SAT Required Photos - a bad idea?

[Anonymous]

Starting with the March SAT, all test takers have to upload a picture of themselves to take the test. This seems like a reasonable security measure to ensure the identity of the test takers, BUT the College Board is telling students the photos will be sent to colleges along with their scores. This seems like a really bad idea. I'm sure the colleges will love this as admissions committees can now select students based on apparent race or good-looks. Does anybody else have a problem with this? It seems to be happening without much fuss.

[Anonymous]

I didn't realize the pics traveled with the scores. I can't think of any reason the college would need the photos (aside from profiling applicants).

[Anonymous]

Ostensibly, the colleges need the pics to deter ID fraud, but that message hasn't gotten out. DD hasn't registered for the SAT yet because she wants to be dressed nicely and look her best for this photo. One more thing to stress about in this testing game. BTW tha ACT also now requires photos, but said it will not make any photos available to colleges for any reason.

[Anonymous]

That does sound like a bad idea. This seems like a good way to get themselves into PR and legal trouble. Although I wonder if they could use it against affirmative action, if you don't look minority enough. I know schools that require photos though. And yes, they are suspected of selections made based on pictures, eg good looking, white kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ostensibly, the colleges need the pics to deter ID fraud, but that message hasn't gotten out. DD hasn't registered for the SAT yet because she wants to be dressed nicely and look her best for this photo. One more thing to stress about in this testing game. BTW tha ACT also now requires photos, but said it will not make any photos available to colleges for any reason.

I think you can register and upload the photo later (before the test date obviously). Def don't delay as some testing places fill up. March is a popular date. We just used a school photo. Didn't give it a second thought.

I thought some of the supplements to the common app required photos but maybe I am not recalling that correctly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That does sound like a bad idea. This seems like a good way to get themselves into PR and legal trouble. Although I wonder if they could use it against affirmative action, if you don't look minority enough. I know schools that require photos though. And yes, they are suspected of selections made based on pictures, eg good looking, white kids.

I think "looking minority" is an interesting concept. My husband and I are both Mexican-american. DH looks more stereotypically hispanic and I ook like I could be from any region where people have light olive skin (middle east, Latin America, Southern Europe). We have two boys - one with very light skin/ brown hair and one with dark skin and black hair. In reality I see people treating them slightly differently. The one with darker skin entered kinder reading Magic Tree House books but his k teacher took a while to accept that he could read. bY default he seems to get put in to lower tracked reading and math groups and then gets moved up after his teachers realize he is advanced. I actually had one teacher who pulled a groip for advanced math ask me if I was Indian since he was so good in math. It could be a coincidence but these things don't happen to my lighter skinned son. So I can see how my lighter one doesn't need any type of affirmative action while I can see where the darker one would benefit.

[Anonymous]

I think there may be many reasons why this has been implemented. I have lived in Asia 6 years now. I hope this photo ID with test/application keeps some of the fraud(fake test takers and assay writers) that goes on here with college entrance gets taken down a notch. things are not what they seem, you gotta get out there and see for yourself. There are people in other countries who are absolute expert at taken advantage of the american open system - think maternity tourism. At my kids international school, the 60% supposed expats is made of what us real expats call passport holders with no roots, ties or interest in the US, It is so they can get an economic leg up, access to both theirs and US job market. Their foreign passports allow them to get in to the international schools where they can learn flawless english and then go on to US schools and on to their careers in the US, even government jobs that require clearances. That wouldn't be a problem if I had not witnessed a level of disdain for the US in some of these passport holders. They are Americans of convenience. And no, you don't get hired by the local conglomerate without often being treated like second class citizen at the local level. The only way to come here is to bring your job with you, preferably with a western company. Being born here doesn't count you as a citizen either, at least one parent has to be a citizen. There's a reason why everything here is either copied or stolen - very few original ideas. Likewise, getting in to the universities is not always merit base, at least not from my vintage point.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, your beef about passport fraud doesn't belong here.

I uploaded a picture of my DD from a trip last summer, complete with baseball cap. I don't think I have the energy to care about this.

[Anonymous]

Why don't they just give the SAT during school like the PSAT? That would seem to cut way down on fraud as opposed to the current system of testing on Saturdays at different schools with unknown proctors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why don't they just give the SAT during school like the PSAT? That would seem to cut way down on fraud as opposed to the current system of testing on Saturdays at different schools with unknown proctors.

The PSAT is offered once a year. SATs are offered way more often, and many kids are taking them 2-3 times (plus 1-2 more times for the subject tests). I think it would be disruptive to miss that much school. And people take them at different times depending on when they are ready for them so you'd only have a segment of the school taking them at any given time so who would be doing the proctoring since the teachers would need to be teaching the 9th, 10th and 12th graders, plus 11th graders not taking the SAT on that day.

I am not sure, at my DCs school of over 2000 students, that just being based at the school would totally cut out fraud. DC may or may not be known to the proctor/teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don't they just give the SAT during school like the PSAT? That would seem to cut way down on fraud as opposed to the current system of testing on Saturdays at different schools with unknown proctors.

The PSAT is offered once a year. SATs are offered way more often, and many kids are taking them 2-3 times (plus 1-2 more times for the subject tests). I think it would be disruptive to miss that much school. And people take them at different times depending on when they are ready for them so you'd only have a segment of the school taking them at any given time so who would be doing the proctoring since the teachers would need to be teaching the 9th, 10th and 12th graders, plus 11th graders not taking the SAT on that day.

I am not sure, at my DCs school of over 2000 students, that just being based at the school would totally cut out fraud. DC may or may not be known to the proctor/teacher.

It would limit the universe of fraudsters to just those in the school. It's unlikely there would be many SAT specialists in any one school who would be willing to give up their own scores for someone else for money.

As for being disruptive, the AP tests are given in school and many kids take multiple tests. They could probably administer the SAT once or twice without too much hassle.

[Anonymous]

Reminds me of college admissions "quota" times, when students submitted photos with applications.

Fingerprints, or at least a thumb print, would be open to less bias.