Rampant cheating on ACT test reported in China, South Korea
- 8 years ago
CHINA — An investigative report by Reuters has uncovered widespread cheating in a program designed to help foreign students excel in a U.S. college entrance test.
In order to get accepted into American universities, Chinese, Korean and other international students must pass entrance exams like the SAT or ACT.
For those taking the ACT, most do so with the help of the Global Assessment Program, or GAC, which costs about $10,000 a year per student, according to Reuters.
GAC centers offer prep courses intended to help non-native English speaking students pass the ACT. But there’s a conflict of interest when the same centers are the ones administering the exam.
Reuters reports there are cases where centers enable cheating by giving test-takers access to exam questions, either directly or through practice tests — thus ensuring high scores.
Administrators also reportedly turn a blind eye when students plagiarize during GAC courses and cheat in the exam.
The cheating allegations present a major concern for American schools relying on the test to assess the skills of foreign applicants. ACT, Inc., which owns the GAC program via a foreign subsidiary, denies the rampant cheating, but announced a potential switch to computerized tests for international test-takers in 2017.
In order to get accepted into American universities, Chinese, Korean and other international students must pass entrance exams like the SAT or ACT.
For those taking the ACT, most do so with the help of the Global Assessment Program, or GAC, which costs about $10,000 a year per student, according to Reuters.
GAC centers offer prep courses intended to help non-native English speaking students pass the ACT. But there’s a conflict of interest when the same centers are the ones administering the exam.
Reuters reports there are cases where centers enable cheating by giving test-takers access to exam questions, either directly or through practice tests — thus ensuring high scores.
Administrators also reportedly turn a blind eye when students plagiarize during GAC courses and cheat in the exam.
The cheating allegations present a major concern for American schools relying on the test to assess the skills of foreign applicants. ACT, Inc., which owns the GAC program via a foreign subsidiary, denies the rampant cheating, but announced a potential switch to computerized tests for international test-takers in 2017.