An article was published in The Korea Times today about the discovery of a "cash for answers" cheating business for the TOEIC (an English proficiency test) in Seoul.
It doesn't surprise me that some people would pay for something like this, despite the risk of getting caught. Hell, I have a feeling that many schemes like these exist here in the Vancouver area.
What does surprise me, however, is how the exam supervisors do not notice people receiving answers through electronic devices. I mean, unless the device is very well hidden, you would need to be able to see the screen and transmit the data received on to the test paper without anyone noticing.
Being a recent university graduate who has taken plenty of exams, I can say with certainty that such a task isn't easy at all, and any attempts to do so would be quite obvious.
I mean, there are reasons why inventive cheating tips exist on YouTube -- tips that are much less obvious but much more successful than doing it electronically. I'm not recommending any students out there try to cheat on an exam, of course, but if you're doing to do it, at least don't be stupid about it.
(Despite any potential cheating, South Korea still struggles mightily on English proficiency exams. That's going to be a tough challenge once I get over there.)
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
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From time to time, I have been coming across a number of sites that say there are many "cheating" incidents in Korea regarding English proficiency tests. There was even a story narrated to me by a Korean friend which involved a TOEIC test "reuse"? However, I just can't seem to find articles that would confirm such instance.
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