In an academic environment, keeping critical documents under lock and key is generally the best course of action. However, some schools in New York are being cited for poor locking practices, and some pundits are associating this lack of procedure with embellished test scores and inaccurate results.
According to Newsday, 36 documented incidents of cheating have occurred within the Long Island educational network over the past 10 years, and there were many reasons for this apparent surge in bad academic behavior. Chief among concerns were improper locking systems – the source reported that confidential exams were not secured properly, and some people were able to get their hands on tests before they were distributed.
There are many different lockboxes and methods to secure an academic exam, but multiple systems should be implemented to ensure tests remain confidential. For example, a drop-down system could be installed on a room's door, and a special lockbox could be placed inside a safe in a secured area. While this might seem like extravagent protection for a few leafs of paper, the opposite is true – what is more important than a child's educational integrity?
