Cheating on a test .What would you do?

[elismom]

In sept I went back to school after being away for 26 years.
At first it was so hard,I spent alot of time studing when I would have loved to have spent the time with my DS.
I scraficed a lot to go back to school.
The teacher has know for sometime that there were some people in the class cheating on tests ,but she could'nt figure out how they were doing it.
(Buy the way I was'nt one of them,nor my good friend that sit's next to me)
On Monday a whole new group of students joined the class.
After class today one of the guy's (that sits beside my friend and I)
was passing out the quiz that we will be having on Friday(to the new students)
He got it from someone who finished the course.
Now I know that when I go in on Thrusday he will try and give me and my friend the quiz.
I do'nt want it, I would rather study and get a 70 and know I did it on my own then cheat and get 100.
Now the problem I have is that my friend and I are wondering if we should say something to to the teacher ( she would rewrite the quiz for Friday I'm sure).
I have a good repore with the teacher.
We are worried that if they get caught,she will think that we got the answers too,because he is also are friend.
I'm just do'nt know if I should let it drop or say something.

 

[Chicago526]

Most schools have a honor code, if you know about cheating you have to report it, or they can expell you too if they find out you knew and didn't say anything. I'm not sure if your school has this too, but you may want to look into it.

Either way I'd tell the teacher about it. A) so you don't wind up accused of cheating when you haven't been and B) because cheating is wrong, not fair to those that do it right, and the cheaters deserve whats comming to them.

 

[NMAmy]

Send the teacher an email. I don't know what she's thinking, not changing her exams from semester to semester. If you're uncomfortable blowing the whistle on your classmates, send her an anonymous letter or call the department office and let the chair of the department know what's going on. The Chair can let the instructor know without revealing your identity.

I hope it works out for you. Being honest is always best.

 

[VSL]

Send the teacher an email. I don't know what she's thinking, not changing her exams from semester to semester. If you're uncomfortable blowing the whistle on your classmates, send her an anonymous letter or call the department office and let the chair of the department know what's going on. The Chair can let the instructor know without revealing your identity.

I hope it works out for you. Being honest is always best.

Or an anonymus email (set up a free one using MSN or Yahoo! for example) - I also agree that she should definitely be changing the exams each year!

 

[minniecarousel]

I think I would tell the teacher that someone has copies of previous tests and that they're being distributed in the class. You can probably do this anonamously (sp?) if you're not comfortable doing it face-to-face.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

When I was in school we ALL had copies of previous exams and quizzes given by nearly every Professor. Fraternities and Sororities kept them on file, students would pass them around to each other. I don't think it was ever considered cheating -- we'd all sit in the cafeteria snack shop and lounges and quiz each other on past questions. Now breaking into her office and stealing a copy of the current test -- definately cheating. But it doesn't sound like that is what is happening.

It is pure laziness on the part of your Instructor not to be writing new tests. Most of the textbooks give out CDs filled with hundreds of test bank questions. It takes a couple of minutes to generate a new test.

 

[stinkerbelle]

When I was in school we ALL had copies of previous exams and quizzes given by nearly every Professor. Fraternities and Sororities kept them on file, students would pass them around to each other. I don't think it was ever considered cheating -- we'd all sit in the cafeteria snack shop and lounges and quiz each other on past questions.

AKA - how I passed FIN101

 

[Toby'sFriend]

AKA - how I passed FIN101

AKA - How I passed the CPA exam!

 

[hiwaygal]

When I was in school we ALL had copies of previous exams and quizzes given by nearly every Professor. Fraternities and Sororities kept them on file, students would pass them around to each other. I don't think it was ever considered cheating -- we'd all sit in the cafeteria snack shop and lounges and quiz each other on past questions. Now breaking into her office and stealing a copy of the current test -- definately cheating. But it doesn't sound like that is what is happening.

we called 'em koofers.

Past tests are often used as "study guides" but the teacher should be told that her tests need to be "updated" as students are using old tests to "cheat".

 

[TTFN]

Unless I misunderstand the situation, it doesn't sound like cheating to me. My sister once had gotten old tests to study for a class, and the teacher ended up using one of those exact tests. She went to him and explained that she felt guilty about having seen the test. He told her that it was not her problem. There was no way she could have known it would be the same test, and that studying from old tests was a great way to prepare. She ended up with a perfect score, of course.

 

[mickeyfan2]

I would tell the teacher.

 

[RitaZ.]

Send the teacher an email. I don't know what she's thinking, not changing her exams from semester to semester. If you're uncomfortable blowing the whistle on your classmates, send her an anonymous letter or call the department office and let the chair of the department know what's going on. The Chair can let the instructor know without revealing your identity.

I agree with this suggestion. Are you certain the teacher will be using the same exact test/quizzes from last semester?

People would be surprised at how much this goes on in college, then again maybe not. I've been asked a few times for "help", during tests and with projects. Some classmates are quite bold, like the lady (older than me) that told me that she needed a copy of my lab project (exact words), which she didn't complete. She wanted to remove my name and add hers, I flat out told her, "I don't think so". Another class this semester, the guy that sits behind me missed the first test, he asked me if he could have my test to help him study for his make-up test. No, I don't think so.

Sooner or later, all this cheating catches up with them. It really does.

 

[justhat]

When I was in school we ALL had copies of previous exams and quizzes given by nearly every Professor. Fraternities and Sororities kept them on file, students would pass them around to each other. I don't think it was ever considered cheating -- we'd all sit in the cafeteria snack shop and lounges and quiz each other on past questions. Now breaking into her office and stealing a copy of the current test -- definately cheating. But it doesn't sound like that is what is happening.

It is pure laziness on the part of your Instructor not to be writing new tests. Most of the textbooks give out CDs filled with hundreds of test bank questions. It takes a couple of minutes to generate a new test.

We did this all the time too. In fact, some professors kept their old tests online or in the library for students to copy and study from. Some of the questions were exactly the same but most often they were at least slightly different. Organic Chemistry would have been a definite F for me without old tests to study from.

However, if the teacher does not know that this is happening and reuses the same exact tests year after year (though I don't see why anyone would do that) then I guess it's a different story.

 

[declansdad]

As a college instructor I thought I would give you my opinion.


First off, if the exams/quizzes have been given back to the students to keep there is nothing wrong with students using them as study aides. I know of many professors who will keep old exams on reserve at the library so students can access them. Now if the students are bringing them into class and using them during the exam, that is cheating.

Second, to those of you who have stated the teacher should be making up new exams each semester, well you have never made up exams. It is not as simple as simply sitting down and putting the questions together. The college that I teach in works on a modular system meaning that students do one course at a time, 4 hours a day for 20 days. Any exam or quiz that we give remains the property of the school. They are returned to students and gone over in class and then collected and destroyed. If a student has a copy of one of my exams, I know they stole it.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Heck, some people turned these into money-making endeavors. They set up businesses in which they sold the notes to certain classes and often "study guides" were included. Not that I ever used these services.

 

[elismom]

DECLANS
It's the same in this class we are not given back are exams . The teacher hands them out we see the mark sign it and then give it back to her.
I don't know how this person got a copy of it.
WE have a really good teacher also she highlight alots of stuff for us as we go along,so it's easier to study what you need to.

 

[declansdad]

DECLANS
It's the same in this class we are not given back are exams . The teacher hands them out we see the mark sign it and then give it back to her.
I don't know how this person got a copy of it.
WE have a really good teacher also she highlight alots of stuff for us as we go along,so it's easier to study what you need to.

If that is the case then we would consider this a form of cheating but because it would be difficult to prove we would immediately change the exam.

 

[NMAmy]

As a college instructor I thought I would give you my opinion.

Second, to those of you who have stated the teacher should be making up new exams each semester, well you have never made up exams. It is not as simple as simply sitting down and putting the questions together. The college that I teach in works on a modular system meaning that students do one course at a time, 4 hours a day for 20 days. Any exam or quiz that we give remains the property of the school. They are returned to students and gone over in class and then collected and destroyed. If a student has a copy of one of my exams, I know they stole it.

Umm--not all colleges work like that. I work in a department office of a college and typing exams is a big part of my job, although some instructors do their own now using test banks. The way our classes work, instructors must cover certain items but all tests, handouts, etc. are their intellectual property. Our instructors do prepare new exams each semesters--test banks are set up with different questions covering each subject so students will still be tested on the same basic knowledge but with different questions. At the very least, they have the office staff add a few new questions and rearrange the order of questions used in previous years or pick a test from several semesters ago. Exams are returned to students as a learning tool--except for the departmental final which is the same for all students. I worked at another college in a different part of the country that worked the same way.

Just wanted to point out that different colleges handle exams in different ways. Instructors I know are very security conscious of their exams.

 

[canwegosoon]

I think a teacher can easily spot when someone is cheating. I think they choose to do nothing about it. Some of the best professors I had would make up new tests all the time...and make them so hard that you only had to answer 10 out of 12 in a section or 2 out of 3 in essays, because some of the knowledge was obscure.

It used to drive me crazy how other students would not contribute, knew nothing, didn't do the reading...but managed to get A's....Test Files!!!!


You by doing the work will have the knowledge...these other ones will never go anywhere. Don't worry about it.

 

[icebrat001]

We did this all the time too. In fact, some professors kept their old tests online or in the library for students to copy and study from. Some of the questions were exactly the same but most often they were at least slightly different. Organic Chemistry would have been a definite F for me without old tests to study from.

However, if the teacher does not know that this is happening and reuses the same exact tests year after year (though I don't see why anyone would do that) then I guess it's a different story.

I second this.