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WPPSI - Caught Cheating?
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Anonymous
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With all the talk of preparation for the WPPSI tests, the workbooks, the private "consultants" who administer the same (or nearly the same) test, the ability to purchase the blocks off Ebay, etc., and all the strong anti-prepping sentiment expressed here, I am wondering if anyone - ever - got caught doing this?
If people were nailed for prepping their kids (with the actual test - I don't mean practicing things like playing with blocks or vocabulary!) - that would put a stop to parents doing this and creating an unequal 'playing field' for the applicants/kids... In DC and NYC, parents and schools get identical reports from the testers, so a parent would know if there was any written record of cheating... I also doubt that any tester would risk the liability and potential lawsuits from parents - a child could blurt out something like, "I love to play blocks just like these at home" - and that might mean something.. or nothing. A child could start a subtest without instructions because all kids like to do stuff like that - who wants to wait for directions.. or it could be that the child is very familiar with the materials.... So... do Psychologists actually do anything if they suspect a child has been prepped with the actual test? With all the stuff so readily available, especially on Ebay - to grad students in Psych, paid consultants, etc., I'm guessing these things flourish because there is no risk....? |
Anonymous
| ... or maybe the kids who get very high scores on the WPPSI are just given a longer look at the playdate to confirm the results since it cant really be proven that there was cheating...? |
Anonymous
| Why worry about this? It's not worth the school's worry. They all know it's meaningless and not predictive of much. Lest's not slay the goose that lays the golden egg. |
Anonymous
I agree with you in principle - that it's meaningless - but I wonder if someone 'beat' my child for a place in the class because of a 1/2% higher test score that might have been a result of prepping. It just seems like there's almost no risk (if any) and potential reward.. (assuming all the kids are capable of doing the schoolwork)... |
Anonymous
| You simply live with it and come back another day. |
Anonymous
| I don't know....my child took the test two years in a row. The first year he aced the test with 99% without ever having looked at any of those workbooks they sell at bookstores. The second year we did have those workbooks for pre-k/kindergarten for fun in the house (not as prepping). Anyway, point is our child scored the same the second year with the books so not sure that they make a difference. Mind you these aren't the exams they are just books anyone can pick up in a book store. My kid loves doing them and that is why we bought them. I am not going to stop doing them in fear that some nut is worried that my kid is getting an advantage. For the record, the test scores are only a part of the reasoning. I know SO many children that had high 95 plus scores and didn't get into any Big 3's. I wouldn't worry so much about this - really. All older children use these books in the summers - so are you going to accuse them of cheating as well for the ERB's? |
Anonymous
I'd say the chance of this happening is about zero. The scores just don't matter THAT much. |
Anonymous
OP here. I am talking about using the ACTUAL TEST MATERIALS, ie. like getting the blocks off Ebay, hiring a consultant, etc. There are 95's who don't get in, but how many 99.9s are rejected?? Or does it really make no difference in admissions, apart from inflating parents' egos? 
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Anonymous
| Plenty of kids at all percentile levels are rejected. If you've been here a while, you'll have seen speculation among parents with kids who scored in the 99.9th percentile that schools actively avoid such kids. Above a certain level, it really doesn't matter. |
Anonymous
| I know of a person who was caught for cheating, and her child's score was not computed. So she had to apply only to schools which didn't require the test. So there was a price to pay. |
Anonymous
Really? What were the circumstances? How can a tester know for sure (w/o risking a lawsuit?)??? I suppose if the tester confronted the parents who admitted it, then that would make sense... I have *never* heard of this and have been all over this and the Urban Baby threads... http://www.urbanbaby.com/talk/posts/39678155 |
Anonymous
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I doubt any sane individual will waste time over a 3 to 5 year-old cheating on WPPSI...if that's at all possible. I would not punish a child for prepping for any exam. That would be preposterous in my mind. Some here would want to punish the parents. The world would be a better place if everyobne scored 99.9 percentile on WPPSI so... prep away. If I had the means I would send the materials around the nation (just like they are now doing for the SAT exam). That would drop the price of these materials and courses in the black market like a brick of lead. And the kids will be better of for it if they choose to prep!
Prep away. Study hard. Don't listen to the envious posters that think you are cheating. I'm positive they all anonymously studied for their standardized tests and exams but are just too insecure and dishonest to admit it. |
Anonymous
Not the WPSII, the WISC. I don't think she did it on purpose. She bought something on Ebay and thought it was an old test from which she could practice, not realizing it was the exact test...and I don't even think her mentality was that it was cheating...in her mind, you don't ever send a kid into a test without prepping. She just didn't know you were NOT supposed to prep for THIS test. Her child knew the material and the tester detected it and told the mom she could not calculate a score for her child. The mother explained she had no idea you were NOT supposed to prepare, but there wasn't anything at that point they could do. The child couldn't take the test again for another year or the results would have been invalid. It all worked out in the end and the child is in a great school. But I think the point of the story is to not stress so much on this testing thing. The consequences of trying too hard to make your kid look one way or another can be dramatic, and in the end it is just not worth it. Who cares if your kid isn't a genius? Love your kid for who your kid is, not who your kid should be. |
Anonymous
| Do the testers routinely ask parents if the kids have been prepared for the test? It seems like they should. |
Anonymous
No. We've been through the test 2x and haven't been asked anything at all. |