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ACT, Inc. accusing students of cheating


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I tutor students in both SAT and ACT prep. By the time the students come to me for tutoring, some of them have taken the ACT "cold" just to get a baseline score.

 

There is a possibility that if you took the test cold and then improve your scores after preparing for the exam, the ACT will accuse you of cheating. There is more than one thread on College Confidential about this situation. Here is one that is 8 pages long.

https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-act-tests-test-preparation/1987200-act-testing-wrongly-accusing-cheating-2017-p1.html

 

I didn't read the entire thread, but there was also at least one situation where a student received a high score on his first sitting of the ACT, and he was required by his school to take the ACT again as part of the state yearly testing requirement. Since he already had a score he was happy with, he put no effort into the one he had to take in school. The ACT came back and accused him of cheating on the first test.

 

To make the situation even worse, it appears that the ACT does not notify the students about the score cancellation until their senior year. Many of these kids have already been accepted to colleges based on the test score that the ACT deems invalid due to cheating.

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I didn't read the entire thread, but there was also at least one situation where a student received a high score on his first sitting of the ACT, and he was required by his school to take the ACT again as part of the state yearly testing requirement. Since he already had a score he was happy with, he put no effort into the one he had to take in school. The ACT came back and accused him of cheating on the first test.

 

 

With one data point how could they accuse him of cheating??  Did his school report him some how?

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That is totally ridiculous.

 

I also think it's ridiculous that schools are forcing kids to take college entrance exams.  If the kid already got a score he was happy with, he shouldn't have to take it again, especially since some colleges make you disclose all your scores.  Also, it messes with the curve but I suppose they don't care about that because they get money either way.

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Wow, this is shocking!   If you see someone cheating, then fine.  Otherwise that is an outrageous accusation to throw at someone.  

 

I think I know why they are doing it.  They like the fiction that the tests say something important about the person and that can't be changed by test prep.   

 

But, even if that were true, someone could be sick or have an anxiety-attack for one test, and then be fine for the other test.  

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What if those kids actually did cheat and the ACT has more information than they are sharing? What would be the motivation for ACT to "falsely accuse" kids of cheating?

 

I know this has come up in a couple other threads, and I'm not totally discounting the possibility that ACT has some evil intent here. I sure wouldn't take the ACT cold as a senior. It seems a large bump in score as a senior might be a red flag for the powers-that-be at ACT. I'm just trying to understand if ACT is as horrible as some are making them out to be on that CC thread.

 

Also, not that it is ideal, but all you have to do is retake the test to verify your score within 3 points. That would be inconvenient and annoying for sure. But I'm not sure why the mom on the CC thread is fighting that so hard. Sometimes life isn't fair - I'd take the test and move on.

Edited by TracyP
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It makes me wonder - If the state is making everyone take it at a certain point in JR year, but you already have a good score, how much effort will you put into it. Of course you shouldn't just "forget" all the material, so you probably already have the capability to score well, but it takes effort and concentration. It's hard to give your best effort if you don't care.

 

It reminds me of AP testing around here. The high school students can skip the final in the classroom if they take the AP exam. However, there is nothing that says they have to do well, so many simply go in and lay their head down and take a nap. It's very odd for my homeschooler to be testing in a room of kids that are napping. No wonder our AP scores are so low.

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The state I live in requires the Spring Junior year test now because it did away with the prior several standardized tests it used to require of juniors. The ACT was cheaper and there were widespread (tech) problems with the previously chosen test.

 

Being sick or tired can definitely change one's score. I think there should be more effort spent on the overseas test market for cheating.

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So in reading through that CC thread it seems that if a student takes the ACT cold, with little prep, and then digs in and preps a LOT before taking it again, they need to understand that a large increase in score will necessitate them retaking the test a third time.  There seems to be no record of a student actually winning a challenge of the cheating accusation (by providing documentation or character references or whatever)- they need to retest and get a score within a few points of that flagged score.  This seems important information to spread around about the ACT.  Don't take it without prep, and if you do work hard for a retest, understand that you might need to take it again to prove your score increase.

 

DS has a good friend who didn't prep and got a 28.  He retook it 3 additional times, with the last score being a 34.  We both thought that he was foolish for actually retaking the test so many times when he could have just taken multiple practice tests.  But his score increased incrementally, so now he won't be accused of cheating.  If he had done what we thought was better - just practice testing and prepping on his own more, his last score of 34 would have been flagged.

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These testing companies have too much power, IMO. I'm glad some schools no longer require them. I hope more follow.

Right? I feel like they should be regulated as utilities at this point. Unfortunately, even government testing (think specialized high schools in NYC etc) are ran by private entities.
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What if those kids actually did cheat and the ACT has more information than they are sharing? What would be the motivation for ACT to "falsely accuse" kids of cheating?

 

I know this has come up in a couple other threads, and I'm not totally discounting the possibility that ACT has some evil intent here. I sure wouldn't take the ACT cold as a senior. It seems a large bump in score as a senior might be a red flag for the powers-that-be at ACT. I'm just trying to understand if ACT is as horrible as some are making them out to be on that CC thread.

 

Also, not that it is ideal, but all you have to do is retake the test to verify your score within 3 points. That would be inconvenient and annoying for sure. But I'm not sure why the mom on the CC thread is fighting that so hard. Sometimes life isn't fair - I'd take the test and move on.

According to some of the posts in that thread, some of the kids did retake the test again, but the ACT questioned that score as well. Also, it appears that the ACT is not notifying these kids until senior year, even if they took the test in an earlier grade. Yes, life isn't fair, but it is not always easy to find time in senior year to take the test again and move on.

 

Many parents in that thread report providing documentation that their child was tutored along with documentation from the proctor of the exam that the procedures were followed at the testing site, yet this still wasn't enough for the ACT folks.

 

Life isn't fair, but kids should be afforded the right to be assumed innocent until proven guilty. The ACT has taken this basic right away from these kids as they consider them guilty with no way to prove their innocence.

 

Bottom line: I am advising the kids that I tutor not to take the ACT cold, and if they are not happy with their score to pay the extra testing fees to ACT and take the test again if their test prep is not complete. That way, they will show incremental progress and won't raise any flags of cheating. On the flip side, if a student the student has a very high score (34 or more) I am advising them not to take the test again unless merit money is on the line because if they perform worse the next time, they might be accused of cheating the time they achieved the 34.

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It makes me wonder - If the state is making everyone take it at a certain point in JR year, but you already have a good score, how much effort will you put into it. Of course you shouldn't just "forget" all the material, so you probably already have the capability to score well, but it takes effort and concentration. It's hard to give your best effort if you don't care.

 

It reminds me of AP testing around here. The high school students can skip the final in the classroom if they take the AP exam. However, there is nothing that says they have to do well, so many simply go in and lay their head down and take a nap. It's very odd for my homeschooler to be testing in a room of kids that are napping. No wonder our AP scores are so low.

If my boys would have been in public school and been required to take the ACT at school even though they had already achieved a high ACT score they were satisfied with, I could see them not even reading the test and just making pretty pictures with the bubble sheet.
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With one data point how could they accuse him of cheating??  Did his school report him some how?

No the ACT flagged his score because it dropped so much from his prior test. These situations are not the result of a proctor reporting an issue of potential cheating during the test. These kids are flagged simply because of discrepancies in their ACT score from one testing to the next.
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Bottom line: I am advising the kids that I tutor not to take the ACT cold, and if they are not happy with their score to pay the extra testing fees to ACT and take the test again if their test prep is not complete. That way, they will show incremental progress and won't raise any flags of cheating. On the flip side, if a student the student has a very high score (34 or more) I am advising them not to take the test again unless merit money is on the line because if they perform worse the next time, they might be accused of cheating the time they achieved the 34.

I like this suggestion

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Is it true that the ACT is often required as a high school "exit exam" in the midwest / southern states, but is treated more as a "college entrance" exam by the coastal states?

I live in the Midwest. My state recently replaced their state tests with either the ACT or SAT. The school district gets to decide which test their juniors take. The state pays for the exam. In my area there seems to be a 50/50 split on which test is given.
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Is it true that the ACT is often required as a high school "exit exam" in the midwest / southern states, but is treated more as a "college entrance" exam by the coastal states?

 

I'm in the deep south, never heard of this. 

 

Regarding taking the ACT cold, I don't at all understand why someone would want to do this. That's what practice tests are for, and they are free. 

 

On the flip side, if a student the student has a very high score (34 or more) I am advising them not to take the test again unless merit money is on the line because if they perform worse the next time, they might be accused of cheating the time they achieved the 34.

 

A 34 is so high that I wouldn't recommend anyone take it again if they score that high. You are much less likely to improve a high score versus a low one, and also more likely to get a lower score. Only about 1% of students get a 34 or higher, so, even with competitive merit aid at stake, I would feel very comfortable not aiming for a 35 (about .60% of students) or a 35 (about .14% of students). 

 

Highly discrepant scores (on any type of test) actually are a good signifier of possible cheating. It seems unfair that a person who didn't cheat would have to retake a test to validate their scores, but doesn't it also seem unfair to not address possible cheating? Students who cheat on the ACT have an adverse effect on students who don't. Discrepant scores should be addressed in a timely manner, but I don't mind them being addressed. 

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I'm in the deep south, never heard of this. 

 

Regarding taking the ACT cold, I don't at all understand why someone would want to do this. That's what practice tests are for, and they are free. 

 

 

A 34 is so high that I wouldn't recommend anyone take it again if they score that high. You are much less likely to improve a high score versus a low one, and also more likely to get a lower score. Only about 1% of students get a 34 or higher, so, even with competitive merit aid at stake, I would feel very comfortable not aiming for a 35 (about .60% of students) or a 35 (about .14% of students). 

 

Highly discrepant scores (on any type of test) actually are a good signifier of possible cheating. It seems unfair that a person who didn't cheat would have to retake a test to validate their scores, but doesn't it also seem unfair to not address possible cheating? Students who cheat on the ACT have an adverse effect on students who don't. Discrepant scores should be addressed in a timely manner, but I don't mind them being addressed.

Not everyone is aware that there are practice tests available and some of these parents sign their kids up to take the test so they can see what it is like.

 

In my experience, highly discrepant scores are the result of test prep.

 

The ACT and SAT have paid proctors in each exam room to prevent possible cheating. If the ACT can't trust its proctors, the organization either needs to provide more training or pay a higher wage to get a more qualified person to oversee its test.

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Cheating seems to be a much bigger issue abroad.  Here are a couple of articles:

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/college-cheating-act/
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-college-cheating/act-cancels-some-college-entrance-exams-after-test-leak-idUSKCN1BI29P

 

Reuters has a series on both ACT and SAT cheating.  I have no idea how a person would cheat in the US other than through questions leaked on the internet prior to the test.  Related - I haven't looked at this closely, but according to a bunch of kids on reddit, the March 10 international SAT was the same test given in US schools on March 7 (and yes, the gist of questions and answers were discussed on the internet prior to the international administration).

Edited by wapiti
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But how does one cheat on those exams? It’s not like you know what they are going to ask.

I'm wondering, too.  What are they doing to cheat in the U.S.?  I thought these tests were pretty rigidly controlled and monitored here.  And how often are they saying this is occurring?  If this is so widespread that it is making news, that seems to imply there are a lot?  How are all these students supposedly cheating?

 

Or is it as mentioned up thread that they have implemented a poor algorithm for determining potential cheating based strictly on score discrepancies?

Edited by OneStepAtATime
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Wow.  I didn't read the entire CC thread, but I read enough of the "me too" posts to see the similarities, not to mention the obvious futility of appealing.  It looked like no one had successfully appealed, but that the ACT sent multiple families bogus seating charts and proctor checklists.  And there was one kid who took it again, got the same higher score, and the second high score was rejected.  There apparently is no winning with them.  I'm not fan of either the ACT or the College Board, but I'd always thought the ACT was less sleazy.  Guess not!  I hope the affected families are able to get the word out and force some change.

 

I wonder if the students would have better luck appealing to their colleges, i.e., getting the colleges to agree that the kid had actually scored what the original score report said he did?

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Not everyone is aware that there are practice tests available and some of these parents sign their kids up to take the test so they can see what it is like.

 

In my experience, highly discrepant scores are the result of test prep.

 

The ACT and SAT have paid proctors in each exam room to prevent possible cheating. If the ACT can't trust its proctors, the organization either needs to provide more training or pay a higher wage to get a more qualified person to oversee its test.

 

Agreed.  My daughter's scores on sub-tests varied by up to 8 points from one sitting to another.  Her composite didn't change much because she focused her prep on two different tests at each taking (a strategy that works great when you need a super score), but if she'd managed to put together her highest sub-scores in the same exam, she might well have been flagged for cheating.

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Cheating seems to be a much bigger issue abroad.  Here are a couple of articles:

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/college-cheating-act/

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-college-cheating/act-cancels-some-college-entrance-exams-after-test-leak-idUSKCN1BI29P

 

Reuters has a series on both ACT and SAT cheating.  I have no idea how a person would cheat in the US other than through questions leaked on the internet prior to the test.  Related - I haven't looked at this closely, but according to a bunch of kids on reddit, the March 10 international SAT was the same test given in US schools on March 7 (and yes, the gist of questions and answers were discussed on the internet prior to the international administration).

The College Board and ACT need to stop recycling tests! Surely with the amount of money they are taking in, they can afford to pay a staff to develop an original test for each administration.

 

Some areas of the country cancelled the March 10th SAT. Those kids will be taking it in a couple of weeks. My bet is that the test will be the March 10th test even though the questions have been discussed on Reddit. Heck, one kid even posted his entire answer sheet for the math section.

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The ACT and SAT have paid proctors in each exam room to prevent possible cheating. If the ACT can't trust its proctors, the organization either needs to provide more training or pay a higher wage to get a more qualified person to oversee its test.

According to page 9 (13 of 24 pages https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/ACTStateandDistrictTestCoordinatorInformation-paper.pdf) no proctor is required for a room of 25 or less candidates. There is a room supervisor or course. When my kids took in 6th grade, their test room has about 22 test takers going by the candidate lists posted by room number.

 

I didn’t get to walk my younger boy to the room door for his ACT test site but I did get to walk my older boy to the room door for his ACT test site and the tables layout seems to be in violation of page 6 & 8 (10 & 12 of 24 pages, same PDF). It was 2.5 years ago though as he took the test in October 2015.

 

Since my kids took in 6th grade and is most likely taking again in 10th/11th grade, I am not too worried about my younger kid being accused of cheating even if he manage to improve a lot in 4 to 5 years.

 

When my kids took the SAT, the spacing at their test sites’ rooms were as generous as for AP exams. Very hard to look at anyone else’s test script.

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It sounds like the ACT people don't have a good algorithm for catching cheaters, basically.

 

Agreed. There is a recent thread on cc from a teen who took the ACT in April and got a 19 in English. They re-took it in September after tutoring and got it up to a 31. That is a huge increase even with tutoring and I can see why they were flagged.  Unfortunately, until a better system is in place, dramatic increases like this will continue to be scrutinized. 

Edited by Jilly
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The College Board and ACT need to stop recycling tests! Surely with the amount of money they are taking in, they can afford to pay a staff to develop an original test for each administration.

 

Some areas of the country cancelled the March 10th SAT. Those kids will be taking it in a couple of weeks. My bet is that the test will be the March 10th test even though the questions have been discussed on Reddit. Heck, one kid even posted his entire answer sheet for the math section.

They recycle tests? 😱 so much is riding on those scores for kids. Unbelievable and irresponsible. I wouldn’t have even thought of this possibility.

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Agreed. There is a recent thread on cc from a teen who took the ACT in April and got a 19 in English. They re-took it in September after tutoring and got it up to a 31. That is a huge increase even with tutoring and I can see why they were flagged.  Unfortunately, until a better system is in place, dramatic increases like this will continue to be scrutinized.

Many of the students I tutor have not been taught the rules of grammar and usually get a baseline score around 20 in the English. After I work through Erica Metzler's grammar book with them, their scores typically jump up to high 20's/30's.

 

The English section of the ACT is very coachable. The ACT folks have to know this, yet they are refusing to reinstate scores even when students can document that they received tutoring.

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If my boys would have been in public school and been required to take the ACT at school even though they had already achieved a high ACT score they were satisfied with, I could see them not even reading the test and just making pretty pictures with the bubble sheet.

 

I just finished reading 'The Self-Driven Child" , a great book by the way, that mentioned a girl doing precisely that.   

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Many of the students I tutor have not been taught the rules of grammar and usually get a baseline score around 20 in the English. After I work through Erica Metzler's grammar book with them, their scores typically jump up to high 20's/30's.

 

The English section of the ACT is very coachable. The ACT folks have to know this, yet they are refusing to reinstate scores even when students can document that they received tutoring.

 

This is why they need a better system. The change of score could be due to cheating (which does happen) or due to tutoring/studying. When it is due to the student working hard to improve their scores it is highly unfair that they get flagged. And it leads to a very stressful situation for the student (especially if they are flagged during application season which is what is happening to the student on cc). 

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Agreed. There is a recent thread on cc from a teen who took the ACT in April and got a 19 in English. They re-took it in September after tutoring and got it up to a 31. That is a huge increase even with tutoring and I can see why they were flagged.  Unfortunately, until a better system is in place, dramatic increases like this will continue to be scrutinized.

DS's Reading score improved 10 points in exactly the same time period, from a 26 in April to a 36 in September. The first time he took it he had only done a little prep, he had extreme test anxiety, his brain was fried from the math section, and he was worried about not finishing on time so he raced through the reading section. After 6 months of prep, which included learning specific strategies for skimming, targeting key words, etc., combined with being more relaxed since he'd had more test experience by then, he got a perfect 36. His Science score also improved 6 points from April to September for similar reasons. (English went from 33 to 36, and math stayed the same, sigh.) Luckily for him he had also taken the ACT in June, so he had intermediate scores that made it seem less like a huge jump. But if he had just done the prep for 6 months without taking it in June, he could have had a totally legitimate score thrown out by ACT and might have been forced to retake it many months later — when scholarships deadlines had long passed.

 

The fact that these accusations of cheating are based on nothing more than statistical algorithms, and there is NO way for students who are falsely accused to appeal or challenge it, combined with the fact that students are often not even notified there is an issue until as much as a year later, when many have already been accepted to colleges and even have scholarships riding on scores that ACT is arbitrarily throwing out, is reprehensible.

 

I think ACT needs to notify students within a month if there is an issue, allow students to take the next available test for free (regardless of whether the registration deadline is passed), reinstate the challenged test scores immediately if the new scores are within 3-4 points, and provide a genuine process of appeal for students who either cannot take a retest or who can demonstrate that their original scores were genuinely earned.

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According to some of the posts in that thread, some of the kids did retake the test again, but the ACT questioned that score as well. Also, it appears that the ACT is not notifying these kids until senior year, even if they took the test in an earlier grade. Yes, life isn't fair, but it is not always easy to find time in senior year to take the test again and move on.

 

Many parents in that thread report providing documentation that their child was tutored along with documentation from the proctor of the exam that the procedures were followed at the testing site, yet this still wasn't enough for the ACT folks.

 

Life isn't fair, but kids should be afforded the right to be assumed innocent until proven guilty. The ACT has taken this basic right away from these kids as they consider them guilty with no way to prove their innocence.

 

Bottom line: I am advising the kids that I tutor not to take the ACT cold, and if they are not happy with their score to pay the extra testing fees to ACT and take the test again if their test prep is not complete. That way, they will show incremental progress and won't raise any flags of cheating. On the flip side, if a student the student has a very high score (34 or more) I am advising them not to take the test again unless merit money is on the line because if they perform worse the next time, they might be accused of cheating the time they achieved the 34.

 

Does this mean that if a students raise their score by a few points each exam over time that they are less likely to be flagged.  I am meaning for students who already took test for first time and didn't get great scores, but want to take test prep to increase scores.  

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This is why they need a better system. The change of score could be due to cheating (which does happen) or due to tutoring/studying. When it is due to the student working hard to improve their scores it is highly unfair that they get flagged. And it leads to a very stressful situation for the student (especially if they are flagged during application season which is what is happening to the student on cc).

I agree. The ACT needs to have confidence that the proctors are doing their jobs. A student should not have to worry about being accused of cheating simply because his score increased. This practice of flagging "cheaters" based solely on score discrepancies is ridiculous. Edited by snowbeltmom
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Does this mean that if a students raise their score by a few points each exam over time that they are less likely to be flagged.  I am meaning for students who already took test for first time and didn't get great scores, but want to take test prep to increase scores.

Yes.
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Many of the students I tutor have not been taught the rules of grammar and usually get a baseline score around 20 in the English. After I work through Erica Metzler's grammar book with them, their scores typically jump up to high 20's/30's.

 

 

Which of her books is the one that you use? I may be trying to help a friend's son with ACT prep this summer so would love to know.

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Does this mean that if a students raise their score by a few points each exam over time that they are less likely to be flagged.  I am meaning for students who already took test for first time and didn't get great scores, but want to take test prep to increase scores.

The way ACT handles large improvements in test scores sure seems to encourage students to take the test many times, in order to show incremental increases, rather than taking it once, prepping intensively to shore up weak areas, and taking it once more in the hope of a big improvement. 

 

I'm sure it's purely coincidental that this policy makes more money for ACT, Inc.  :001_rolleyes:

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I asked my DD (an 11th grader) to read post #1 in this thread. She has scores in mind, that if she meets or exceeds them, on the ACT and on the SAT, that she will not take the examination again. I wonder if the CollegeBoard does this on the SAT?

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How many kids is this actually happening to? If it's enough and the algorithm is that overzealous, then I can imagine that it might come back to bite them because schools will be aware of these issues and some will take the whole thing less seriously, which isn't good for the test generally.

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According to some of the posts in that thread, some of the kids did retake the test again, but the ACT questioned that score as well.

I only saw that mentioned by one person. It made me question whether there was more to the story, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

 

Also, it appears that the ACT is not notifying these kids until senior year, even if they took the test in an earlier grade.

I must have missed that when I read the thread. That's horrible.

 

 

Yes, life isn't fair, but it is not always easy to find time in senior year to take the test again and move on.

 

Many parents in that thread report providing documentation that their child was tutored along with documentation from the proctor of the exam that the procedures were followed at the testing site, yet this still wasn't enough for the ACT folks.

 

Life isn't fair, but kids should be afforded the right to be assumed innocent until proven guilty. The ACT has taken this basic right away from these kids as they consider them guilty with no way to prove their innocence.

 

Bottom line: I am advising the kids that I tutor not to take the ACT cold, and if they are not happy with their score to pay the extra testing fees to ACT and take the test again if their test prep is not complete. That way, they will show incremental progress and won't raise any flags of cheating. On the flip side, if a student the student has a very high score (34 or more) I am advising them not to take the test again unless merit money is on the line because if they perform worse the next time, they might be accused of cheating the time they achieved the 34.

Yeah, I get what you are saying here and I agree with your advice. This thread is a good heads up to anybody who might think they can take the test cold as a senior and hope they can significantly bump their score up by retaking if needed. That is not a good idea.

 

I'm just thinking that the ACT people are stuck in a tough spot. We all know that cheating happens. Here is another CC thread where the poster discusses the fact that she cheated on the ACT and that two others were cheating off her! Somebody on the linked thread from above said that "sooo many people" were cheating at her test site.

 

Over 1.5 million students take the ACT every year. It sounds like very, very few are being accused of cheating. It would be horrible to be falsely accused, and frustrating to have to retest to clear your name. I think waiting 6+ months to inform somebody is unconscionable. I'm just not ready to jump on the "the ACT is out to get us" bandwagon quite yet.

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Which of her books is the one that you use? I may be trying to help a friend's son with ACT prep this summer so would love to know.

She has one specifically for the English on the ACT and another one for the writing section of the SAT.  However,  the  writing section on the "new and improved" SAT is very similar to the grammar section on the ACT.  One of her books will now work well for both tests.

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I only saw that mentioned by one person. It made me question whether there was more to the story, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

I must have missed that when I read the thread. That's horrible.

 

Yeah, I get what you are saying here and I agree with your advice. This thread is a good heads up to anybody who might think they can take the test cold as a senior and hope they can significantly bump their score up by retaking if needed. That is not a good idea.

 

I'm just thinking that the ACT people are stuck in a tough spot. We all know that cheating happens. Here is another CC thread where the poster discusses the fact that she cheated on the ACT and that two others were cheating off her! Somebody on the linked thread from above said that "sooo many people" were cheating at her test site.

 

Over 1.5 million students take the ACT every year. It sounds like very, very few are being accused of cheating. It would be horrible to be falsely accused, and frustrating to have to retest to clear your name. I think waiting 6+ months to inform somebody is unconscionable. I'm just not ready to jump on the "the ACT is out to get us" bandwagon quite yet.

In my opinion, the ACT is to blame if students are cheating off of each other during the test.  The ACT is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the testing environment since they are the ones responsible for hiring the proctors and room supervisors.  Students cheating off of each other should never happen.  That's what the proctors are there for.

 

It sounds like for many of these kids accused of cheating, it has not been possible to "clear their names" even when they do retake the test.  These kids are declared guilty with no ability to prove their innocence.  Some of the parents have hired attorneys to fight the ACT, but the ACT has legally protected itself by requiring all of our kids to sign a document before they take the exam.  

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The ACT is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the testing environment since they are the ones responsible for hiring the proctors and room supervisors.

The proctors and room supervisors are all school staff at the public high schools my kids tested at. ACT does not do the hiring.

 

“Your school can request to be a test center for students taking the ACT.

 

As a test center, your school provides:

 

A staff member to serve as the Test Supervisor

Other school staff willing to serve as room supervisors and proctors †https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act-postsecondary-professionals/administer-the-act.html

 

ACT compensation amount for the staff on duty on test day https://actapps.act.org/aaprosters/NationalCompensation.pdf

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The proctors and room supervisors are all school staff at the public high schools my kids tested at. ACT does not do the hiring.

 

“Your school can request to be a test center for students taking the ACT.

 

As a test center, your school provides:

 

A staff member to serve as the Test Supervisor

Other school staff willing to serve as room supervisors and proctors †https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act-postsecondary-professionals/administer-the-act.html

 

ACT compensation amount for the staff on duty on test day https://actapps.act.org/aaprosters/NationalCompensation.pdf

ACT is the one paying the proctors and room supervisors.  At the end of the day, it is the ACT's responsibility to ensure a secure testing environment.  

Edited by snowbeltmom
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Some of the parents have hired attorneys to fight the ACT, but the ACT has legally protected itself by requiring all of our kids to sign a document before they take the exam.  

 

 

What does that mean? I'd assume many/most of the students are minors, and minors cannot really sign legal contracts, I thought. 

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The English section of the ACT is very coachable. The ACT folks have to know this, yet they are refusing to reinstate scores even when students can document that they received tutoring.

I wonder if that’s what they’re really after. Perhaps they don’t like the fact that with a few months prep that sort of increase is possible. Kind of how the College Board doesn’t think you can be successful taking an AP class/test in middle school. But to go as far as cancelling scores? I bet someone is thinking class action....

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