Michael Quinlan ’14: The College Board and ACT Inc. have both implemented new photo identification requirements in an attempt to combat the recent increase in standardized test-taking dishonesty.
Beginning with the October 6th SAT, students will be required to have a registration ticket that includes not only factual identification, but also a discernible photo as well. The College Board hopes that this new requirement will help to limit the growing trend in test taker ID fraud.
The College Board website explains in detail the requirements of the photo ID. It must be a recent photo that depicts the student without any temporary features, such as facial hair, and the student must be alone in the frame. It also must be of relatively high quality in terms of megapixels. Essentially, in the words of the College Board, “Be clear enough so there is no doubt about your identity.”
The College Board cites a recent high-profile scandal as reason for introducing this new policy. A group of students at Long Island’s Great Neck North High School were accused of accepting money to take both the SAT and ACT exams for at least 15 other students in the area. According to the New York Times, they were paid anywhere from $500 to $3600 to take each test. However, at this point, no one has been convicted.
Kathleen Rice, the district attorney of the Long Island suburb who fought for the implementation of these new security measures, explained, “The old system did not [deter cheating]… We know there are kids in college right now who got where they are because of tests that someone else took and there’s nothing that we can do about it. If that doesn’t tell you that the system has to change, I don’t know what does.” Rice, like many others, places blame on groups such as the College Board for their lack of adequate security measures.
While some such as Rice are satisfied by the new standards, the photo ID policy has raised a slew of controversy. Most commonly, people have begun to draw issue with the fact that the regulation will not permit students the option of omitting racial details about themselves when taking standardized tests. However, representatives from both the College Board and ACT Inc. have denounced such claims and promised that race would in no way impact any the test administration.
However, despite differing opinions regarding the policy, all have recognized that it is a shame that such measures have become necessary. Lee Billmyer, English teacher and college advisor, agreed that “It is unfortunate that [the College Board] had to tighten its requirements and inconvenience many because of a fraudulent few.”
Unfortunately, the designation of the “fraudulent few” is actually more likely to be the fraudulent majority. Although such evidence is often difficult to prove, many studies have shown that cheating has increased on a national level in recent years.
Educational Testing Services (ETS) cited the “increased competition for admission into universities and graduate schools” for the dramatic surge in acts of academic dishonesty. Others, such as Noah Pickus, director of Duke’s Kenan Institute for Ethics, believe “that technology has blurred the lines a bit for students, who have grown up with information on the Internet that doesn’t always cite sources.”
Despite this reasoning, it has become necessary to take action in order to confront the growing problem, and the College Board and ACT Inc’s new photo requirement may be the first of many steps. ACT Inc.’s ED Colby recognizes that “There is no one catchall or panacea. It’s not just one thing we are trying to throw at [cheating], but one of many layers of security.”