Stolen Tests and Unexpected Lessons: Remembering the 1974 Regents Scandal

In a recent New York Times article, “Students Are Finding New Ways to Cheat on the SAT,” it was reported that websites in China are selling SAT test questions and that software has been developed to bypass test protections and security measures.

Reading it immediately brought me back to my final year of high school in 1974, when copies of the New York State Regents examinations were stolen and widely distributed—leading to the cancellation of that year’s exams.

I attended Hillel High School in Lawrence, the predecessor to today’s HAFTAR High School, which later emerged from a merger between Hillel and HILI (the Hebrew Institute of Long Island). Just before the start of 11th grade, the school announced it was becoming a three-year high school, with all college requirements to be completed in that shortened time frame.

At the time, there was a strong push for students to finish high school as quickly as possible and move on to college. The senior year was often viewed as a throwaway year, and several schools encouraged students to graduate in three years. (Thankfully, yeshiva high schools have since moved away from that model and now offer meaningful, non-academic programming for 12th graders.)

Eleventh grade was academically intense, but by April we had already heard back from the colleges we applied to. There wasn’t much left to focus on for the rest of the year.

Except for the Regents exams.

Our teachers used the exams as motivation, warning us that poor scores could jeopardize our college acceptances. So we prepared as best we could for what would be our final high school exams.

Then, about a week before the tests were scheduled, rumors started swirling. Someone had stolen copies of the Regents exams and distributed them to students. We all wondered: Would the tests be canceled?

Soon enough, the official announcement came. Because exam security had been breached on a broad scale—and answer keys had been widely distributed—state officials canceled 9 of the 21 scheduled Regents exams. English, Hebrew, Social Studies, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and several levels of math were all scrapped. In other words, almost everything we were supposed to take.

The incident was widely regarded as one of the biggest Regents cheating scandals in history. After all, these statewide exams had been administered continuously since 1878. It also sparked a broader debate about the role of high-stakes standardized testing, with critics pointing to the scandal as evidence of the pressure such exams place on students.

For us, though, it was a pretty great way to end our high school careers. No exams. No stress. Just relief and celebration.

Later, however, more details emerged—and they weren’t flattering, especially for yeshiva high schools.

Investigators traced the theft to two students at Solomon Schechter High School in Brooklyn, a major chilul Hashem for the Jewish community. The students had jimmied open the principal’s desk, stolen a key to the strongbox, photocopied the answer sheets, and—with the help of two college students—sold them to other students for $50 apiece.

What happened to the perpetrators is an interesting story in itself. Rather than filing criminal charges for theft of state exam materials, prosecutors granted the four individuals immunity in exchange for cooperation, believing there might be a broader conspiracy. In the end, investigators concluded they had acted alone. No criminal charges were filed. The two Solomon Schechter students were expelled—but otherwise, they essentially got off scot-free.

The recent news about stolen SAT exams highlights a sobering reality: as long as there is pressure to perform well on high-stakes tests, there will be incentives to cheat. And no matter how sophisticated the security measures become, clever people will find ways around them.

And don’t think Orthodox kids are immune. I’ve spoken with current high school and college students who tell me that cheating, in various forms, is rampant.

Perhaps the best way for us, as observant Jews, to resist that temptation is to remember a simple truth: even if we manage to cheat without getting caught, God is still watching—and ultimately judging us on our personal behavior.