2014年10月30日，美国华盛顿邮报发表题为“An account of exactly how students cheated on SAT in Asia”的文章，报道中国和韩国籍考生的SAT成绩推迟公布情况，对亚洲学生SAT考场作弊过程做了准确描述。

 

　　华盛顿邮报原文——

 

　　[The Washington Post] An account of exactly how students cheated on SAT in Asia

 

　　October 30th，2014

 

　　By Valerie Strauss

 

　　Counselors at international schools in Asia are reporting allegations of cheating on the Oct. 11 administration of the SAT in more countries than the two that were the original focus of an investigation - and one counselor said he was struck by the “ease at which one can cheat.”

 

　　On Wednesday， the Educational Testing Service said it had withheld the scores from the test for students in Korea and China because of allegations of cheating. In its statement， it strongly denounced organizations that work to get copies of the test in advance and then pass them on to students for a profit - a problem that has existed with the administration of the SAT in Asia for years. Just last year， there were two episodes of suspected cheating， one in October involving allegations in Korea that questions from earlier tests were obtained by “cram schools” and given to students before they took the exam. And in May 2013， the College Board canceled the May 2013 administration of the SAT and SAT Subject Tests throughout South Korea because of a leak of test questions - the first time the test had been canceled in an entire country.

 

　　How can this happen？ According to Bob Schaeffer， public education director of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing， a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the misuse of high-stakes standardized tests， SAT tests given at international sites are “almost always” repeats of exams administered previously in the United States but not publicly released.

 

　　It is not clear how many countries and how many students are involved in the latest SAT security breaches - or what it means for the validity of any of the scores that resulted in Asia from the Oct. 11 SAT. Counselors at international schools have been communicating with each other in recent weeks about various allegations of cheating on the SAT， not only in Korea and China but also in Japan， Thailand and perhaps other countries as well. Ffiona Rees， president of the Overseas Association for College Admission Counseling (OACAC)， wrote in an e-mail：

 

　　From what I understand from our Facebook group， there were several cases where our members (not in China or Korea) found significant instances of student fraud - including a student with entire pages of the SAT scanned on the phone. The student had the entire test with answers and essay already completed. In each case， the test center tried to contact the College Board but according to one post “test centers do not have phone support in this time zone (Asia) during testing hours to help advise or disseminate information.”

 

　　I've since heard that some of the students at these test centers have had their results (I assume the students who helped catch the cheaters)， and that students with addresses in Chinese or Korean addresses are being held.

 

　　Asked about allegations in countries beyond Korea and China， ETS corporate spokesman Tom Ewing said in an e-mail： “There are always allegations and we conduct regular reviews after every administration to ensure all scores are valid. As always， should we discover any misconduct， we reserve the right to take any actions， including cancelling scores before or after they are released.”

 

　　Here's an account about a cheating incident from Joachim Ekstrom， high school counselor at NIST International School in Bangkok， Thailand. He wrote in an e-mail that he sent this to the ETS and College Board. He wrote：

 

　　I have always felt that it is our responsibility as a World IB School to serve the wider community in Bangkok and offer seats to students that wouldn't be able to take the SAT tests in Thailand otherwise. The College Board simply doesn't have enough centers here. We have the facility and staff needed to do this. On Saturday we tested 130 students. I am not happy to serve test preparation centers in China though. This is certainly organized crime. The 10 Chinese students that tested at our center this Saturday all sat in the same row. They had consecutive registration numbers. This indicates that they were registered by one person， probably an officer at a Chinese test preparation center. Included in the test preparation center's package is probably also visa application， plane ticket， and the option of getting the test answers sent to your mobile phone in the morning before the test. I am sure these guys make a lot of money. They are probably also represented in several countries across the time zones.

 

　　The test-taker that was caught had her iPhone hidden under her sport jacket. When we collected students' phones before the testing began， she said that she had given her phone to her mother in the morning. We don't strip-search test-takers， so it is impossible to know if they have a phone hidden in their clothes. Her mistake was that she checked the notes on her phone during testing， and one of the proctors noticed it. As I searched her phone I saw that it was full of messages including the day's “correct” test answers for each section. These messages were sent from her friends and a person called BlueOcean， who according to the test-taker， is her teacher at the test preparation center in China. She further said that the answers were taken from a test given earlier that day in Australia.

 

　　I tried to call the TAS International phone number given in the SAT Supervisor Manual， but got to talk to an answering machine only. This is certainly a flaw that needs to be corrected. There is nobody who can answer your call outside office hours. I realized that I uncovered an organized crime， and I needed some guidance. Having a look the content of the test-taker's phone， and following up on the contact information of the people who distribute the test answers would obviously be extremely valuable for the College Board. I didn't feel that I have legal rights to keep her phone， and I certainly don't want to be the person that makes the decision. Considering the scope of this， I am sure it wouldn't be too much of a hassle to have someone on stand-by who can answer the phone and give guidance in case of an emergency when the tests are administered around the world.

 

　　I also recommend that the ETS includes a standardized form in the SAT package sent to test-centers where it is stated that the test-taker's unauthorized device is confiscated due to a fraudulent situation and that it will be returned by courier or post after the content has been investigated. The form can then be signed by the supervisor and the test-taker. I would feel more comfortable confiscating a test-takers device this way.

 

　　I feel sorry for the test-takers that come prepared to take the tests in an honest way， and who deserve a standardized， quiet and relaxed setting. I also want to say that we haven't seen this kind of cheating among test-takers in Thailand. They try to work over time sometimes， and go back to previous sections to make changes based on recommendations from their friends during the break， but that's about it.

 

　　Concern about cheating on the Oct. 11 administration of the SAT in Asia was raised days before the test was given， according to Schaeffer. On Oct. 8， 2014， FairTest got an anonymous tip about cheating that included what the sender claimed to be a copy of the December 2013 SAT that was supposedly going to be administered at international sites Oct. 11. He said FairTest tried to confirm the claims but could not.

 

　　亚洲学生SAT考场作弊过程准确描述

 

　　亚洲国际学校负责人正在报道有关10月11日SAT考场作弊的指控。报道指出调查对象由起初的两个国家扩展到其他国家。一位负责人说对于学生作弊手段之高明感到十分震惊。

 

　　上周三，美国教育考试服务中心(ETS)说由于作弊指控已经延迟公布韩国和中国学生的SAT分数。ETS强烈谴责某些专门提前获取试卷然后卖给学生的机构--亚洲SAT考试多年来一直存在这一问题。就在去年发生了两起疑似作弊事件：10月的一次涉及指控称在韩国有补习学校把已考过的考题传给马上参加考试的学生；2013年5月，College Board 由于漏题事故取消了韩国SAT1和SAT2 的5月考试--SAT考试在全国范围内被取消是第一次。

 

　　这是如何发生的？据国家公平公开考试中心公共考试委员会主席Bob Schaeffer说，美国以外别国SAT考试几乎总是重复美国之前用过但没有公布的试题。

 

　　有多少国家，多少学生卷入最新SAT安全疏漏事故不得而知--或者说10月11日亚洲SAT考试的任何分数的有效性意味着什么。国际学校负责人近两周来一直在就SAT作弊指控相互交流，不仅涉及韩国和中国，还有日本，泰国或许还有其它国家。海外大学招生咨询协会(OACAC)主席Ffiona Rees在邮件中写道：

 

　　我从Facebook交流群中得知，我们的成员发现(并非在中国和韩国)学生作弊证据--包括一个学生把整页整页的SAT试卷扫描到手机上。有个学生带着完整的选择题答案和作文参加了考试。每次考试中心都试图联系College Board但是(根据一份邮件说)考试中心在考试时间不对亚洲考区提供咨询和传播消息的电话支持。

 

　　我还听说：这些考区的部分学生已经拿到成绩(我猜是举报作弊者的那些学生)，而地址填写为中国或韩国的学生的成绩还未公布。

 

　　当被问及韩国和中国以外国家的作弊指控时，ETS综合发言人Tom Ewing 在邮件中答道：作弊指控是常事，我们为了保证成绩的有效性会在每次考试之后进行常规的复查。像往常一样，如果我们发现任何不良行为，我们保留采取任何行动的权利，包括在公布成绩之前或之后取消分数。

 

　　这是一则来自泰国曼谷NIST国际学校高中部负责人Joachim Ekstrom 就一起作弊事故的描述。以下是他写给ETS和College Board 的邮件：

 

　　我一直认为，作为一个世界IB学校为曼谷更多社区服务，为那些几乎不能在泰国参加SAT考试的学生提供座位是我们的责任。College Board 在曼谷没有开设足够的考试中心，我们却有服务考试的所有设备和人员。本周六参加考试学生有130人。我并不乐意为中国的考试准备(培训)中心服务。这完全是有组织的犯罪。本周六在我们考试中心参加考试的10个中国学生都坐在同一排。他们的考号是连续的。这表明他们是由同一个人注册的，很可能是一个中国考试准备(培训)中心的负责人。在这一考试准备(培训)中心的文件袋里还装有签证，机票，以及是否在早上考前手机接收答案的选择。我相信这些人一定赚了好多钱。这些人也许还代理了其他考区的答案来源。

 

　　作弊当场被发现的考生把iPhone藏在运动夹克里面。当我们考前收手机时她说她早上把手机交给她妈妈了。我们并不会对考生搜身，所以也不会知道他们会不会把手机藏在衣服里。当她考试期间查看手机上的内容时露出破绽，被监考官发现。当我查看她的手机时我看到满满都是当天考试每一部分的所谓正确答案。这些消息来自她的朋友和一个叫“BlueOcean”的人，据这个考生说是她考试培训中心的老师。之后她说答案来自当天澳大利亚的SAT考试。

 

　　我尝试拨打SAT监考手册上面提供的TAS(原文 此处应该是手误ETS)国际电话，但是得到的只是机器自动回复。这确实需要改进。我意识到我发现了一起有组织犯罪，我需要一些指示。College Board 如果能看一眼这个作弊学生的手机内容，并且可以追踪传播考试答案的人的联系方式无疑是很有价值的。我认为我还没有合法权利扣留这部手机，我也不想成为那个作出决定的人。考虑到这件事的重要性，我相信有值班人员在世界其他国家考试时间专门负责接听电话并且对突发事件给出指示也不算什么难事。

 

　　我建议ETS在其寄给考生的SAT文件当中另附一张标准化的表格，上面写明：为防止作假，所有未经允许的物品全部没收；没收物品经核查后会通过专递或邮件寄还给学生。在这种情况下我再去没收学生的物品会更舒服一些。

 

　　对于那些准备好诚信参加考试的学生我感觉到很抱歉，他们值得拥有一个标准化的安静的轻松的考试环境。我也想说刚讲的作弊行为我们还没有在泰国考生中发现。他们只是有时尽力超时做题，或者根据中场休息时朋友建议翻回前面部分做改动，仅此而已。

 

　　据Schaeffer说，关于亚洲10月SAT考试作弊的顾虑在考前就有人提出。2014年10月8日，国家公平公开考试中心收到一封关于作弊的匿名信，信中附寄了一套试题复本，寄信人宣称该套试题是2013年12月美国SAT试题并将会在2014年10月11日在国际考场被使用。他说国家公平公开考试中心尝试证实这封信的真实性，但结果没有实现。