Newsstand - Report: TSA Says Giving Test Answers Was Within Guidelines

ABC 7online.com Article (http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/news/WABC_061103_tsasecurity.html)

From the AP: "A Transportation Security Administration investigation reportedly found that giving baggage screeners the answers to certification test questions in advance was within the agency's curriculum guidelines.

The investigation was conducted after Newsday reported that several screeners said they were read questions and answers for multiple-choice questions that were on a test at LaGuardia Airport in December."

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"Give me Liberty or give me Death." - Patrick Henry

So not only do they employ criminals, but the testing is fixed. The TSA is beginning to get very straneg.

Would you want doctors and lawyers to get the answers for the licensing exams ahead of time? Not me, baby! The TSA really is trying hard to make it a "safe " flying experience. Ugh!!!

Who cares if they knew the answers in advance? The bottom line remains the same: virtually nothing that the TSA does is making air travel safe. They merely hassle law-abiding citizens (confiscating basically harmless items like scissors) for no real purpose. They haven't caught a terrorist yet -- and likely never will.

Bruce

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by bdschobel:
Who cares if they knew the answers in advance? The bottom line remains the same: virtually nothing that the TSA does is making air travel safe. They merely hassle law-abiding citizens (confiscating basically harmless items like scissors) for no real purpose. They haven't caught a terrorist yet -- and likely never will.

Bruce</font>

You can no more prove that a terrorist attack has not been thwarted than I can prove that one has.



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"Be the inferior of no man, nor be the superior. Remember that every man is a variation of yourself. No man's guilt is not yours, nor is any man's innocence a thing apart." William Saroyan, American Playwright

But I can certainly prove that law-abiding travelers have been hassled. 'Nuff said!

Bruce

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by The Unknown Screener:
You can no more prove that a terrorist attack has not been thwarted than I can prove that one has.
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Yes, but the following could likely be proven with an impartial study:
1. TSA agents cause more hassles and holdups at the airport than their previous private-industry counterparts.

2. The extra annoyances that the TSA requires people to go through-- screening shoes, for instance-- makes us no safer today than we were prior to 9/11. If somebody wants to get something on board an aircraft, they will find a way. The TSA is no less prone to mistakes and weak points in security than any security screening agency is/was.

3. The extra annoyances that the TSA requires are unnecessary and ludicrous. Come on, really-- one mentally deranged nut unsuccessfully tries to ignite a shoe bomb on board an aircraft and the whole world goes nuts. Talk about overreaction...

4. As a result of the TSA feeling that they have the right to violate the 4th amendment, people perceive that the contents of their luggage is less secure today than it was prior to 9/11. "Keep your luggage unlocked or we may destroy the locks for you" just doesn't cut it. There is no reason why people who need to have their luggage "hand screened" "for security reasons" cannot be called to a separate area to open and secure their luggage for screeners. Of course, that would be too intelligent a solution for the TSA (one of the things that TSA can stand for is "Total Stupidity Agency").

5. People are flying less today than they were prior to 9/11. This is partly due to the extra hassles and aggrivations that have been added to flying now. Nobody can deny that the TSA has played a major role in creating these hassles. From these statements, one could infer that the TSA has played a role in helping slow the economy.

6. People are sick and tired of hearing TSA agents say the far-overused phrases "for security reasons" and "for security purposes". And no, just because TSA agents want to do it in the screening area doesn't make it OK. It seems as though some agents think that adding this to the start of any sentence automatically gives them some special power over others. What's next? "Attention passengers: for security reasons, you are now required to purchase coffee to give to TSA agents prior to entering the screening area. This beverage is available at all ticketing counters for the low price of $10.00 per cup."

7. Randomly screening 85-year-old wheelchair-bound grandmothers will not prevent 35-year-old Muslim terrorists from blowing up a plane, no matter how much you think it will.

8. Taking that pair of scissors or set of nail clippers away from a 30-year-old pregnant woman does not make any of us the slightest bit safer. It only tends to harass and annoy her.

9. "Only ticketed passengers allowed through security" does not enhance security in any way, no matter how many times you add "for security reasons" to the beginning or end of the phrase. Has anybody at the TSA figured out that all the 9/11 terrorists were ticketed passengers? And has anybody at the TSA figured out that anybody who wants to go past the checkpoint can just buy a fully refundable ticket for departure that day?

10. People are tired of seeing half of the TSA agents standing around in the screening area doing nothing at all-- unless you count chatting about last night's baseball game as something that adds to the overall security at the airport.

The bottom line: The TSA is a waste of taxpayer dollars that contributes nothing more to security than the old private industry screeners did (unless of course you consider adding long delays and unnecessary hassles as contributing something). I'm hoping that the country comes to its senses soon and disbands the agency-- unfortunately this probably won't happen (at least as long as Bush the Lesser is in office).

Wow, that was really well said!!! And, of course, I agree with every word. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif

Bruce

Very well said, indeed! Now the bad news...remember, 90% of Americans are "sheeple", and will believe whatever the TSA or government tells them. Most people when interviewed, will say things like "whatever we have to do to be safe", etc. Until the prevailing opinions and attitudes of the general public change, nothing in the current process will change.

Now to address the question of the topic: why are test answers provided in advance?

Many years ago, someone successfully showed that the Freedom of Information Act permitted a test candidate to view the questions and answers of any exam given by the federal government. This resulted in test booklets being printed with all the questions and answers...however, the ruling did not force the government to reveal the correct answer, just the actual question and multiple choice printed answers.

As a pilot, I was able to study for all of my exams by reviewing the test booklets, which contained the "bank" of 200-400 questions, from which the actual exam would randomly pull 40-80. Did it make it easier to pass the test? Sure. Could you pass the test without knowing the material? No.

So, my theory on this would be that the TSA, a government agency, is forced under the existing rules to publish their bank of questions and answers to any exam they offer. The correct way for them to do this, is create a bank of a few hundred questions and allow whatever private publisher who so chooses, to put those questions and answers in a study guide which the candidate can use to prepare for the test. If instead, they are handing out a 'cheat sheet' just before offering the exam, then that is an absolutely dumb way of testing your candidates, and should be stopped.