Student openly admits to cheating on SAT

bclintonk
Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:05:16 +0000

I feel a little uneasy about the “let it go” advice. It’s been a couple of centuries since I took the SAT, but isn’t there some kind of honor code requirement that if you observe cheating you’re obligated to report it? I realize this wasn’t an eyewitness observation, but I do think any college or university worth its salt would have an honor code under which if you know about cheating and fail to report it, you’re effectively implicated in the cover-up. It might not get you expelled, but it might bring some kind of sanction; and more importantly, it sets a clear and strong ethical standard, in my judgment an appropriate one. So I don’t think this as easy as “just let it go.” Your D needs to think about her own ethical obligations here. It’s complicated. Reporting it involves betraying confidences and being a “snitch,” and no one likes a snitch. On the other hand, remaining silent implicates her in a conspiracy of silence on an ethical matter of the kind that colleges take very seriously.

I agree with those who say the score bump isn’t likely to help the cheater nearly as much as she thinks. SATs alone are not nearly as important as many people think. If her credentials were otherwise impeccable except for a low SAT math score, and she were able to raise that score up to a level that matched her grades, teacher recs, GC rec, other parts of the SAT, and any other standardized test scores, then sure, it would help her. But this doesn’t sound like that kind of student. Cheaters usually aren’t. That’s why they cheat.