After Arrest, a Wider Inquiry on SAT Cheating

Jenny Anderson:

When Samuel Eshaghoff, a 19-year-old sophomore at Emory University, was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly accepting money to take the SAT for six Long Island high school students, testing officials said it was an isolated event. But school officials and prosecutors disagree, and a continuing investigation is focusing on other schools and students.

"I do believe it's more systemic than just Great Neck North," said Kathleen M. Rice, the district attorney for Nassau County.

Ms. Rice brought criminal charges against Mr. Eshaghoff and misdemeanor charges against six current and former Great Neck North students who said Mr. Eshaghoff took the test for them. Five of the six said they paid him a fee of up to $2,500. Mr. Eshaghoff has pleaded not guilty. She said she was investigating two other schools and various other test takers. She said the cheating problem was widespread, a sentiment echoed by school administrators and superintendents.

"As tests have become higher-stakes tests, as the competition between kids for scholarships and college entrance has increased, the likelihood of kids looking for ways to beat the system -- to cheat -- has increased," said Henry Grishman, superintendent of Jericho Public Schools on Long Island, which has 3,200 students.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at January 6, 2013 2:52 AM
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