Chinese Test Cheating Tools Look Like Something Out Of James Bond
This past weekend, literally this last Saturday and Sunday, millions of Chinese high school students sat through a test that will determine the rest of the their lives. Some will do well, some will fail but none have failed as miserably as the ones who were caught cheating!
While the millions prepare for and take the test in legitimate means, there are those that choose to cheat. China hasn't released the number of cheaters caught this year, but the folks over at China News and China Radio International have released a series of photos of some of the best cheating equipment found.
A student was caught wearing a pair of glasses with a camera in Shenyang, Liaoning province. Supposedly the cheater would activate the camera (top photo) with what looks like a remote shutter coin. The camera would then send black and white photos of the test to an outside location. The answer would then be sent back to the student. It doesn't say how the information was sent back.2
In Fuzhou, Guangzhou province, police found this wallet receiver contraption on the person of a male test taker. The contraption works in conjunction with a small camera. The receiver was tied to the young man's armpit. The camera was built into a plastic drink bottle.
In Sichuan province, 40 students were suspected of using a high tech pen to cheat. The pen would send test questions back to another location and answers would be sent back to the cheaters via in-ear receivers.
A wired up t-shirt was confiscated during another important state sponsored exam. The shirt is wired with a camera and plugs into a mobile phone that sends signal out.
A set of old-school Nokia cellphones set up as cheating devices.
The National College Entrance Examinations, also known as the Gaokao, is one of the biggest events in the life of a Chinese student. The test determines where they will attend university. The test is deemed so important that streets around testing locations have police guards, and people who cause noise during testing days can be fined.
Preparation for the tests is super extreme. High school students last year were spottedstudying with intravenous drips attached to their arms!
Judging by some of the crazy contraptions cheaters have come up with, it seems their efforts may have served them better if they actually studied.
为过考试想“歪招” 盘点考场中的作弊“神器” [China News]
High-Tech Cheating Devices Found in Trans-Regional Test [CRI English]
High-Tech Cheating Devices Found in Trans-Regional Test [CRI English]
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Eric is a Beijing based writer and all around FAT man. You can contact him @FatAsianTechie@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @FatAsianTechie
um....why? throughout my whole time at school/high school and uni i cheated once in high school....cause i had partied to much and forgot an asignment...but no way in hell i would ever cheat at the exams themselfs(i got away with it btw MUHAHAHAHA...it was an essay about a whale and i got a B+ lol).
In China it's more often than not either university or rice fields. You choke with the exam approaching and you don't confide in your studying and so you cheat. It's understandable, especially when you think to yourself that this exam in no way threatens your ability to learn this information in the future and is just a roadblock between you and the place that you know you can prosper in.
I'm not surprised people resort to this sort of cheating because the tests are structured not to test their aptitude for applying knowledge... far too much for remembering it.
I mean any test that a novice can ace just by citing the otherwise widely available resources is a poor test. In REAL WORK people will be able - and expected - to consult references, they consult manuals, formulae, test-cases. Whether practising law, repairing an engine or coding checking with data is vital.
Even a pilot flying a plane is expected to consult their reference guide even in an emergency, they are not expected to memorise the safe landing weight for every single plane they could possibly fly, they just have to know TO look it up and HOW to apply it.
So the test fails in the test's actual purpose... which is to see if they have the skills for the jobs they are going for.
This is testing an irrelevant thing, their ability to memorise details.
yup =[ Many Chinese lament that it's hard to get into college but easy to graduate, because they're not learning they're only reciting. Those that have attended both foreign and domestic institutions of higher learning say that it's easy to get into schools in the US but it's hard to get out. the reason is US schools require thinking.
Shlomo: Champion Mouthbreather
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If they are capable of making this stuff then they should just be given a pass... They've already proved that they're smart.
real-bobfish
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I expect the glasses were purchased/rented from the organisation providing the answers to the photos it was sending.
They wouldn't be cheating with mates, cause they'd all be in the tests too, they'd be getting the answers from some company or other group.
The set, if i recall properly can be rented for about 7k RMB that's about $1000. Next year, I'm going to plan for this better. I'll rent out a set and see how well they work!
PsychoSmiley
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I'm more interested in knowing how they got caught.
The government ups security to an insane scale during this time. They were probably caught when their signal was picked up by the police.
Do they search all their belongings with a fine toothed comb? Do they use metal detectors and pat-downs? How do some of these students get caught? Do they have surveillance cameras set up in the testing room? Police officers watching the room, as well?
I can't imagine some of these kids getting caught Stateside. Damn, China.
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