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Chapstick Lets You Cheat on Scantron Tests
Status: Urban Legend
Here's an odd urban legend that I just stumbled across. Supposedly if you smear chapstick down the side of a scantron sheet (the kind used for standardized tests such as the SAT), the grading machine will mark all your answers correct. The theory is that the chapstick will interfere with the scanning light, confusing it into thinking that your answers are correct. Needless to say, this doesn't work. Some guy named Richard Mangahas has written a short article detailing all kinds of theories about ways to cheat on scantron tests, including: marking or deleting the black lines along the side of the page, filling in the bubbles with cross-hatches, or placing tape along the side of the page. I don't think any of these methods would work either. (Though Mangahas claims some of them work 25-30% of the time... which is about the same percentage you would expect from guessing at the right answer.)
Maybe it was kids armed with chapstick that caused all those SAT-test score errors recently.
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Categories: Technology, Urban Legends Posted by Alex on Tue Apr 11, 2006 |
Comments (36) |
| More from the Hoax Museum Archives: | |||
I'm in a few AP classes and these tricks work like a charm. It's great being able to chat and text through all my classes and then go get a random award for honor roll. I don't have to waste time studying and I'm able to focus on sports instead.
Posted by average student on Thu May 27, 2010 at 08:36 PM
These methods won't work. Bubbling answer key doesn't work. The way the machines at my school work, you have to load the answer key first. Then every test after is scored by that key-even if I send a second answer key through the machine. If I want to grade a different test, I have to actually turn off the machine and turn it back on to do so.
Posted by teacher on Fri May 28, 2010 at 01:40 PM
hey the chapstick thing actually worked for me! i got 100% on all the scantrons i took in my school
Posted by Joe Jackson in Manhattan on Sat Aug 07, 2010 at 05:48 PM
Why wouldn't you study? Cheating won't get you far in life losers.
Posted by adfasf in dasf on Thu Oct 14, 2010 at 04:07 PM
Seriously guys I have a really good method that works most of the time. Do you know what it is? studying... open the god damn book once in a while.
Posted by actual-student on Wed Mar 02, 2011 at 06:18 PM
If time is running out, Is it better to leave blanks or randomly fill in circles
Posted by Judy Balthrop Thomas in Dallas on Fri May 25, 2012 at 05:20 PM