The Barometer recalls the 80s when we here in the USA feared that the Japanese would take over the world because they were so good with cars, real estate, and production. Their lost decade found us pulling ahead. And there is no need to fear a catch-up. Folks at Kyoto University are flummoxed by a cheating scandal on entrance exams that found the questions from the two-day exam posted on the internet, followed by answers as Ask Wiki or whatever came through for the aspiring lads and lasses. University officials believe that the applicants posted the questions on line using their smart phones. DUH!
We here in the USA banished cell phones from exams about a decade ago.  At the Barometer’s university we were quick to catch on when a student e-mailed a stats professor during a final exam to let him know that one of the questions from his four-hour exam was posted on Ask Wiki. The stats professor was so outraged that he nearly forgot to ask the student, “How do you know that?â€Â
Using the magical technology that we and service providers have, we traced the posting of the question to a phone and e-mail account that belonged to the mother of one of the students. The mother confessed to posting the question. The daughter had the nerve to act surprised at her mother’s lack of integrity. The mother offered no explanation as to why she needed the answer to the probability, mean, median, mode, marble question or why time was of the essence in her quest for enlightenment. Thank goodness parents work with us on helping their children understand the importance of honesty.
From thence forward, we have banished cell phones from the kingdom of exams. We can help the Japanese with all the other diabolical possibilities we have uncovered over the course of decades of administering exams. A warning: the student mind knows no limits when it comes to finding ways to earn passing grades without having to study.