Cheating

I just got through "grading" a test a student took on-line. I give the students opportunities to take their tests more than once so they can have control of the grade they get. When they get an answer wrong, I give them feedback that I hope helps them to actually learn the material in the process of doing better on the test. The multiple-choice tests randomize the order of the questions and the order of the distractors so each successive attempt at the test requires the student to read the test question and all the possible answers.

First of all, why is a crunchy granola type teacher giving tests? This class prepares students not just to be good teachers but also to pass the gate-keeping test that can bring a budding teaching career to a screeching halt. So, as an advocate for my students, I see my job as preparing my students as well as I can for this test. Hence, I give tests as much like the "target test" as possible. The target test has both multiple choice and short essay questions--and all the questions on this test must be done in a ridiculously short amount of time.

So, the student in question has figured out how to get the answers to the short essay questions because her answers are a rewrite of the "given" answer. She's cheating. But who is she cheating? Not me. She can take the test as much as she wants and I will be very happy to give constructive feedback so she can do better in the future.

She is cheating herself. I gave her the high grade she wanted because technically her answer is right and it is written in different language from the "given" answer although in the feedback section I asked her if she felt ready to take the target test. I don't think an accusation will stand up against a denial--and making an accusation will probably place her in a defensive position, which is antithetical to a learning position. I may e-mail her at some point, though (it's an online class).

I believe in cheat-proof teaching--in creating situations where students don't have to cheat in order to succeed. I listen carefully to students not just when they are addressing me directly but also when they are talking to each other. I know some of the ways they cheat--for instance, having a friend do the on-line tests or copying from something on the web or faking an assignment instead of actually doing what is being requested. So, I try to make assignments that bring in the student's perspective and that have a real obvious utility for the teacher wannabe.

No matter how much we guard against cheating in terms of traditional types of assignments and assessments, it's going to happen. In my day, it was hand-copying the encyclopedia for a report and now it's getting on the web and copying and pasting someone else's writing. In my day, it was a cheat sheet hand-written in tiny print and smuggled into the test. Now it's text messaging a friend.

We can either continue to up the ante on security or we can get out of the game altogether and find things for students to do that are meaningful, interesting, and useful. Most students don't cheat on those activities.