The SAT is one of the most important standardized tests for high school students who want to pursue higher education in the United States. It is supposed to measure the students’ academic aptitude and readiness for college. However, not everyone takes the test honestly. Some students resort to cheating, either by using unauthorized materials, copying from others, or hiring someone else to take the test for them.
One of the most notorious cases of SAT cheating involved a college student named Samuel Eshaghoff, who was arrested and charged in 2011 for impersonating and taking the SAT for at least 15 other students in exchange for money. He used fake IDs and altered his appearance to match the students he was impersonating. He consistently scored in the 97th percentile or better, earning thousands of dollars for his services.
How did he get caught? The authorities became suspicious after noticing discrepancies between the students’ SAT scores and their grade point averages. They also conducted handwriting analyses and compared the signatures on the test booklets with the ones on the registration forms. They found out that Eshaghoff had taken the SAT for students from different high schools, including his alma mater, Great Neck North High School in Long Island, New York.
Eshaghoff was charged with a scheme to defraud, falsifying business records, and criminal impersonation. He faced up to four years in prison if convicted. However, he managed to avoid jail time by agreeing to a plea deal that required him to perform community service, tutoring underprivileged students for the SAT. He also had to withdraw from Emory University, where he was enrolled at the time of his arrest.
Eshaghoff’s case sparked a nationwide outcry and prompted the College Board and the Educational Testing Service, the organizations that administer the SAT, to implement stricter security measures and identification requirements for the test takers. They also increased the penalties for cheating and the frequency of audits and investigations.
Eshaghoff’s case shows how some students are willing to go to extreme lengths to cheat on the SAT, and how the authorities are trying to prevent and detect such fraud. It also raises questions about the fairness and validity of the SAT as a measure of college readiness, and the pressure and competition that students face in the college admissions process.