SAT organizer aims to cancel overseas tests to stem cheating
The organizer of the SAT, the U.S. college admission test, says it's going to reduce the number of times the test is held outside of the United States, as a way of cutting back on cheating, according to the Mirror Evening News.
The not-for-profit College Board also declared all overseas tests scheduled to be given in June have been cancelled.
Examinations in the coming two years will only be held four times per year (in March, May, October, and November) at international venues, two times fewer than before.
The decision will inevitably inconvenience international students who plan to apply for universities' autumn admission in 2018.
Along with fewer test sittings, the College Board said it would provide law enforcement and other government agencies with the names of companies and individuals suspected of stealing test materials, and forbid them from attending the SAT if proven guilty.
As developing sets of test questions is expensive, some are reused to save money. Questions on tests in the US may later appear in Asia, increasing the opportunity for cheating. Reuters reported last year that Asian test-preparation companies had gathered questions and reading passages from past SAT exams, and were then giving their clients that material, which was considered as an unfair advantage.
Recently the College Board canceled the scores of some students who took the SAT overseas in January and reviewed the results of an additional group of students during an investigation.
The College Board says reducing the number of tests means less repetition of the questions and will reduce the probability of disclosure.
The College Board said they are considering adding places for the tests in May to satisfy students demand. The deadline for registration for the May test is April 7.
It's unclear how many new seats will be added and where they will be allocated. Those who have registered for the SAT in June will be refunded.
Hu Xiaoyue, who works for an agency that specializes in helping Chinese students study in the US, said the move would interfere with students' preparations. They need to get a SAT score before the end of June, as the deadline to apply for Ivy League universities is around November and December, Hu said.
Hu added that some of their clients had decided to go to the US to attend the SAT in June. Meanwhile, some education insiders argue that, SAT cheating can't be eradicated while test questions are reused.
They say the new measures simply offer fewer chances for the dishonest to cheat, but won't stem the problem.
China is the biggest source of international students in the US. According to a report by the Institute of international education, 1,043,839 Chinese students were at US colleges and universities in the school year of 2015/16. The figure is three times the number of Indian students, the second largest group of international students in the US.
It means Chinese students make up the largest portion of those taking SAT tests, and thus are most affected by the move taken by the SAT's administrators.
Source: http://chinaplus.cri.cn/news/world/10/20170225/668.html
