US college exam cancelled in South Korea and Hong Kong after leak
The ACT exam used by colleges across America to test entrance candidates has been cancelled for all test-takers in South Korea and Hong Kong in the latest outbreak of suspected cheating by east Asian students.
The cancellation on Saturday marked the first time the high-stakes exam had been scrapped for an entire ｃountry, according to ACT spokesman Ed Colby.
ACT, the Iowa-based nonprofit that operates the test, said it halted the test after discovering that it had leaked in advance.
“ACT has just received credible evidence that test materials intended for administration in these regions have been compromised,” it said in a statement.
The cancellation came only hours before students were to take the exam, which is used by most US colleges to assess applicants and which is sat by close to two million students every year.
Colby declined to discuss how the test had leaked or where. He said ACT discovered evidence of the breach on Friday.
Colby said the cancellation affected about 5,500 students who were scheduled to take the test at 56 different centers. They will receive refunds of registration fees. He said it was “not feasible” to reschedule the exam the ACT will not be administered again until September.
“It impacts innocent students who had no involvement in any kind of wrong activities,” he said.
South Korea has become notorious for standardized-test cheating rings. In May 2013, the College Board, which administers the rival SAT college-entrance exam, was forced to cancel its test for the ｃountry because exam materials had leaked. Tutors and owners of private South Korean test-cram companies currently are on trial in Seoul in that incident.
Test security issues are not limited to South Korea. A vibrant industry in China has been exploiting the College Board’s practice of recycling SAT test forms by acquiring past exams and feeding their clients test questions in advance.
Since October 2014, the College Board has delayed issuing test scores in Asia six times and cancelled an exam sitting in two locations there – steps that the New York-based not-for-profit takes when it has evidence that test materials have been compromised.
Overseas demand for taking the ACT and the SAT is rising as more and more foreign students seek entry into American universities. The ACT surpassed the SAT in the United States as the most widely taken college entrance test in 2012. The ACT trails the SAT outside America, but has been growing rapidly abroad in recent years, according to ACT officials.
Vocabulary Words:
1. Candidate -(noun) A person taking an examination
2. High-stakes -(adj.) A high-stakes test is one that is very important for the person who takes it
3. Credible - (adj.) Able to be believed convincing
4. Refund - (noun) A repayment of a sum of money
5. Compromise - (verb) Cause to become vulnerable or function less effectively
Discussion Questions:
1. How important are entrance exams in South Korea?
2. Generally, do you think entrance exams are important? Why do you say so?
3. Do you think exams are a good assessment for how well a student is learning?
4. In your own opinion, do test scores reflect your true ability and intelligence? Why?
5. Why do students result to cheating during tests and exams?
