Summary Graphic of Investigative Report Published by ProPublica and The Chronicle of Higher Ed.

• Industry-wide, programs push for publication for high school students as a college application booster. (Note: not at Pioneer Academics)

  “A new industry is extracting fees from well-heeled fomilies to enable their teenage children to conduct and publish research that colleges may regard as a credential.”

• The new research service companies manipulate the concept of ‘preprint’ to make money by forging credentials for college applicants. (Note: not at Pioneer Academics)

  “Preprint platforms don’t even bother with peer review.”

  “The usual justification for preprints is that they quickly disseminate vital research, such as new information about vaccines ar medical treatments. High school projects are rarely so urgent. Stiil,…”

“Pioneer ‘never promises academic journal publication,’ according to its website.”

“The push for publication leads young scholars astray. The message is that looking like a champion is more important than training to be a great athlete.”

–Matthew Jaskol, co-founder of Pioneer Academics

• Industry-wide, there are no standards or rules on how the research should be offered by the providers; as a result, consumers are vulnerable to exaggerated sales pitches. (Note: not at Pioneer Academics)

  “Then there’s the question of credentials.” “Company’s website has routinely identified mentors as Ph.Ds even when they don’t have a doctorate”

  “The research services brag about how many of their alumni get into premier U.S. universities.”

• Publications that research companies push can be dubious or “pay-to-publish”. (Note: not at Pioneer Academics)

  “Online services typically shape the topic, direction and duration of the project, and urge students to complete and publish a paper regardless of how fruitful the exploration has been. ‘Publication specialists’ then help steer the papers into a dizzying array of online journals and preprint platforms. Almost any high school paper con find an outlet.”

• Industry wide, the quality of papers, projects, or publications is questionable. (Note: not at Pioneer Academics)

  “In some instances, the mentors seem to function as something more than advisers.”

  “The research service company complained that several students who wanted to cite publications in their college applications hadn’t heard back… The papers were eventually published.”

  “Since high schoolers generally don’t arrive with a research topic, the mentor helps them choose it, and then may pitch in with writing, editing and scientific analysis.”

• Research companies formed intimate ties with consulting businesses for referrals. (Note: not at Pioneer Academics)

  “… one of the largest online high school research programs in the U.S., cultivates college counselors.” “Such perks appear to brush up against ethics codes of two college counseling associations…”

• As a college admissions trend, adding research to the application resume for affluent students has become commonplace. (Note: not at Pioneer Academics)

  “it’s becoming a little more commonplace. I can see it becoming completely over-inundated in the next few years.