This year’s AP exams were drastically different. For most students, they happened at home, on their computer screens, with Google kept handy in case they had to search up an equation (which was allowed this year).
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated such changes. Of course, fears of cheating also sprung up with these changes. Allegedly, the College Board adapted with false accounts on Reddit and Twitter trying to entice would-be cheaters into a false cheating ring.
While these claims are, thus far, unsubstantiated, among AP students they are merely accepted as the truth. These accounts spoke as if they had just discovered TikTok and barely had a grasp on whatever a new word meant.
While the College Board hasn’t admitted to these accounts being theirs, it seems at least somewhat suspicious to most people. After all, what student would openly announce a large cheating ring with misused slang?
Although no one can prove if these claims are true, if they are I would say this: these schemes are just a massive affront to every student’s intelligence. I don’t understand why the College Board would think anyone would fall for this unless they patronize and underestimate us.
Besides that, it just reinforces the idea that the College Board is greedy: they’d rather spend efforts on catching cheaters who gave them $94 than fix their testing system, which is fraught with technological issues.
Hopefully, this is all a coincidence. If not, shame on the College Board.
