Last week, the Educational Testing Service confirmed that a number of Chinese and Korean students had cheated in the October SAT examination. What has it done in response? Far too much and not nearly enough.

　　上周，EST称一部分中国和韩国的学生在十月份的SAT考试中作弊。这一事件是怎么处理的?对这一案件了解还不够深入。

　　To fully understand the scandal, one must first understand how it was even possible. It happened because, in Asia, the organisation recycled tests which had already been used in the US. Why would it do that? To save money.

　　为了充分分析案件，必须考虑到其发生的可能性。这一事件发生在亚洲是因为，考试组织把在美国用过的考卷循环利用。为什么这样做呢?为了节约成本。

　　Unfortunately, a few Chinese and Korean students obtained the previously administered tests. That's not hard, given how many people take the tests and how easy it is to take a photo with a phone, which few invigilators bother to confiscate at exam centres.

　　不幸的是，一些中国和韩国的考生拿到了之前考试的试卷。要拿到试卷并不难，假设很多学生参加了考试很容易就可以用手机拍下试题，基本不会有人会把他们的照片上交到考试中心。

　　When the news of the cheating first broke, the Educational Testing Service's response was to delay the test results for all Chinese and Korean students in Asia. It didn't matter whether a student took the test in Singapore - if they had a Chinese address, their scores were delayed. Nearly all students whose scores were delayed did nothing wrong, but they had to endure a month of uncertainty and suspicion. Their only crime was being Chinese.

　　当作弊的新闻传出以后，ETS就回应要把所有中国和韩国学生的考试成绩延期。即使在新加坡考试，只要他们的户籍在中国，分数也无效。几乎所有美誉作弊的中国学生也卷入了事件，他们要经受一个月的不确定和被怀疑。仅仅因为他们是中国人。

　　Finally, last week, the organisation said it had identified a "limited number" of students who appear to have cheated. So what will it do with these crafty swindlers who tainted the reputation of an entire continent? Nothing. Their scores have been cancelled. That's it. They have not been banned from retaking the test. Neither will the fact they cheated be reported to any universities they applied to.

　　最终，在上周该组织声明其鉴定出只有一部分学生作弊。那么要怎么处理这些玷污了整个大陆的名誉的作弊考生呢?仅仅只是把他们分分数取消了。他们作弊的事实不会被通告给申请的学校。

　　Perhaps the company was hesitant to report cheating to universities for cost-saving reasons - it wants to avoid litigation. Or, perhaps it feels it simply does not need to. In recent reports, the College Board, which administers the SAT exam, has been quick to point out that many security features are already in place to protect against cheating. These include printing test booklets on secure printers, never storing tests on a cloud, and even searching their own test writers' briefcases at the end of every day to ensure they are not carrying test material.

　　或许机构不想向大学解释原因是节约成本，同时也是想避免诉讼。或者只是因为觉得没必要。在最近的报告中，负责组织SAT考试的College Board马上指出已经采取了很多安全措施避免作弊了。包括用安全的打印机打印试卷，不储存试卷，甚至在每天都检查出卷人的公文包确保他们没有带出任何跟考试相关的材料。

　　Yet, clearly, they are not enough. If the only consequence of getting caught is to have your score erased - which makes it look like the student was sick that day and simply did not show up - some students will try to cheat.

　　但是他们做的还远远不够。如果作弊被抓到的结果就知识取消成绩，这些学生就会和消沉然后不考试了，但是其他学生还是会想办法去作弊。

　　The organisation's actions are also offensive. By postponing the release of scores of every Chinese student, it sends a signal to universities that they are all probably cheats. The lack of action with the regard to the actual cheaters begs the question: does the organisation actually want to get rid of cheating?

　　但是组织的做法也是有点过分的。把所有中国学生的分数都延迟公布，无疑就是通知学校所有学生可能都作弊了。对作弊学生的处理方式让人发问：组织是真的想杜绝作弊的现象吗?

　　I hope so. But this can't be achieved through publicly shaming an entire continent of students. To stop cheating, it needs to shame the actual cheating students in front of the universities they are trying to con their way into. The universities would appreciate this, future employers would appreciate this, and so would the vast majority of Asian students who do not cheat.

　　但愿是这样的，但是不能通过牺牲中国大部分学生的利益来实现这一行为。要阻止作弊行为，就要当着申请学校的面揭穿学生作弊的行为。这样很多大学都会赞同这种做法，将来的老板也会赞同这种做法，以后广大的亚洲学生就不会作弊了。