The charges against the parents, who include Hollywood actresses and powerful executives, have exposed how thin the line is between admissions help that most middle-class families consider not just legitimate but de rigueur, like sending a child to a Kaplan class for SAT help, and outright fraud, like paying a ringer to take the test for the student.

[Read the full list of who has been charged here.]

In the days since the scandal broke, college consultants and admissions directors have found themselves in an awkward, sometimes defensive position. They have expressed shock at how the system was manipulated, while being acutely aware that they, as part of the system, may bear some responsibility for an admissions process that has spun out of control.

“It isn’t exactly broken, it’s breachable,” said Theodore O’Neill, who was dean of admissions at the University of Chicago from 1989 to 2009.

Parents accused in the scandal took advantage of extra-time allowances on the ACT or SAT exams, court documents said, and bribed test administrators to allow someone else to take the tests or to correct students’ answers.

Cheating on standardized tests has long been seen as an admissions vulnerability. In 2011, prosecutors on Long Island accused students of hiring others to take standardized tests for them. Testing officials have also reported troubles in Asia, where SAT and ACT scores have been delayed and, in some instances, canceled because of allegations of widespread cheating.

[Read how the college admissions scandal further fuels debate on the relevance of the SAT and ACT.]

The tests, which also routinely face attacks that they heavily favor affluent students who can afford coaching, are becoming optional at a growing number of selective schools.