The College Board strengthens SAT regulations

Starting from the Oct. 6 exam date, the College Board has began implementing new, stricter SAT regulations.

Students who plan on taking the SATs are now required to upload a photo of themselves during the registration process, and the actual scoring form with the photo will be sent to the students’ high schools for confirmation.

The stricter security measures were implemented in response to a huge SAT cheating scandal unearthed in March; dozens of twenty-something former students from the well-to-do suburbs of Long Island, N.Y., were charged with involvement in a scheme in which other students paid them to take the exams in their place.

For students who have taken or are planning to take the exams, this new policy has garnered mixed reactions.

Senior Tiffany Yung doesn’t think the new regulations will completely resolve the problem of academic integrity. Having taken the SAT recently in November, Yung did not think the test administrators really improved the security measures.

“It doesn't really affect me. All I had to do was upload a picture,” said Yung. “They didn't seem to be more thorough during checks; all we needed to do was to show our IDs, but they asked for that before the cheating scam even happened.”

Yung expressed her skepticism of the whole process, stating, “I don’t think the picture policy really helps people because the [people who have the intention of cheating during the test] can always upload a picture of the person who’s taking the test for them.”

Junior Justin Liu, who is planning on taking the test in January, thinks the attempts are necessary and that there’s “no downside to further checking test takers.”

ACT administrators have also taken up tighter test-taking regulations in hopes of deterring similar transgressions. Like the SAT administrators, they have begun to require photo uploads and enforce stricter security measures, which were also implemented starting with the October exams.

“Although I think [such changes] are a little unnecessary and that there is a bit of an overreaction, I still believe that it is a good idea,” said junior Thomas Li, who plans on taking the SAT in January.

“I would rather have them be too careful than not careful enough.”