It’s very difficult to call it racism when citizens of a few countries show rampant, widespread cheating and ethnically identical citizens of a different countries do not. @cowtownbrown , I certainly didn’t see cheating at either the HS (but students were rebuked for insufficient citations) or college level (we were warned that violations of the honor code - including assisting in cheating -could result in expulsion and/or withholding of degrees). At my sons’ private schools they did not see any cheating and/or plagiarism either. That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, just that it was subtle and minimal.
Why should they? No one is compelling these students to take the SAT.
Is the ACT offered there?
Yes, the ACT is offered in China.
But the point is that no one is compelling these students to apply to a US school; therefore, why is it incumbent on any party but the student’s to reimburse them for their transport to the test venue?
Chinese (for the most of them) will go to length to cheat, so in order to make sure that the minimum of cheating could happen, rescheduling is the best option
If I was to say what I observed 20 years ago regarding cheating, persons from one specific country, and a graduate program, someone would start throwing around the R word like it’s a magic spell.
So I don’t talk about that, but I do keep my eyes open and mouth shut until any new coworker reveals whether or not they do their own work. Most do; some do not.
What I have done is encouraged DD away from schools who’s student bodies present a similar risk. Getting the education is the main thing. Cheaters don’t get that.
@TooOld4School I’ve attended 3 high schools, one large competitive public school, one large elite private school and my current small private international school. At both my public school and my elite private school there were massive cheating problems. Both are based in the US and have a majority of US students of all backgrounds, but predominantly white. As a student, I get a completely different perspective. Peers share things with each other that are often never heard by anyone over the age of 18. On one hand, the cheating is so prevalent because the pressure is unbelievable. We’re taking classes with 30-40 hours of homework and reading a week on top of EC’s and regular school hours. It’s a small wonder we’re not all dead by the time we get to college. My international school doesn’t have major issues for a variety of reasons.
- the emphasis is put on community and the community is a small family. about 80 students per year.
- Homework is not about quantity but quality, we’re expected to read and understand and classes are discussion based. Standards are still very high, but the stress is way lower, and I personally came away with a lot more educationally.
- Students are REQUIRED to report any issues of cheating/lying. Our honor code is taken very seriously because when someone violates it we are taught that it puts our whole community at risk. When someone continually cheats and is unprepared for college it reflects poorly on our school, which may make colleges think twice about admitting a student from our school in the future.
@GMTplus7 actually ACT is not available in China to Chinese citizens unless it’s through the GAC course (univ. prep course), which most Chinese don’t take. So to take the ACT most have to travel abroad, just like the SAT.
By the way, the restrictions on test centers in China are imposed by the Chinese government, not ACT or College Board. Foreigners in China can take the SAT/ACT there - quite a few international schools offer this, but they can’t offer it to Chinese citizens, even those enrolled in their schools.
Maybe they should revamp the SAT with Common Core math! No one could figure out that math!
I think the whole Asia has cheating problem.
I did not attend my SAT at Hong Kong (as most Chinese test takers would do). I live near the border, so I went to Vietnam to take the test – and it was just unbelievable.
The students were allowed to chat during breaks – I mean, obviously it’s forbidden, but the supervisors didn’t make any reaction. Plus, I saw students going to washroom with their answer sheets during breaks to work on the essay, and some even used smartphones – but the supervisors said nothing about this.
It’s not that College Board didn’t know about this. The SATs at Vietnam was cancelled once, and I attended two tests respectively before and after the cancelling, but nothing changed. (Oh we had a signal jammer the second time)
Is there a rule against chatting during breaks? You can’t go back to a previous section (at least aren’t supposed to), and the breaks are between sections. I don’t see the harm in chatting on a break.
GMT-
My question was a generic one about the ACT. Was wondering if the cheating was as problematic with the ACT in some other countries as well. FWIW, I agree that no one is due a reimbursement for their travel arrangements.
Yes, I was. And apparently for accurate reasons since your screenname is now closed @yikes998.
@intparent - I don’t think there’s a rule against chatting during breaks–I took the SAT in the US, and I’ve been allowed to talk during breaks–but you aren’t supposed to go back to previous sections. A lot of students talk about the test during breaks in the bathroom (there aren’t adults who monitor the conversations in the bathrooms) and go back anyway; most proctors just sit at their desks and read books, so most never get caught.
Computerizing the SAT would take away some of the cheating opportunities. You wouldn’t be able to go back to other sections, and they could modify the order of questions. Isn’t the GRE now given by computer at test centers in the US?
Why can’t Chinese citizens take the SAT in China?!
I really don’t understand why everybody seems to be so aggressive. Chinese citizens are not allowed to take SAT in mainland China, so obviously those Testing centers cancelled were for non-Chinese students
The main reason Chinese students are able to get a hold of test materials before the actual SAT is that College Board recycles US tests and gives them to international students. If they really wanted to stop cheating, they would make new tests for international students. Unfortunately, they are not willing to because of cost and other reasons.
@QuadiNorth due to restrictions by the Chinese government, not College Board.
@cheesehotpot You’re right, this would not impact Chinese citizens. Having said that, most of the students in these international schools are in fact Chinese (as in their parents are Chinese) but have foreign passports (born in HK or the US and then come back to China); not that many expats live here with their high school aged children. That’s not to say that non-Chinese students in China are less likely to cheat than Chinese students. The main problem is the for-profit test-prep companies which help the students cheat.
It would be an interesting experiment if the College Board used NEW tests for China and RECYCLED tests for the United States…still some problems, but it’d be a unique case study.
Even with the current system, it seems fair that even if College Board uses recycled tests for China, it could at least re-randomize the answering order. Then, using algorithms, they should be able to detect those cheaters who simply memorized the recycled test’s answer orders.