Few consequences for kids who cheat

The LA Times tells the story today of a group of students who are suspected of paying someone to take the ACT college entrance exam for them.

The testing agency is investigating the claim. If it proves true, the test scores could be invalidated.

But little else is likely to happen to the students, the paper reports.

Neither the ACT nor the College Board, which runs the SAT, tells colleges that students have applied to why their test scores have been thrown out. The teens simply can take the exam again and, with a strong enough performance, even could gain entrance to the university of their dreams.

Critics say this policy lets cheaters off the hook. The testing agencies tell the LA Times that their only interest is in the integrity of the scores.

What kind of message does this send to the thousands of high school juniors who just got back their scores from the June SAT and are feverishly preparing college applications to enter next fall?

How many of them will lose their spot to a cheater? How many of them will have a cheater sitting behind them in freshman calculus? Just a thought for a summer morning when school is out.