WWYD: Cheating Classmate?

[klacey1]

My guess-- he probably was just texting a friend or something. Even if he was cheating, you can't prove anything, so I'd just let it go

 

[Tink888]

I wouldn't say anything unless I was absolutely sure that the person was, in fact, cheating.

 

[paintnolish]

I said I think he might have been cheating- hence the italicized think. Perhaps if I had noticed it earlier in the semester, I would have said something about my suspicions, something like, "People seem to be texting during exams," but the semester is over.

 

[Bob NC]

I said I think Perhaps if I had noticed it earlier in the semester, I would have said something about my suspicions, something like, but the semester is over.

You actually....

Would have gone to the professor.....

And stood there.....

And said.....

Out Loud....

"People seem to be texting during exams,"????????

WOW

 

[nuttylawprofessor]

You actually....

Would have gone to the professor.....

And stood there.....

And said.....

Out Loud....

"People seem to be texting during exams,"????????

WOW

What would be so outrageous about doing that?

 

[paintnolish]

You actually....

Would have gone to the professor.....

And stood there.....

And said.....

Out Loud....

"People seem to be texting during exams,"????????

WOW

I'm glad you understood my post. I wouldn't have said, "People are cheating during the exam by accessing an internet translator via cellphone." I would have voiced my concerns about people texting or using their cellphones during exams. I think it is reasonable, because that is what I saw- someone using a phone during an exam, which we are not supposed to be doing during class, let alone during an exam.

 

[BeenHereB4]

Wouldn't have cared and wouldn't do a thing about it.

 

[RitaZ.]

Been there and took care of it. Your situation is different because you're not certain that he was cheating. Even if you went to the professor with your concerns, there really isn't much she/he can do at this point since the class has ended.

If a classmate tries to copy my answers or taps me during a test to give him answers, then I will report it to the professor. It's really distracting to have someone looking over your test. Besides the fact that it's wrong, you also have to worry about the professor catching your classmate in the act and think that you're part of it. When I took A&P II, a classmate attempted to copy my answers during an exam. This was a huge classroom, stadium seating, and we were really close together. I went to the professor in confidence and told him about it. He said that he'd keep a close eye on the student. I didn't want to be anywhere near this girl, so I moved to another area of the classroom that was empty. The day that I moved away from her, she kept giving me dirty looks. There was no way she was going to copy from me after I spent tons of hours and effort studying for the test. Wasn't going to happen! She was a prospective nursing student. I doubt that she passed A&P II or was accepted into the nursing program. I certainly hope she wasn't.

 

[terri01p]

 

[Jennasis]

In college, taking Communication Law, during the big exam, the guy next to me was very obviously trying to copy my test. I tried covering my paper but he was relentless. So I took the test, the whole time writing down the letter for each answer in the provided space, but ever so lightly writing the REAL correct answer on a piece of scrap paper.

When he had finished copying my paper, as far as I could tell...I garbbed the eraser and went to town, switching all my answers to the right ones, and turned the paper in.

The look on his face was priceless. The kicker is that it was an open book test. Talk about LAZY.

At the next class, we got our tests back...He bombed completely and me and my BFF got all but 1 right (out of 150). We each got different ones wrong. Prof asked us to stay after class, I thought he was going to acuse us of cheating. When the room cleared he announced that nobody had ever done this well on his big test and that he would be happy to write a letter of recommendation for either of us to LAW SCHOOL (Or anythign else we needed).

 

[DisneyLover83]

During a college final exam, I think I saw someone cheating. As I got up to turn in my test, I saw a classmate typing on his cell phone. As I walked by, he quickly slid it under his baseball hat, which was sitting on his desk, right in front of his test. Our teacher was on the other side of the room, on the computer. It really bugged me. We're in college. Come on! I felt like saying something, especially on a suspicion, seemed a little busy bidy-ish. When I mentioned it to another classmate, she said this guy is always moving around during tests. He was not ordinarily in my line of sight during tests. I suppose he could have been texting, but what is so important that you would risk a cheating accusation by messing around with your phone during a test?

I also see cheating all the time in my classes and my motto is that it is not my business to tell because their punishment will come later in life. In my accounting classes for example, go ahead and cheat.... see how far that (not knowing the material) gets you on the CPA exam and good luck making any money without a CPA license. Karma

 

[golfgal]

DD reported a girl that was cheating in her high school class. The teacher (who is a long term sub) confronted the girls and of course they denied it and wanted to "talk" to who ever it was that reported them-Um NO WAY. The kids were talking about it in their next class and that teacher said "AGAIN". HE confronted them and got them to confess, 2 weeks suspension. We didn't know anything about this until several weeks after it happened when the teacher told us about it at parent/teacher conferences. We are very proud of our DD and hopefully those girls learned their lesson before it is too late and they get caught in college and expelled.

 

[HunnyPots]

Nope, MYOB. You don't accuse someone of something that could have as big an impact on his future as cheating on an exam without some sort of proof.

 

[Alphabetsoup]

If you were going to report it you should have done it on the day.

When I give exams I have students put all phones in bookbags at the front of the room. If someone is using a cell phone during the exam, even if 'just texting' I tell them up front that if I catch them they will receive an automatic zero for the exam -- NOTHING is so important that it can't wait until the exam is over.

The only time I relented was a student who had a father critically ill. I held her phone during the exam in case a call came in.

That said, waiting until now to consider saying anything is useless.

 

[paintnolish]

If you were going to report it you should have done it on the day.

When I give exams I have students put all phones in bookbags at the front of the room. If someone is using a cell phone during the exam, even if 'just texting' I tell them up front that if I catch them they will receive an automatic zero for the exam -- NOTHING is so important that it can't wait until the exam is over.

The only time I relented was a student who had a father critically ill. I held her phone during the exam in case a call came in.

That said, waiting until now to consider saying anything is useless.

I took the test Monday afternoon. As I walked up to hand my own test in, I noticed him with the phone. I left the class after handing in my exam, so it took me a few minutes to process what I had seen.

 

[golfgal]

I took the test Monday afternoon. As I walked up to hand my own test in, I noticed him with the phone. I left the class after handing in my exam, so it took me a few minutes to process what I had seen.

"Proving" it would have been as simple as the prof walking over to him and asking for his phone. I would still mention to the prof that it might be in the best interest of the school if they institute some more rigorous testing supervision practices.

 

[wdhinn89]

Mind your buisiness. It has nothing to do with you. His cheating hurts no one but himself and not in the physical sense.

 

[Took]

I confess, I'm amazed that folks don't think cheating in education is serious and would 'do nothing' about it.

The statistics cited by nuttylawprofessor are not anomolies. Many studies support the fact that cheating is very common nowadays. As a non-cheater, I would have spoken up about the cell phone (something loud but simple like "I thought we couldn't use cell phones during an exam?" Of course, as a professor, I am never sitting at a computer during an exam. A friendly presence is usually all students need to discourage them from cheating.

 

[Scurvy]

Mind your buisiness. It has nothing to do with you. His cheating hurts no one but himself and not in the physical sense.

Unless of course the professor grades on a curve, in which case it does have something to do with the OP. An artificually high grade will hurt all the students who didn't cheat.

 

[golfgal]

Mind your buisiness. It has nothing to do with you. His cheating hurts no one but himself and not in the physical sense.

Except that maybe they will end up competing for the same job or that person that was cheating ends up working for the same company and cheats the company out of a ton of money or that same cheater took the spot in school of someone else that is responsible and deserved to be there. How about if that cheater ends up being your dr and gives you the wrong diagnosis that causes you to lose your life because he cheated in school and didn't really learn what he should have. The point being, you never know the far reaching consequences of his actions AND some schools can punish those that KNOW someone is cheating and don't report it too.