Sam Eshaghoff, Emory University Student, Allegedly Took SAT For Other Students

Cheaters never prosper.

An Emory University student was charged Tuesday with standing in to take the SAT for six students at Long Island's Great Neck North High school. The six high school students face misdemeanor charges.

Sam Eshaghoff was allegedly paid between $1,500 and $2,000 dollars to take the SAT for other students. Prosecutors say he was using the funds to pay for his gym membership.

The AP has more:

Eshaghoff is a 19-year-old Great Neck North alumnus who now attends Emory University in Atlanta. He was facing arraignment on scheming to defraud, criminal impersonation and other charges. His attorney did not immediately return a call.

District Attorney Kathleen Rice says her office is investigating whether similar SAT scams occurred in at least two other high schools.

Cheating seems to be a continual scourge of the SAT. In 2002, 10 students at the prestigious Landon School in Washington D.C. were caught cheating on the college entrance exam.

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Comments

[GirlInNYC]

09:24 PM on 09/29/2011

More popular than ya know. 'Tutors' can be hired to DO the homework instead of guide. However, once in the real world, we all have to hold our own. We can 'cheat' by taking on a project and hiring someone to do the work, but that only goes so far. Eventually you have to pull your weight.

[Joseph Schmoe]

07:50 AM on 09/28/2011

The fact that ETS is a scam operation and there is little value to standardized testing anyway are not acceptable reasons for cheating. Not now, not ever.
Stand up for your beliefs and fight for change, or simply refuse to waste your tuition and time at colleges and universities that still value your SAT scores above all else.
Stupidity is not a justification for unethical behavior.

[NancyY]

07:24 AM on 09/28/2011

This is not good; I'm glad they caught that guy. If those kids moved on to college, they would have difficulties - and their parents would have already handed over a hefty amount of cash. I taught my trade of drafting and design in a private technical college for several years, and realized that some of the individuals who enrolled in the courses simply could not do the work - but they had already paid for the courses. It's best if people realize their core competencies early in life, and even better if kids' parents and school officials help to guide them with their decisions.

[usmcqtco]

11:08 PM on 09/27/2011

Why do not the schools supply photos of the students who are taking the SAT test? Or do the schools not know which students will be testing?

[nrhk]

12:14 AM on 09/28/2011

They took it at a school other than their high school so people wouldn't catch on

[aearthling59]

10:31 PM on 09/27/2011

I went back to university at 25 I didn't need SAT tests, just applied.

[WheresNixon]

11:13 PM on 09/27/2011

You have to be tested. If not SATs one must take the Skills assessment test in order to obtain placement. Algebra and College English are prerequisites for most full time students. In the US anyway.

[dodie1990]

09:25 PM on 09/27/2011

The SAT tests how well you take tests. The company has a monopoly on the whole country. Too much emphasis is placed on rhe results and some who don't take tesats well(it is an art) cannot get past this arbitrary gate.

[Richard Tapper]

09:23 PM on 09/27/2011

Only $2,000 for ALL those students? He either sucks at what he does, or is seriously undercharging. The bigger story is the impact these tests have had and continue to have on the quality and culture of education in the U.S.

[nrhk]

12:13 AM on 09/28/2011

More like 2 grand per kid, this is Greatneck we're talking about. The kids there are loaded.

[aries932]

09:16 PM on 09/27/2011

Its getting harder and harder to make a living these days..there is always someone who will rat you out in a minute..and the cops just love to click the cuffs on everyone they can.

[memberspierced]

08:59 PM on 09/27/2011

People take tests for other people all the time so what, takes a sly mind to get away with the booty ! lol

[chasesea]

08:55 PM on 09/27/2011

Sounds like they may have flushed their future down the toilet. Try getting a job later in life after this fiasco, guys. It's called a background check.

[memberspierced]

09:07 PM on 09/27/2011

Some money making organizations would frown on a favorable background check, acceptance into these organizations would allow a mostly tax free existence and a free hand to play as one see's fit. Don't get too involved in your credit/background checks when the list of their aliases is as long as digits in your Social Security number, maybe even YOUR name and Social :) .

[grundoboy]

09:36 PM on 09/27/2011

cripes, he'll be a politician

[booksnmoreforyou]

08:59 PM on 09/27/2011

Your post reveals nothing about either this student or Obama, but plenty about yourself, and it's not honorable.

[HomeGrower]

09:24 PM on 09/27/2011

Unfortunately, quadrant5 is only doing what too many other posters do.....inject their political views into all topics.

[grundoboy]

09:37 PM on 09/27/2011

hmm,,hmmmm. hmmmmmmm.

[lovesean3]

08:03 PM on 09/27/2011

Who cares, they should eliminate the SAT and GRE, they are both a waste of time and just a way to get more money out of students. They don't identify a strong student in any way that the rest of the application doesn't already handle.

[Apelika]

08:33 PM on 09/27/2011

I gather from your post that you did not test well.

[lpcrsotp]

10:59 PM on 09/27/2011

Used to love taking tests and did well on the GRE but was in college before there was a SAT. I personally see little need for either as they reveal little as to a person's ability to stick to something such as college or graduate school. Grades and recommendations appear to me to paint a more accurate picture.

[booksnmoreforyou]

08:52 PM on 09/27/2011

No, I don't, except with essay questions.

I therefore went to a community college, transferred to an elite college from where I graduated highest in my class, and then went to Canada for graduate school where they don't require the GRE or any some such.

Everyone knows these standardizes tests don't reveal much of anything. Educational Testing Service, the maker of both the SAT and GRE, as well as the PPST/Praxis series that most teacher candidates must pass, is quite the bit of a racket. These tests do more damage by way of constricting what is taught and changing learning dynamics than they do good.

[geomcd]

07:48 PM on 09/27/2011

This just shows how low too many have let their values go. I hope they make an example of him to make others thing twice.

[booksnmoreforyou]

08:56 PM on 09/27/2011

With the price of highered, and crippling stories of student debt (read to your heart's content at http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/525/student-loan-stories.html ), I won't be casting the first stone at him.

[Arnold Olaf]

02:24 AM on 09/28/2011

Well said!

[eroteme3]

07:25 PM on 09/27/2011

Those who had their SAT taken for them should maybe be congratulated by cheating teachers.

[Cathie Blackwell Havlin]

11:46 PM on 09/27/2011

why?

[Pavane]

12:57 AM on 09/28/2011

When young people see that cheaters win - bankers and politicians are prime examples - then cheating becomes justified (and legitimized) as a means to the end.

[scotttimscott09]

06:46 PM on 09/27/2011

His gym membership must have been pretty expensive. Sure hope he's ripped--we already know he has a big set.