

<p>It disturbs me when people condone cheating.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>you don't need to be friends with them. you just don't associate with them.</p></li>
<li><p>well, you did just compare cheaters to terrorists.</p></li>
<li><p>yes, it'll happen eventually, but you don't need to be the one to do it. honestly, if you feel like you want to do it, and bring yourself the trouble of doing so, then be my guest. i just wouldn't.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>i don't condone cheating, i just understand it happens and you live with it and adapt to it. trying to fix all the wrongs in the world, especially those as inconsequential as cheating in a world full of worse things isn't worth my time.</p>

<p>Some of the most blatant cheating goes on in our top business and medical schools. Where did this cheating start? Most likely in high school. Once a person uses cheating as a crutch to get by, he or she will never have the confidence nor ability to make it on their own merits. My question to you then, is, do you really feel safe knowing that the people who are responsible for your health and the people who run Wall Street are dishonest? </p>

<p>Cheating is a serious problem and one that's so widespread it can only be dealt with at the base level, by individuals who make the personal decision not to cheat and who contribute to an environment in which cheating is not tolerated for any reason. OP, report the cheating, if only to inform the testing site and college board that testing procedures/security need to be tweaked to prevent it from occuring again.</p>

<p>Debryc makes an excellent point. Although it's debatable whether or not this particular situation harms others (I think it does; Brian and a few others disagree), you have to remember that if he cheats and gets away with it, it will infuse in him the idea that cheating is the way to go. Why wouldn't it? If it worked for him once, he'll be sure to try it again; a 2350 is good enough for any college he may want to attend. When he adopts the mindset that cheating is ok as long you get away with it, he may end up cheating someone out of something much more serious in the future. If the student gets reported, he willl learn the lesson early on that cheating is unacceptable and potentially has severe consequences.</p>

<p>And Brian, the offending student may have taken a risk when he cheated (and gotten away with it at least for now), but I don't see how that makes it ok. And anyway, when he cheated, he also took the risk that nobody was going to report him, so if the OP does, tough luck. This will teach him that cheating is a risk that isn’t worth taking.</p>

<p>Also, the argument that "he'll become a social pariah" thing completely falls apart if the OP reports anonymously, but I don't think the OP even needs to do that. Cheating on some inconsequential biology test in school is not as irritating to other students as cheating on a test that is a "make or break" factor for college admissions and scholarships, especially since the student seems to be bragging about it constantly (talk about arrogance!). Frankly, I think most students would get satisfaction at seeing the cheater being put in his place.</p>

<p>Another argument being used here is that perhaps reporting would be pointless because there isn't enough proof. That may very well be true. In these kinds of situations, how could you know for sure? But just remember, he really has nothing to lose by reporting the offending student, so he might as well do it anyway. Besides, if another student also reports, that makes their information much more credible.</p>

<p>The Brian, you do realize that reporting an SAT cheater is not a big project, right? It takes a few minutes to do it. I don't see what the issue is with reporting it when OP has a few minutes to lose and who knows how much to gain. Even if there's no gain at all for the OP, there may be some for others, and even if there's no gain at all for anyone, so what? A couple of minutes lost.</p>

<p>The idea that the cheater should be allowed to walk away with an ill-gotten reward for taking a risk seems more reprehensible to me every minute I think about it. If everyone thought like that, there'd be no law and order in the world.</p>

<p>i know of someone who did that too!!! my sister's boyfriend's sister's boyfriend (sorry that sounds like a joke but it's true) took it for his brtoher because his brother was such a bum/ hung out with the wrong people/ didn't seem to be able to get into college... so yeah the kid got in somewhere. the score was like 1500 something on the old sat.....but it wasn't like he got into yale or soemthing</p>

<p>OP, it's your moral responsibility to turn him in. Call the number on the back of your SAT registration ticket or e-mail the college board--they will forward your e-mail to the right place. You will be taken seriously: don't hesitate.</p>

<p>WOW....u are all a bunch of nerd losers...no wonder u spend all of ur time on this goddamn site...this is why u will have no friends...why would u report him...all that will happen is that u will get the **** kicked out of u and die a lonely death...so dont turn him in</p>

<p>A few things here:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>The "genius" will not necessarily be hurt by your reporting the incident. In fact, chances are that the College Board will never discover the identity of the "genius." Through tools such as handwriting and fingerprint analysis, College Board will probably merely ascertain that your "friend" did NOT take the exam.</p></li>
<li><p>About the worst penalty I have heard of for cheating on the SAT is having one's scored annulled. That will not exactly "ruin" your friend, either. Still, it would send a clear message that cheating will not be condoned and that he needs to earn his score.</p></li>
<li><p>I don't understand this culture of not being a "snitch." I believe recent studies have shown that cheating is more prevalent today in high schools (and colleges) than it was about 30 years ago. Such laxness and attitudes about cheating are at least contributing factors to scandals such as Enron. Because we overlook cheating in high school, many students assume that cheating is necessary and innocuous, and they carry these beliefs forward into college and life afterwards. This eventually leads to a collapse of business ethics and values. You should not be afraid to report incidents of cheating, whether these happen in school or on the SAT. More high schools (and even elementary schools) should emphasize the importance of ethics and integrity in schoolwork, be more vigilant about incidents of cheating, mete out harsher punishments for cheating, and promote an atmosphere or an "honor code" in which whistle-blowing is not frowned upon, but rather respected and even required. If students are taught early that cheating is wrong and WILL be punished, we would probably have more honest citizens and business people.</p></li>
<li><p>Cheating DOES have victims. In the case of this student who hired a "genius," he will most likely receive an acceptance at a school that he does not deserve and, consequently, bump out a more deserving student who honestly earned his or her score on the SAT. In the same way, cheating in the classroom can unfairly distort the "curve," bump another student down in the class rankings, or cheapen the time and efforts of another student who earned his or her grades the old-fashioned and hard way.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I don't mean to moralize here, but I feel very strongly against cheating (I came from a high school in which cheating was prevalent). And I don't think my students should be working their asses off to score legitimate 2250s while this student need only pay someone $200 to earn a 2350 and quite possibly rob one of my students of a spot at his or her dream school.</p>

<p>I think you should inform College Board, and be persistent if necessary. I'm sure it's possible to report these incidents anonymously, and it would NOT be hard for them to prove that your friend did not take the test.</p>

<p>OP. I say bust this cheater's arse.</p>

<p>Well said Godot!</p>

<p>How are you positive that someone actually took it for him and he's not just screwing around?</p>

<p>good point</p>

<p>godot...ur a little *****.....nuff said</p>

<p>What are you going to do, interrogate him? He claimed that he cheated so now it's your responsibility to inform the College Board so that <em>they</em> can investigate further (and perhaps declare him innocent).</p>

<p>I've claimed to smoke crack and worship Satan, but it would be quite silly to think that it's your responsibility to inform the police.</p>

<p>You guys have to remember that he knows the cheater personally! He may know that this person isn't 2350 material! </p>

<p>I know you can't be 100% sure of other classmates scores, but I know some people in my class who would have thrown a party for themselves if they had gotten 1800 out of 2400. I also know MANY people who, frankly, just aren't smart enough to score above a 2100 on the SAT, let alone a 2350. A 2350 would be quite a difficult achievement for someone who has shown no other signs of particularly commendable intelligence.</p>

<p>Karma is a *****.....the kid is only hurting himself here.....</p>

<p>I am a firm believer that things come back to you, good or bad. Even if this kid got into a great school, he may have in fact gone to the WRONG school, even if it wasn't the higher-ranked school because of his bought score....maybe the kid will not be happy there....I can see why you would want to report him, but if you do not choose to do so, I still think he will get his comeuppance.</p>

<p>Whatever it is, I believe what goes around comes around.</p>