Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wylies99]

Hagwon teacher probed for sending answers of SAT to students in U.S.

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2915491

Police are investigating whether a lecturer at a private language institute, or hagwon, in Gangnam, southern Seoul, identified by the surname Kim, 37, allegedly helped two Korean students to cheat on the United States-based Scholastic Aptitude Test, officials said yesterday.

The students were studying in the U.S. at the time.

Kim allegedly sent them a copied test and answer sheets from Thailand to the U.S. by taking advantage of the time difference.

The SAT, which is administered by the U.S.-based Educational Testing Service, is the exam for students who want to gain admission to U.S. colleges.

The Suseo Police Precinct in Gangnam said that Kim allegedly obtained the sheets from a Thai test-taker who took the test in Bangkok on Jan. 24 of last year.

Then Kim allegedly sent the sheets via e-mail to two Korean high school students surnamed Kim and Lee who took the same exam twelve hours later in a test center in the U.S. state of Connecticut, investigators said.

Even though the SAT is taken at test centers worldwide on the same day, the test in Bangkok is 12 hours earlier than the one in Connecticut.

Police said the lecturer allegedly received the test paper around 3 p.m. (Thailand local time) and sent it to the students with the answer sheet around 5:30 p.m.

The students checked the test material the same day, said officers.

Investigators raided Kim�s office in the institute and obtained the original version of the test. Police also searched Kim�s e-mail to the students.

Kim is widely known among students who are preparing for the SAT and their parents as a top instructor. He was paid between 2.8 million ($2,486) and 3 million won per lecture.

�I felt increasing pressure to guarantee high test scores for my students,� police quoted Kim as saying. �I committed wrongdoing because I feared that I might get fired if the students I taught did not get high test scores.�

Officers said they have issued summons for the two students. Police hope to discover if the two shared the sheets with other students.

[Olivencia]

Most of what we call education today is just meaningless crock anyway. Yeah he broke the law but what of those in charge that rig the system for their own economic exploitation at the "expense" for those really trying to learn?
It's all garbage.

[Oliver]

Cheating is one thing. A daft education system is another thing entirely.

[Forward Observer]

Success is important. Anything to win is acceptable.

[Mr. Pink]

I am curious what law he broke in Korea. The SAT is an AMERICAN test. Does that test have jurisdiction in Korea?

Also, I would be curious how they could prove such a thing.

[bassexpander]

[Bailsibub]

Before they probed him, did they at least sweet talk him?

How long was the probe?

He must figure 3 million is enough for the occasional probing.

Thanks, I'll be here all week....

[wylies99]

[thomas pars]

This has happened so many times here. A few years back i remember that an unusually high number of students scored big on some test...SAT sanung not really sure. Either way the government investigated and found out that they had been sent the answers by text message. the funny thing was that the "service" was very expensive. Who paid for it? The parents. Go figure.

[Old Gil]

Everyone is involved in this case was many stress.

[kabrams]

The SAT is a BS exam anyway. I'm glad they cheated on it.

[proustme]

Why?

[The Cosmic Hum]

If the SAT is so poorly designed that people can take advantage of time zones to improve their score, then you can be sure many are doing so.
This is one situation where they got caught...as stupid as it sounds.
This could hardly be an isolated incident...just the one they are prepared to disclose.
It is like watching cop shows...they love to show how smart they are when they catch someone...never mind all the ones they don't.
Think of all the people who now have it in the back of their mind to do this very thing...and why not?
Educational testing like this has become little more than a financial market...hardly an ethical standard.
This is the system the younger generations are having to compete in...best of luck to them.
For me, I find the whole story a little hard to believe.

[T-dot]

ETS tries to combat the tome zone differences by having 2 oe 3 sets of tests administered. The tests can have different dummy sections and/or different essay questions. Even within an SAT seating the tests are different from the person next to you.

I doubt those tests helped the students much, they probably became more ill prepared by staying up all night to just figure out the answers.

[conrad2]

It's a criminal offense to cheat on a test?