SAT Scandal...!

[isnet396]

Get this folks, if you haven't heard already.....

A fellow classmate had brought in a copy of an SAT created by the College Board/ETS (the people who write them) given to her by her sat prep organization to prepare for the actual test given on March 27th, 2004.....problem is....the entierty of this test that was given out by the prep place, the math sections, ALL appeard on the actual test....a major security flaw. I sent a nice email to the College Board askng for more info, have yet to hear a response.....i'll keep you updated.

...What're you're thoughts?

Ian

 

[lamarvenoy]

Now that's my kinda prep class...I'm going to hell

 

[TravisMT81]

Originally posted by lamarvenoy
Now that's my kinda prep class...I'm going to hell

ROTFLMAO!!!

 

[xfkirsten]

Whoa! Now that is freaky! But I applaud you for having the guts to stand up and say something about it!! :sohappy: :sohappy: A lot of people wouldn't do that.

-Kirsten

 

[tigsmom]

Its not the first time thats happened. The SAT review books use actual questions from past tests. The questions are recycled on the tests (not entirely new questions on each new test). This was one of those freaky law of probabilities things.

This has happened here in NY with Regeants exams (kinda like FCATs or other standardized regional tests).

 

[isnet396]

Originally posted by tigsmom
Its not the first time thats happened. The SAT review books use actual questions from past tests. The questions are recycled on the tests (not entirely new questions on each new test). This was one of those freaky law of probabilities things.

This has happened here in NY with Regeants exams (kinda like FCATs or other standardized regional tests).

Yes....and no. While the College Board publishes actual past SAT's, they only release them every so often, at least with a 3-4 year delay, and even then, only one to three tests out of the eight times a year the SAT is offered. While some questions are recycled, none of the entire sections are repeated verbatim. I'm currently preparing to take the SAT in May, and I've gone through the entire 10 Real SAT book from the 90's (1994-2000), and some from the '80s, and I have not yet once seen a completely repeated section, let alone three of them, which is what happened last weekend.

Also, the SAT's have an experimental section, which COULD be a section from the past, just to compare how people have done over the years, but that section doesn't get scored, nor do they get printed in the review books. The sample test that these sudents I know recieved was an actual test, copied in a packet-type of form.

Yes, the NY Regents Exams have been stolen, but they're also under less scrutiny/security (I had a chemistry teacher who was fired because she gave the answers to one of them to another teacher about 20 years ago). ETS and the College Board spend millions of dollars per month on test security to prevent debacles like this...

Ian

 

[tigsmom]

Originally posted by isnet396

Yes, the NY Regents Exams have been stolen, but they're also under less scrutiny/security (I had a chemistry teacher who was fired because she gave the answers to one of them to another teacher about 20 years ago). ETS and the College Board spend millions of dollars per month on test security to prevent debacles like this...

Ian

Waaaay back in the 1974, when I was a junior in HS, I was scheduled to take 7 regents exams. I ended up taking only one, Typing, because all the rest had been stolen. The tests were stolen quite frequently back then.

I realize entire sections aren't repeated thats what I meant about the law of probabilities. Sometimes its just the luck of the draw. That or some yahoo sent the wrong section to the printer. :lol:

 

[Goofette]

That's really intesting. I'm curious to see what you hear about this. I know in our area the elementary schools are doing the Benchmark exams right now. I was wondering how many out there have those in their schools? I thought it was nationwide, but they might be called something different. I always worry because I know that's how the school is graded for the year on how much money it gets :brick: :veryconfu

 

[isnet396]

Elementary school standard battery tests are created by other companies, such as McGraw Hill (i think), CAT, and whatnot. I think they're reused on a yearly basis..so there's not as much controversy over it all.


Some updated news from some people: The college board had administered this sample test to a small amount of people in june 2003, which appeared last week on the test (the reading passages and questions, so it turns out, were identical as well)...and this was the thing that was leaked. I can't really confirm this as i found it on a message board, but it makes a little sense.

Ian

 

[Woody13]

Since its creation in 1948, the Educational Testing Service (ETS) has never had a reputation for security. The SAT has always been a test of money, not intellect.

One thing that's very important to understand about ETS is how it is financed. It's a private business although it's a non-profit. So it has to kind of make a living for itself. And the essential trick of ETS is, the test takers pay the fees individually. So the clients, it's marketed to colleges. The college orders the test, but the test taker has to pay the fee. So an ETS sales person can say to the college, "This is free. This is a freebie for you. You require this test, it won't cost you a penny because the takers take the test." But the point is, ETS has to make money for itself. It has to operate as a business or it's just out of business...It's not a government agency.