Calculator Programs -- Legal or no?

Taggart
Mon, 15 Jan 2007 08:51:43 +0000

I’m sure a lot of you know exactly which thread I’m talking about. It’s just that it’s pretty unfair to the maker of the thread to have it filled with alter-arguments.

What I’m wondering is: Where exactly does it say programs are legal to use on the SATs?

I’ve always assumed (actually, I heard the procedure from a teacher), that technically speaking, proctors/students are supposed to clear all graphing calculator memory before students take the test. Now, I didn’t find that in the SAT rules anywhere (then again, I only did a 1 minute search), but I didn’t find that you were allowed to use calculator programs anywhere either.

Collegeboard rules:

* Test materials are secured before, during, and after the test so that no one has access to questions before taking the test.

Timing of each section is strictly scheduled. This means that you cannot skip ahead or go back to a previous section while taking the test.

Because questions are sometimes reused, no one should see the questions except you, while you are taking the test. Sharing of test questions with others may enable them to attain inappropriately higher scores, thus decreasing the value of your score.

Cell phones, pagers, PDAs, and other electronic devices, which could be used to send notes, may not be used in the test center.

Sharing essay questions or multiple-choice questions with anyone for any reason is a violation of test fairness policy. Never give questions to others (including your teachers) or discuss them by any means, including, but not limited to, e-mail, text messages, the Internet, or in any other form of communication. Discussing the essay question (not multiple-choice questions) is permissible after it is available online.

You may not consult textbooks, other people, electronic devices, or any other resources during breaks.


As for me, I honestly believe they should be banned. I’ve taken the math SAT without a calculator and gotten an 800. I’ve taken it with just a scientific calculator (practice tests, of course) and gotten an 800. For the real test, I had no programs, and I used the basic solve functions on a Ti-89 titanium, and I still got an 800. Perhaps it’s not technically wrong, but morally, I think it’s comparable to cheating.

Honestly, while I see nothing wrong with storing the formulas they give you, there’s a line between punching in numbers and knowing how to do math. Programs are crossing this line – or at least, have the dire potential to.