Dear Associate,

I'd like to introduce Mary Anne Romney, our new Director of Test Security here at Caveon. Mary Anne has more than 29 years of experience in certification test development, certification education center management, business ownership, sales and operations. Mary Anne recently wrote a blog post titled "Our Next National Crisis" that will interest many of our readers. Here’s an excerpt:

CHEATING? What does that word bring to your mind? Unfortunately, to 80% of our students in America, the word doesn't even cause a heart flutter. To these students, cheating has become a normal part of what they must do to get through school. The end result of this modern mindset is disastrous for our country--far beyond even the current economic turmoil. It's about building better employees; the heart of any thriving economy. If we don't solve this problem now, we will find ourselves facing a generation of workers who arrive at the work place without the real knowledge and capabilities to do the job. Can you imagine trying to get your job done if only 20% of your staff really knew what they were doing?

No Child Left Behind legislation originally expressed the country's desire for better education for our children. Unfortunately, it has created an unprecedented pressure for both students and teachers to pass exams at all costs and with any method necessary. It is driving the entire process towards "test prepping" instead of education. There is a world of difference. Read the full article here.

Best regards,

Don Sorensen
Vice President, Marketing
Caveon Test Security

1 > Is It Time to Retrain B-Schools? - NYTimes.com
Critics of business education have many complaints. Some say the schools have become too scientific, too detached from real-world issues. Others say students are taught to come up with hasty solutions to complicated problems. Another group contends that schools give students a limited and distorted view of their role — that they graduate with a focus on maximizing shareholder value and only a limited understanding of ethical and social considerations essential to business leadership.

2 > ‘Caught copying’ at SSC exam, girl jumps to death off terrace - Express India
A 16-year-old SSC student jumped to her death from the terrace of her home at Ghatkopar East on Monday afternoon. It is suspected that she committed suicide as she was caught copying during her board exams on Monday. The body of the resident of Shanti Park was found by other residents and watchmen in the building compound around 1. 30 pm, shortly after she returned after her geography examination at her school, Pune Vidya Bhavan, which was also her examination centre. The watchmen and other residents informed her parents.

3 > Teachers becoming the worst cheaters in school exams
Teachers are coaching their 11-year-old pupils inside the exam hall to give the right answer during tests. The most common allegation of malpractice during the maths, English and science tests was that invigilators “over-aided” pupils, a report by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority showed yesterday. While the overall number of complaints about cheating in tests for 11 and 14-year-olds had fallen, there was a 14 per cent increase in reported cases of cheating inside the exam hall for 11-year-olds (from 305 to 348).

4 > Less cheating in last year’s Sats - BBC NEWS
There were fewer cases of cheating or other malpractice during last year’s chaos-hit Sats tests in England, a report shows. The annual maladministration report from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority shows 503 cases compared with 532 in 2007 and 579 in 2006.

5 > Combatting cheating is about values, not technology
There will always be new and innovative ways for kids to cheat on exams and term papers, said Riverhead School District Superintendent Diane Scricca. So combatting cheating is more of a battle of hearts and minds, she said. Dr. Scricca was reacting to a news package in last week’s News-Review that told of how some of today’s kids are using iPods, cell phones and computer scanners to get an edge in school. “When cell phones are gone it’s going to be something else,” Dr. Scricca said. “There’s an opportunity to cheat in anything we do in life and it’s not the technology that allows us to do it. It’s about the character.”

6 > Varsities warn of stern action against exam buying cheats
Public universities have launched investigations into claims that part-time students are compromising the quality of degree courses they offer by buying term  papers from private bureaux that have mushroomed around campuses.

7 > Cheaters turn to Web to game certification system - SD Times On The Web
Don’t judge a developer by his or her certifications. Cheaters are coordinated, and the answers to exams are easily located on the Web. Websites, including certcollection.org, examcollection.com and (until recently) sadikhov.com, host forums where members share advice, experience, and even actual word-for-word Microsoft certification test questions known in the cheating community as “MS brain dumps.”

8 > China jails teachers and parents for hi-tech exam cheating
Eight parents and teachers have been jailed on state secret charges after using hi-tech communication devices to help pupils cheat in college entrance exams, Chinese media reported today. The conspirators used scanners and wireless earpieces to transmit exam answers, indicating the lengths to which people go to ensure success in the make-or-break “gaokao”, which determines the future of 10 million 18-year-olds each year.

9 > Ways to Curtail Student Cheating in Your School
Create an honor code with student input so they are invested in it. Make it clear to students that cheating is unacceptable, and have them sign a document that says they have not cheated. Discuss academic ethics early and often. As a faculty, agree on the penalties and the process that will be used to implement them. Involve parents in the discussion at the outset of the policy formation. Make clear what the penalties for cheating will be, and then, implement the consequences upon all violations. Seriously punish cheaters according to the academic integrity policy.

10 > Do Study Sites Make the Grade? - WSJ.com
Many teachers, however, arent enthusiastic about the sites, claiming they promote dishonesty among students. In addition to answering homework questions, some sites offer test answers and professors old tests. Cramster offers a bank of answers to various problems, along with the steps taken to get to the solution, for 225 different textbooks.