SAT score delays affect thousands

Testproviderdelayedresultsbecauseofinvestigationintoallegedcheating.

Althoughmorethan100,000studentsfromtheChinesemainlandheadtoundergraduateprogramsintheUnitedStateseachyear,thereisnowhereontheChinesemainlandforChinesestudentstotaketheScholasticAssessmentTest,astandardexaminationwidelyusedwhenapplyingforUSuniversities.

Duringexaminationmonths,suchstudents,likemigratorybirds,flytoneighboringregionsandcountries,includingHongKong,TaiwanandSouthKorea,tositforthetestthatmightdeterminetheirfuture.

However,onOct28,whenthatmonth'sSATscoresweretobereleased,thousandsofstudentsfromtheChinesemainlandandtheRepublicofKoreawerenotifiedtheirscoreshadbeendelayedbytheEducationalTestingService,theexaminationprovideroftheCollegeBoard.

ETSexplainedlaterthatthedelayresultedfromanongoinginvestigationintopossiblecheating.

Previously,theCollegeBoarddisregardedallSATscoresforMayinSouthKoreaduetoallegationsthatquestionshadbeenleaked,affectingsome1,500students.

AmonthaftertheOctoberscoreswerewithheld,mosthadbeenreleased.

Asaresultoftheadministrativereview,theCollegeBoardandETShavereleasedthemajorityofOct11SATscoresdirectlytothetest-takersinChinaandSouthKorea,theETSsaidinastatementlastweek.

"Alimitednumberoftest-takershadanunfairadvantageonthetest.ETSiscontactingthesetest-takersdirectlytoinformthemthattheirscorescannotbereleased",thestatementsaid.

Thetestprovideralsosaid:"Thescoresofasmallsetoftest-takersremainunderreview.Thesetest-takerswillbenotifiedwhenthereviewiscompleted."

Theinvestigationcontinuesasstudentsenterthebusyapplicationseason.

AlthoughtheETSdidnotspecifyhowmanytest-takerswereinvolved,aneducationalconsultantinBeijingsaidthousandsofstudentsfromtheChinesemainlandandSouthKoreawereaffected.

About8,000studentsdidnotreceivetheirscoresontime,saidLiNannan,aseniorconsultantwithNewOrientaleducationandtechnologygroup,oneofthecountry'slargestoverseasstudytrainingproviders.

Lisaidshehascontactedthetop50USuniversitiesandthemajorityareawareofthedelayandwillingtoaccepttheOctoberscore.

YanXiaozhe,directoroftheUSUndergraduateDepartmentofVisionOverseasundertheNewOrientalgroup,said:"TheearlyadmissiondeadlineatthemajorityofuniversitiesintheUnitedStatesisNov1.IfthescoresarereleasedontimeinOctober,studentswhoapplyforearlyadmissioncanchooseschoolsmoreaccurately."

"Twotothreeyearsago,SATscoresplayedanimportantroleduringapplications.However,inthepasttwoyears,softpower,includingawardsandAPcourseresults,aremorecritical,"Yansaid.

A18-year-oldBeijinghighschoolseniorsurnamedZhangsaidshewishedtoapplytoHarvardorBrownuniversities,andthedelaygavehernobasisforherchoice.

"IhavebeendreamingofHarvardsinceIwasalittlegirl,butmylastSATscorewasnotgoodenough.ItooktheOctobertest,hopingtogainabetterscoretogettomydreamschool,"shesai