Admissions test for U.S. law schools suspended in China over cheating

Exam experts say Chinese sites exploit online tests

Cheating concerns predate remote LSAT

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5769056&forum_id=2"#49231594)

The cheating sites are "a full-on industry," charging as much as $8,000 or more for nearly perfect LSAT scores, he wrote in February on a Reddit forum dedicated to the exam. The student, who is now studying law in Texas and requested anonymity, told Reuters that he warned the Law School Admission Council, the nonprofit that administers the Law School Admissions Test.

Last week, the council, based in Newtown, Pennsylvania, announced it is suspending the remote LSAT in mainland China after the upcoming exam in October due to “increasingly aggressive” cheating operations. It said it would bolster security for the October test.

A recent spike in apparent cheating rings in China forced the council to take action, a spokesperson said. But the decision comes after years of concerns about LSAT cheating in China, several LSAT test prep providers told Reuters.

The scope of cheating remains unclear, but anything undermining the integrity of the test is a problem for the council and law school admissions offices who rely on those scores, said Dave Killoran, chief executive officer of LSAT prep company PowerScore.

“We’re not talking about thousands of people. We’re probably talking about hundreds, at most,” Killoran said, adding that he is unaware of any systemic cheating in the U.S. and Canada. “But there’s always a threat that something like this can get out of a particular region and spread.”

CHEATING HOTSPOT

Concerns about cheating on standardized tests in China predate the switch to online testing and extend beyond the LSAT. A 2016 Reuters investigation found evidence of organized cheating among Chinese students on the SAT, a certificate program for non-native English speakers owned by the ACT, and in U.S. college courses.

The same types of cheating operations that target the LSAT also help Chinese takers cheat on other standardized admissions tests and professional certification exams, said Steve Addicott, chief operating officer of testing security firm Caveon.

"It's an absolute parasite industry in some places," he said. "And China is a hotspot."

In some cases, Addicott said cheating rings hire groups to take tests and memorize exam questions, then compile and resell them to examinees. They also use hidden, high-definition cameras to photograph in-person and online exams. And with the shift to online exams, cheating rings can now gain remote access to a test takers' computer and answer the questions for them, Addicott said.

"It's an arms race," Addicott said.

About 500 people took the LSAT last year in mainland China, according to the Law School Admission Council. The council does not track LSAT takers' nationalities and cannot provide figures for Chinese people who took the LSAT outside of China, a spokesperson said.

Steve Schwartz, who runs the tutoring company LSAT Unplugged, noted that Chinese language sites are not only available to students who live in China. “Shutting down remote testing in China doesn’t solve the problem. You have to get to the central root of it.”

The council spokesperson said it’s “possible” that LSAT cheating is happening outside of China, adding “the world is more interconnected now than ever.”

Cheating may have contributed to unusually high LSAT scores last year, said Test prep expert Killoran, though the removal of the so-called logic games section of the test was likely a bigger factor. LSAT scores of 175 or higher out of the maximum 180 rose nearly 42% last year, according to data released by the council.

The Chinese law student who aired his concerns to the council said cheating on the LSAT leaves honest applicants at a disadvantage. Now he said, it's "a money game."

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5769056&forum_id=2"#49231621)

jfc, if that's the case, wtf are you doing at a V50?

and why CLS? why not HLS?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5769056&forum_id=2"#49231645)

lol

just fucking genocide all "laywers" already. AI please take the wheel

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5769056&forum_id=2"#49231717)

"Who the fuck knows, man?" he added.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5769056&forum_id=2"#49231893)