Military looks to curb TBI test cheating

[unhappycamper]

Military looks to curb TBI test cheating
By Gregg Zoroya - USA Today
Posted : Wednesday Nov 7, 2007 15:14:48 EST

Troops in Iraq and elsewhere have tried to avoid being pulled out of combat units by cheating on problem-solving tests that are used to spot traumatic brain-injury problems, military doctors say.

New versions of the tests were sent into Iraq late last month to prevent the cheating, said Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Jaffee of the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center in Washington, D.C.

“With highly motivated individuals, be they athletes, be they our service members in harm’s way, there is a motivation to stay with the unit and stay on the job or stay in the game,” he said.

The tests, administered by medics in the field, are the military’s primary means of uncovering subtle signs of brain injuries from exposure to blasts.

Reports of cheating began surfacing in Iraq during the summer, said Col. Brian Eastridge, a trauma surgeon who supervises medical care in Iraq and Afghanistan from his office in Baghdad.

Troops had obtained copies of an older version of the test and memorized key words used to gauge short-term memory, Jaffee said. Those who fail areas of the test undergo more sophisticated exams for diagnosing brain injury.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/11/gns_braininjurytests_071107/