Students given SATS that were online before exam

AT LEAST five times in the past three years, US high school students were administered SAT tests that included questions and answers widely available online more than a year before they took the exam, a Reuters analysis shows.

Reuters reported last month that the College Board, the not-for-profit that owns the college entrance exam, had often reused SATS overseas after first giving the test in America and even after some test questions began to circulate online.

The news agency also reported that the organisation had sometimes recycled exams in the US, including last January. That was during a regular Saturday exam sitting, the day most Americans take the SAT.

But the College Board has recycled SATS more frequently than the occasional Saturday. Reuters found that tests were also reused in the US during special midweek sittings, on Sundays and during makeup exams, even though some questions and answers from those tests had been discussed online.

A test given on Wednesday, April 15, 2015, for example, previously had been administered in June 2013, Reuters determined. A copy of that test booklet was available in advance on a website called Cracksat.net. Between the time the booklet was posted and early 2015, the website reported that the document had been downloaded more than 53,000 times.

It’s unclear how many students took the exam during the five sittings Reuters identified. The College Board has said that it’s unable to assess how many test-takers may have seen recycled exam material online before taking the test.

Reusing test items is common in the standardised test industry. It helps ensure that scores on different versions of an exam are comparable. It also reduces costs.

But if some test-takers see the exam beforehand, they may gain an unfair advantage and a better chance to secure spots at top universities. That leaves college admissions officers concerned about the validity of scores.

The College Board has reused SAT test material overseas even after being warned that the material had leaked. In some cases, the College Board acknowledged that it also used test materials that it considered to have been compromised. The breakdowns in test security — particularly in Asia — were more pervasive that the College Board has disclosed publicly.

The SAT is used by thousands of US colleges to help select applicants. A redesigned version of the exam debuted last month, but College Board said it plans to continue the practice of recycling material. REUTERS

The College Board has said that it’s unable to assess how many test-takers may have seen recycled exam material online before taking the test