Sarah Palin's High School Transcripts and SAT Score

[Dos Equis]

For those of you who keep posting Palin's purported high school transcripts, check out this link:  http://www.snopes.com/politics/palin/reportcard.asp

From the site:

Making (Up) the Grade

Claim:  Image reproduces a test scoresheet showing Sarah Palin's high school grades and SAT scores.

Status:  False.

Example:  [Collected via e-mail, September 2008]

This is purportedly a copy of Sarah Palin's report card, with SAT scores.



Origins:  Altering photographs of politicians to make them appear silly or ridiculous is a common way of poking fun at political figures, but other forms of image manipulation can be used for denigrative purposes as well.  Case in point:  The image displayed above, which purportedly reproduces a test scoresheet showing Alaska governor (and Republican vice-presidential nominee) Sarah Palin as having achieved high school grades and an SAT score that were decidely mediocre.

There are several contextual clues that would give this image (which was part of a spurious background report on Sarah Louise Heath Palin) away as being fake, such as the fact that Sarah Palin was a member of Wasilla High School's Honor Society, a standing she was unlikely to have achieved if she had truly pulled a barely average 2.2 GPA.

We don't need contexual clues to debunk this image as phony, however.  It's clearly a manipulated version of a genuine test report belonging to Dawn Eden, who posted it on her own blog back in January 2004:



Ms. Eden noted in an October 2008 blog entry that:

Gawker fell for a forgery that purported to be Sarah Palin's SAT scoresheet but was actually a Photoshop job -- made by someone who stole my own scoresheet off my blog and pasted in bad grades.

The forger lowered the grades and scores on the printout to make Palin, an honor-society member, look like a mediocre student -- but wasn't smart enough to hide the obviousness of the Photoshop job.

Last updated:  21 October 2008

[Dos Equis]

It's not her SSN on the report card.  lol . . . .

Sarah Palin's High-School Grades?

Any amateur document experts want to weigh in on this document which is floating around the web? It purports to represent the high-school grades of one Sarah Heath of Wasilla, Alaska, now the Republican running mate. If the report card is a forgery, it's decent work.

The grades are mediocre—appropriately the small-town girl scores a D in foreign language—but not so dreadful as to immediately stretch credulity. And the first five digits of the social security number do match Sarah Palin's.

However, that latter information is readily available on Nexis' public records search; the document would have been more believable had the last four digits not been erased from the school transcript. An SAT score of 841 does seem rather too low to be credible—especially since Sarah Palin was said to have been an honor student. And this document was in a PDF document clearly prepared recently but stamped "received" on June 2003, an effort to show authenticity which in fact only increases the doubts.

Update: Art director Rick Paulas demonstrates why he believes the transcripts are fake.

http://gawker.com/5061283/sarah-palins-high+school-grades

[Dos Equis]

I wish it weren't so, but I think this is fake. I've got pictures to prove it. (Background, I've been an art director for 14 years and have a pretty good eye for spotting patterns).

In this first picture, you'll notice two things. First, the word Wasilla is cloned. These old cards were printed the old-fashioned way, with metal letters pounding on inked ribbon. This results in letters that are pretty similar, but not pixel by pixel exact. You can see this especially well on the letter W (the odd shape of the first bar of the w) and the As and Ls. Notice the darker and lighter blobs on each letter and how that perfectly match the one below. Also, the baselines on these machines were pretty consistent. You may have a slight, gradual drift up or down as you move across the page, but not a sudden jump like "Public Wasilla" (baseline delineated in red)

Here is someone else's card I pulled off the internet. Notice how significantly the letters differ, even when they are next to each other. Also note how poor the kerning is. Our faker kerned their letters a little too carefully.

Here's a section from the Sarah card that probably didn't need to be changed. You can see the inconsistencies in the letters that should be evident in the "Wasilla" section.

And one more baseline example from Sarah's card. This one is pretty far off.
I have bigger files if anyone wants them. I even copied and pasted the top Wasilla on top of the bottom one and blew them way up. Then I toggled between the two and they matched pixel for pixel, with some very slight variations in a few tones due to jpeg compression artifacts.
So, I wish it were real, but I think it is fake. But I am willing to hear a counter argument.

http://gawker.com/5061283/sarah-palins-high+school-grades?t=8243229#viewcomments

[Soul Crusher]

BUMP

[Straw Man]

Who really cares about Palins or Obama's transcripts

Your grades in highschool and college are irrelevent once you get out in the real world and start working.   I've never had a client ask about my grades in highschool or college

[Soul Crusher]

Who really cares about Palins or Obama's transcripts

Your grades in highschool and college are irrelevent once you get out in the real world and start working.   I've never had a client ask about my grades in highschool or college

Tell that to Mal.

[Straw Man]

Tell that to Mal.

You've never brought up Obama's grades, transcripts, etc..?

[Soul Crusher]

You've never brought up Obama's grades, transcripts, etc..?

I have only brought up the fact that he won't release them for some unknown reason.  If he is as brilliant and smart as everyone claims and professes him to be, I dn't see why he would keep these secret. 

 

[Soul Crusher]

BUMP

[240 is Back]

mods please move this to the CT board.

BB, are you gonna post the pics of you meeting the palins?   you bragged about it on the other thread.

[Soul Crusher]

mods please move this to the CT board.

BB, are you gonna post the pics of you meeting the palins?   you bragged about it on the other thread.

Its not a CT.   Its debunking more lies told about her, which you will still cling to so as to kneepa obama

 

[Dos Equis]

mods please move this to the CT board.

BB, are you gonna post the pics of you meeting the palins?   you bragged about it on the other thread.

Good grief.  You are one insecure little twat.   

What's really funny are the numerous comments you made on this board calling Palin stupid because she had 2.2 high school g.p.a., based on what we now know is a false transcript.  lol . . . .

[Soul Crusher]

Thanks for posting this BB. 


Another Big Mal, 240, lie put to rest. 

[Dos Equis]

Thanks for posting this BB. 


Another Big Mal, 240, lie put to rest. 

No problem. 

[blacken700]

you just keep telling yourself she's smart 

[Option D]

Good grief.  You are one insecure little twat.   

What's really funny are the numerous comments you made on this board calling Palin stupid because she had 2.2 high school g.p.a., based on what we now know is a false transcript.  lol . . . .

na i called her dumb before the fake reportcard...just wanna throw that out there.. and i still think she is dumb

[Dos Equis]

na i called her dumb before the fake reportcard...just wanna throw that out there.. and i still think she is dumb

Mal you posted her (fake) high school transcripts numerous times as evidence that she is dumb.  I know you're smart enough to own this mistake. 

[Option D]

Mal you posted her (fake) high school transcripts numerous times as evidence that she is dumb.  I know you're smart enough to own this mistake. 

oh yeah.. i thought it was real and explained why she was so dumb.. im glad she got her 3.0 in high school..

I still think she is pretty dumb..

[Dos Equis]

oh yeah.. i thought it was real and explained why she was so dumb.. im glad she got her 3.0 in high school..

I still think she is pretty dumb..

No worries.  Everyone lays an egg every once in a while.  

[240 is Back]

Good grief.  You are one insecure little twat.   

As a moderator, are you okay with every member of getbig calling each other a "tw*t" in every post?


Your example here says yes...

[Dos Equis]

As a moderator, are you okay with every member of getbig calling each other a "tw*t" in every post?


Your example here says yes...

No.  I'm okay with calling YOU an insecure little twat (don't forget the "insecure little" part).  Stop acting like an insecure little twat and I won't call you one.  Stick to the issues.     The thread is about Sarah Palin's transcripts.   

[240 is Back]

No.  I'm okay with calling YOU an insecure little twat (don't forget the "insecure little" part).  Stop acting like an insecure little twat and I won't call you one.  Stick to the issues.     The thread is about Sarah Palin's transcripts.   

Yikes.  Well, you did what you had to do here.  Understood.

[blacken700]

School Field Trip Tour of Slaughterhouse Traumatizes Children  

[Soul Crusher]

No.  I'm okay with calling YOU an insecure little twat (don't forget the "insecure little" part).  Stop acting like an insecure little twat and I won't call you one.  Stick to the issues.     The thread is about Sarah Palin's transcripts.   

Give 240 and Mal a little leeway.   Now that their main talking point against Sarah is proven to be a lie - they probably are a little sore.  

So where are Obama's SAT, LSAT, transcripts, writings, and grades again?    

[Option D]

No.  I'm okay with calling YOU an insecure little twat (don't forget the "insecure little" part).  Stop acting like an insecure little twat and I won't call you one.  Stick to the issues.     The thread is about Sarah Palin's transcripts.   

how about this
Well when i destroy 3333 on his bullshit issues and he says.."um..well um..yeah..well did you see my thread on Obama doing ___________(insert totally unrelated topic)....and then go in on that...