If you lay down the guide lines for dealing with cheating students at an early stage you can really prevent it from happening later. If it does occur you need to stick to your ideals and punish the student accordingly.
To reduce cheating you have to take a proactive approach by always being on guard to prevent it from happening. A student is less likely to cheat if they believe they will get caught. Explain the cheating policy the first day of class & reinforce this policy frequently over the semester putting great emphasis on the penalties levied against those who are caught.
The school I teach for uses excellent computerized testing software (StarQuiz by cosmicsoft.com) which allows for randomized order and answer selection etc.... It also has built in cheating detection. A student may try to look on someone else's screen, but will not see the same question or answer scheme. This has been almost full-proof for us, however we must still watch for tiny "cheatsheets" and cell phones etc...
Standing in the back and also slowly walking around seems to work well.
If cheating students were as creative in learning the material, as they are creative in finding ways to cheat, they would all get A's.
Cheating is a diservcie to themselves and if they can realize this fact, I have found that the cheating students often start to take control of their learning.
In some of my classes (medical calculations) I have to separate the students by a seat or two during tests, and I feel silly when I do this, but I know the roving eyes occur frequently if I do not
Hi David,
I concur! I let my students see that they are being watched, this simple tactic works beautifully.
P
You can have the students spread out so that there is not an opportunity to cheat of each other. You should also ask the class to put away all belongings during testing and rotate your position during testing time spending a few minutes at different points in the classroom during the test.
I feel you can reduce the opportunity of cheating studens, by spacing the class out that way no one is on either side of a student for them to cheat on.. Another way you can have a test "A" and test "B" and hand them out to every other student. There is the same information on it, but in different order, that way if student feel the need to look over at another students answer they think its the same but dont pay attention to the test as being different, but making sure they answers match up. That way you can catch those that choose to cheat as well.
I've seen several good tactics work over the years. Start by positioning yourself at the back of the room. When students can feel your presence behind them it most certainly reduces the likelihood of cheating to happen. If you feel a student has a pair of wandering eyes, take a walk by them. The fact that they suspect you might know something will likely stop them from cheating.
I most commonly use proximety control. If I move about the room during a test enough to be visable and make students aware of my presense, then I have found that reduces the opportunity to cheat.
Hi David,
Utilizing different versions is a very smart tactic! With today's technology scrambling test questions can be done with ease.
Patricia
I liked the point of this module that the best way to reduce student cheating is to do all we can to make it harder for them to cheat. I like to be sure all items are off their desks or tables and students are separated as much as possible.
I separate students when the room is large enough to do so. In tighter settings, one of my colleagues has adopted the idea of issuing alternating A/B versions of each test, so that glancing at what your neighbor is doing isn't going to help much.
Hi Kathleen,
Scrambling test questions is a good idea. With the many testing software out today, to scramble test questions is painless. Also the ability to cut and paste makes scrambling easy as well.
Patricia
Always being aware of what is going on in the class, walking around the room during exams and informing the students about the cheating policy are some ways that I have used.
One way in which I reduce cheating in my class is by distributing different versions of the test to the students. The questions are exactly the same, but the answers and questions are typed in a different order.
I also make sure that students are spaced apart from one another. I do not walk around the class and this leads to anxiety. I do, however, constantly keep an eye on the class as the test is in session.
My strategies are the following:
1. I walk around the classroom during testing, not choosing a stationary predictable place.
2. I use 2 versions of the test with questions scrambled so that the flow of the test is different.
3. I utilize cover sheets.
4. My students are aware of my campus policy regarding cheating. It is not tolerated and will result in withdrawal.
5. I know my students by name and am aware of the student relationships in my class.
Students cheat when they feel they are not prepared. As teachers , we need to prepare students for exams and quizes.
Hi Debra,
What a great way for your students to see that cheating is NOT the way. I can see how they fully get this.
Patricia
Hi Nancy,
Great ways to minimize cheating. I especially like the exam of expression in their own words; this makes it almost impossible to cheat.
Patricia
