[Goose]

Simple things like requiring proper photo id (like you need to get on an airplane) should make it difficult to get in the room if you are not who you are supposed to be.

IIRC they checked my ID when I took it way back in 2004, but two things to think about here:

1) That does no good if the proctor is on the take (which was the case here).

True, but there is no reason to have the proctor check the IDs. Use a high school security guard or a Rent-a-Cop. It would be difficult for the people trying to scam the system to identify who it would be, so who do you bribe? Not real expensive, you only need the service for maybe an hour?

2) Poor kids are less likely to have ID

I doubt that is really true. Every high school student these days has a school ID, which would be fine for this situation. If you had a poor kid who was home schooled, they would have to go get a state id. Its a PITA and will cost you $8.00 (in California).
Yes, you could forge an ID, but that is just one more place you can get caught.

FWIW, when I took the SAT in 1966, there were about 45 of us taking the test. There were three proctors. The didn't sit "next" to anybody. They mostly walked the room, making sure nobody was passing notes or any such things. Crude but effective. Simple enough to require multiple proctors, don't let them sit in close proximity to the students, and assign them at random, so that they really can't collude. If you have a big group, you probably need multiple proctors anyway. When I took the test, the "proctors" were not professional test administrators. They were local teachers who had taken a class in what they were expected to do, as I recall. I assume that is no longer true????

[Goose]

Simple things like requiring proper photo id (like you need to get on an airplane) should make it difficult to get in the room if you are not who you are supposed to be.

IIRC they checked my ID when I took it way back in 2004, but two things to think about here:

1) That does no good if the proctor is on the take (which was the case here).

True, but there is no reason to have the proctor check the IDs. Use a high school security guard or a Rent-a-Cop. It would be difficult for the people trying to scam the system to identify who it would be, so who do you bribe? Not real expensive, you only need the service for maybe an hour?

2) Poor kids are less likely to have ID

I doubt that is really true. Every high school student these days has a school ID, which would be fine for this situation. If you had a poor kid who was home schooled, they would have to go get a state id. Its a PITA and will cost you $8.00 (in California).
Yes, you could forge an ID, but that is just one more place you can get caught.

FWIW, when I took the SAT in 1966, there were about 45 of us taking the test. There were three proctors. The didn't sit "next" to anybody. They mostly walked the room, making sure nobody was passing notes or any such things. Crude but effective. Simple enough to require multiple proctors, don't let them sit in close proximity to the students, and assign them at random, so that they really can't collude. If you have a big group, you probably need multiple proctors anyway. When I took the test, the "proctors" were not professional test administrators. They were local teachers who had taken a class in what they were expected to do, as I recall. I assume that is no longer true????