SCHUMER CALLS ON TESTING SERVICES TO PUT IN PLACE THREE POINT PLAN TO OVERHAUL STUDENT VERIFICATION SYSTEM AND COMBAT CHEATING ON S.A.T. AND A.C.T. EXAMS
Schumer Plan Urges Testing Companies to Conduct Exams in Home School Districts, Require Photo Confirmation for Test Takers, and Require Cheating Concerns be Reported by Testing Services to Local Authorities for Investigation
Plan Would Have Local School Districts Add a Second Layer of Security to Help Ensure the Student Who Shows Up for the Exam is the Same Student Whose Name is On the Exam
Schumer: We Need to Make Sure that Students Who Play by the Rules get a Fair Shake
United States Senator Charles E. Schumer urged The College Board, ACT Inc., and the Educational Testing Service, administrators of the college aptitude tests SAT and ACT, to overhaul the monitoring system of their examinations in order to combat cheating and ensure the integrity of testing results for students who play by the rules. In his letter to the exam administrators, Schumer urged the companies to work with local school districts, which know their local students best, to help ensure that students who show up to take the exam are the same students who signed up for the exam. He also called on testing services to make mandatory reporting of suspected cheating, which could constitute federal mail and wire fraud.
"The greater this scandal grows the greater the damage done to students who play by the rules," said Schumer. "High school students spend years studying each week to prepare for these exams and achieve the scores necessary for entrance to a good college, and parents spend hundreds of dollars for SAT preparatory programs for their children to take these exams. Those efforts shouldn't be compromised because of poor oversight by testing companies that allows cheaters to jump the line. Cheating is wrong and hurts those who play by the rules. The College Board and Educational Testing Service have a responsibility, and obligation, to immediately overhaul its oversight of these exams to protect the integrity of the test and those students who honestly take the exam."
In his letter to the College Board and Educational Testing Service, Schumer outlined a three-point plan that calls for a major overhaul of the administration of the exams and reporting of suspected cheating. First, Schumer urged administrators to make greater efforts to administer the exams in home school districts, where faculty and local district employees are more familiar with the student body. Schumer also urged the testing companies to make a greater effort to recruit proctors for the exams who work in the school districts and interact with the students on a regular basis.
Secondly, Schumer called for the testing agencies to implement an onsite photo verification system whereby local high schools submit file photos of students taking the exams to the administrator of the tests so that the proctor on site can match the school district file photo to the photo on the identification presented at the time of testing. Schumer argued that by having the local high school provide photos before the exam, proctors can ensure that the student who shows up and presents identification is the same student who signed up to take the test that day.
Lastly, Schumer called for the testing agencies to put in place a mandatory policy that requires the reporting of exam fraud to local authorities and local school districts. Schumer stated that because the fraud occurs on examinations that cross state lines and travel through the U.S. Postal Service, cheating on the SAT and ACT could constitute federal wire and mail fraud. Currently, no entity is required to report exam cheating to the authorities and if cheating is suspected by the administrators of the exams, a suspected cheater is afforded the opportunity to retake the exam.
Over the last several weeks, at least 20 students on Long Island have been implicated in a cheating scandal on standardized tests, where payments were made to have others take the SAT or ACT on their behalf. Schumer's calls comes on the heels of a widening probe being conducted by the District Attorneys in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
Schumer, who consulted with the local education community on the reform necessary to enhance the integrity of the test, urged The College Board and Educational Testing Service to move immediately to implement the reforms so that they are in place before the next round of testing takes place in December and January.
"This is about protecting students who study hard and play by the rules to ensure they don't get jumped in the college entrance line by students who cut corners to get ahead," continued Schumer.
A copy of Schumer's letter can be found below.
November 29, 2011
Gaston Caperton
President of the United States Program The College Board 45 Columbus Avenue President ACT National Office Dear Mr. Caperton, Mr. Landgraf and Mr. Whitmore: I appreciate the tremendous work of the Educational Testing Service (ETS), the College Board and the American College Testing (ACT) to advance the quality and equity of education. In addition to these tasks, your organizations have the responsibility to ensure accuracy and validity when administering your signature assessments, the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) exam and the ACT. As you may be aware, a number of students on Long Island, New York are being prosecuted for impersonating someone else while taking the SAT. Cheating on exams is unacceptable and should not be tolerated. After consultation from the education community in my state, I request that you consider the following changes to improve the accuracy and validity of the tests while reducing and/or eliminating cheating. Students should be given the option to take the SAT or ACT exam at their high school, when possible, since local school officials are most familiar with local students and can better identify potential impersonators. Should a school not offer the exam, or if for some reason a student cannot take the exam at his or her school, that student should be required to notify their high school of the testing location, so that their school can send a photo of the student to the administrator of the exam and proctors can confirm that the identification brought by the test taker matches that of the student who signed up for the exam. It is important for all organizations to work together to hold cheaters accountable. Despite the fact that mailing a fraudulent SAT or ACT exam could very well constitute wire and mail fraud, currently, no entity is required to report it to the authorities. If a student is suspected of cheating, the student can either: cancel the score, retake the test and if he/she scores close to the previous score the original test score is counted or file a protest against the claim. We need to strongly reprimand the students that are falsely receiving scores and in turn getting into schools they are not qualified for. At a time when our education system is in the midst of reform and renewal, we need the institutions that are tasked with creating, administering and scoring exams to be vigilant and do everything in their power to accurately accomplish their task. I am happy to work with you to ensure that our next generation is not tainted with the actions of a few who cheat on these important exams. I urge you to review and implement these recommendations in a timely and appropriate manner. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any further questions. Sincerely, Charles E. Schumer United States Senator
New York, NY 10023
500 ACT Drive
P.O. Box 168
Iowa City, IA 52243-0168