How were students in admission scandal able to cheat on the SAT so easily–asks the San Francisco Chronicle…
https://www.sfgate.com/education/article/sat-act-cheating-scandal-huffman-test-students-13682741.php
A great question. The article does a good job of answering it…. in real time (while ignoring the 2003 back story when these big companies (the College Board and the ACT) stopped “flagging” test results given with non standard accommodations. See my 2003 tale about this (what I believe to be a) giant misstep by these companies. https://www.educationnext.org/disablingthesat/
Here’s a key sentence: “Particularly glaring in the 204-page indictment is that the majority of the children, whose parents were charged Tuesday, had seamlessly secured disability accommodations on their standardized tests…”
Glaring indeed. As a school attorney, I’ve been writing about this waiting-to-happen-scandal for years.
The accommodations loophole (started in 2003 when the SAT and ACT stopped “flagging” test results given under nonstandard conditions)…. has been a long simmering invitation to misuse, as I see it. This story confirms that, in some circles, it’s actually become a racket.
But even this angle of the scandal misses another big and important reality. My chief concern has been that the use of “non-standard” accommodations (like 50% extra time or 100% or having the right to take the test over two days or whatever) leads to tests that are no longer standardized. Let’s be honest about this. Timed tests are, by definition, supposed to be TIMED. Thus, when different test takers take them with different amounts of time, they are no longer vaild and comparisons among students are compromised.
So, honestly, what is the point? Why do these these costly and anxiety producing tests still dominate the college-admissions arena? They are no longer standardized…… and their results cannot honestly be interpreted or compared from student to student.
The obvious question becomes: when will these companies throw in the towel and stop timing any of these tests? HMMM. That sounds easy. But NOT so fast…
….. because, of course, there’s no free lunch. When and if they do stop timing these tests, the tests will (presumably) be more costly as they’ll need more proctors, but most importantly, the tests will be easier to take and less anxiety-producing. And here again, careful what you wish for as we will witness yet another notch in the lowering of standards in our schools and colleges because timing IS an important skill set in many areas of modern life. We need to be honest about that. Pick your poison. Another story for another day.
Of course, these companies could go back to flagging test results given under non-standard conditions which would immediately wipe out this invitation to misuse and even scandal. That is a perfectly valid and still legal option. To implement it, however, the companies would need evidence of why these tests are timed. Why? Why? Why? We still don’t have a clear answer to that basic question. And that’s where this story needs to start. Why are these tests timed? What imporant and fundamental skills or knowledge do they measure that are time-dependent? This question needs an answer. We need to know.
In the meantime, please see my old 2003 story — when the SAT and ACT stopped flagging test results given with “nonstandard” accommodations, most often extended time. It’s a sad tale — started perhaps with good intentions — that has lead to misuse (now, even abuse), loss of trust in these tests, and unfairness — -among its many unfortunate side effects.
Here’s the link: <a href=”https://www.educationnext.org/disablingthesat/">https://www.educationnext.org/disablingthesat/</a>
in Uncategorized/SAT and ACT accommodations
Originally published at schoollawpro.com on March 13, 2019.
