A race against the clock to regain public trust is taking place at the Basic Law Enforcement Academy in Washington. After allegations of a cheating scandal have been revealed, the Washington State Patrol announced its preliminary investigations on the matter. It has been discovered that recruits were sharing test information through an informal and illegal guide, that included questions, and answers to actual exam questions the recruits were to be tested on.
The investigations are at a preliminary stage and there’s still no evidence as to the full extent of the cheating scandal. It’s hoped that only the current recruits and not already-graduated police officers partook in the scandal. The investigation is to answer questions as to how long this study guide has been circulating around and who created it.
In an effort to take remedial steps, the Burien Police Academy is rewriting all tests and is asking those recruits suspected to be involved in the cheating scandal to re-take a different test, essential for graduating the Policy Academy. The Policy Academy insists that recruits go through a series of other rigorous tests that require of them to actively demonstrate the knowledge acquired during their training. This makes it nearly impossible for any unqualified recruit to have graduated even if they cheated on the written exam.
To address the image of academic integrity, the academy is exploring options to purchase question bank software and other commonly used education industry products.
The Academy offers training to police officers across Washington and it will be some time before trust is fully restored. As more cheating scandals see the light of the day, it becomes apparent how imperative it is to establish stringent testing procedures across disciplines, from education, to corporate training and vocational credentials. Proctoring services offer an alternative solution that could mitigate the proliferation of cheating incidents, especially ones as organized as this scandal.