Just recently, a nineteen year-old college student, Samuel Eshaghoff was arrested along with six other high school students who have all been accused of cheating on the SAT. While the others only face misdemeanor charges, Eshaghoff may be sentenced to four years in prison under felony fraud charges. Students paid Eshaghoff $1500 to $2500 to have him take the test for them. His scheme described visting different schools each with a fake identification card. The students were finally caught after the school faculty heard rumors about cheating.
For more information, visit the CNN archives: 7 arrested in alleged SAT cheating scam
When I first read this article I thought, “Wow, that’s so unfair. I spend hours studying and these kids just pay a guy to take the test for them!” But then I thought about how lots of kids cheat in the testing room all the time, and although this case is bigger, I think the authorities are being too harsh on the kids because this matter can be handled within the schools. And anyway, did anyone think about why those kids took such an action? Maybe it’s because this well-known test causes so much stress that in fear of failure, students find alternative methods. If anyone has a problem with the students cheating, they should go complain to CollegeBoard for making this unreasonable test. What can a timed test determine about my knowledge or test-taking skills? If the SAT no longer existed we’d be all be fine and happy. The necessity to take the SAT causes students to become caught up in its demanding standards; the test’s standards should be lowered. It doesn’t matter how much we study, if we don’t know the material in the test, how can we be expected to do well? I understand that cheating is not the right thing to do, it’s a bad shortcut that involves later consequences, but there is an incentive behind the cheating. Maybe teachers, or college administrators should look into those reasons, and see that with the rigorous SAT, some students succumb to the pressure of success and take the easy way out.