By Kim Bo-eun



The organization administering the American College Test (ACT) recently announced it would close the 26 testing sites in Korea and open a new site at a single venue as a measure to prevent cheating, which has troubled the administrators.



Korea is the only country to face the change in the testing site system, which shows that the test organizers are taking the leak scandal that happened here in June seriously enough so as to prevent a recurrence.



"ACT will shift all administration of the ACT test in South Korea to a single testing site directly monitored by ACT staff for the remainder of the 2016-2017 testing year," the administrator said in a statement posted on its website Friday.



The single test site principle will apply starting with the Dec. 10 test. The new testing site will be the Grand Hilton Seoul. Previously ACT tests were held at international schools and foreign language high schools across the country.



"The move is being made to combat repeated test material breaches in South Korea and to strengthen ACT's ongoing commitment to provide a fair testing environment for all students," the post said.



"Despite the employment of increased test security measures, ACT has continued to experience deliberate attempts by individuals in South Korea to fraudulently obtain ACT test materials for personal gain."



ACT cancelled the essay test scores in Asia for the Oct. 22 test, following an essay question leak in the region.



Only months earlier, ACT canceled the June test in Korea and Hong Kong, after another leak of test questions was confirmed. This was the first time the test was cancelled for an entire country.



"We can no longer continue to let the criminal actions of a few unscrupulous individuals undermine the efforts of hardworking, honest students," the post quoted ACT Chief Commercial Officer Suzana Delanghe as saying.



The ACT recently started shipping test booklets and answer sheets in locked boxes instead of sealed paper boxes for certain countries including Korea, following cases of test paper leaks.



ACT is a representative standard test for high school achievement in the United States, along with the more widely taken Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) for college admissions. Comprised of English, math, reading and science tests, it is taken in 130 countries.



In 2013, the SAT was cancelled in Korea, a first-time cancellation for an entire country, after allegations surfaced of widespread cheating.



